This short doc is about the rise of homelessness in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Portland. There are interviews with people where they discuss some of the issues that led them to become homeless, ranging from abuse and domestic violence to mental health issues, disability, and the high cost of living. It's a very short doc and I don't think it does a particularly good job with its message. I think it was too broad a topic. They'd have been better served to pick an aspect of homelessness: its cause, impact on an individual, opposition to social projects designed to get people off the streets, anti-homeless architecture, etc. than just "homelessness sucks and these people should be seen." People don't want to see the homeless. They don't want to be reminded that they themselves are probably only two missed paychecks from living under a bridge. People like stories about billionaires because it feels aspirational. They want to believe they could make an astronomical fortune. They don't want to believe they could end up living in a tent in constant fear that cops will come in the middle of the night and force them to move.
I was working in an office and I remember overhearing a co-worker (middle-aged white man, for reference) raging about having to see homeless people on his drive in to work. He said, "Can't they just go somewhere else?" which initially made me furious, because it's such a stupid dick thing to say, but then it made me laugh because that is the literal definition of homelessness. They have nowhere to go. Anyway, I hope you will not be like that tone-deaf middle-class asshole. The film's website https://www.leadmehomefilm.com/learn/ has more information about what causes homelessness and ways to mitigate and even end it, if you're interested. The doc is streaming on Netflix but there are better ones out there.
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