While the issue of homelesness around the world is completely ignored and avoided by a large majority unless if the "solution" involved is to get rid of those poor
people or find ways to send them everywhere else but their neighborhood, and for society to finally make an effective collaborative effort in order to create spaces and
shelters destined to them, it takes the courage of some folks to make the effort come true, fight prejudices and work towards a realistic, effective and accessible project.
And to reach that goal, it all comes down to the actions of politicians and governments and the way such force can find the logistic and finantial means to get
things done; and also the hard work of groups such as CCNV, the Community for Creative Non-Violence, a Washington DC charity community advocating for the homeless cause ever
since 1970.
"Promises to Keep" follows their long journey trying to get a renovation budget from the Reagan administration after getting an abandoned building that could provide a
decent space for a shelter to hundreds of Washington homeless people. But time and again, their pleas were ignored, rejected or when getting the promise for such budget and
reforms, the government failed to keep such promises and end up trying means to evict everybody.
Comes with the incredible efforts and intervention of Mitch Snyder (1943-1990), an advocate for the cause and also a homeless himself, who went on to conduct several
protests in front of the White House and other public areas of DC, getting arrested several times along with other CCNV members. A very articulate man and completely aware
of his rights but whenever his words weren't heard or were failing to cause any effect he went on several hunger strikes in order to get attention from society and politicians
in order to secure the future of the shelter. One of the many people in the audience who heard Snyder's pleas in the media was veteran actor Martin Sheen, who later on played
Mitch in "Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story" in 1986; Sheen narrates this documentary, released two years after the movie.
I never heard about this particular story before neither about CCNV or Mitch's cause, but this documentary made by Ginny Durin is an incredible tour de force. The whole
struggle of everyone involved, the many up's and down's revolving the progress of the shelter which also faced a different kind of oposition, one made by another group that got
in favors with the politicians and they got a certain budget for the homeless but not for that particular shelter, instead it was a removal to the poorest area in town. But beyond
all that, what makes it a wider and thrilling experience it's seeing Snyder speeches and interviews. The man was truly fascinating to hear, a great debater by all means. My favorite
bit was the remarks he gives to the other community leader, the one with the U$2 million funds, where he Snyder ends up by saying the other man was being duped by those officials
who gave him the money. Scenes later it was proved he was right all along. It's a pity we don't have the whole debate online, I'd really like to see it fully because it's quite
heated yet there's some form of organization that you don't see happening on TV these days.
The group, Snyder and others came along and this is just a fraction of what they could provide for the homeless (some of them are interviewed here, Granny was lovely).
It really shows that such projects are effective and can work along with society, showing results and solutions that affect communities in a positive way. That was the DC
experience, I'm not sure about the many others out there in America, particular ones who faced similar obstacles with local or federal governments during the Reaganomics era
where a man like him could say homeless people choose to be and live in such way, when we all know for a fact that reality shows a different aspect to the issue, it's not all
black-and-white as a matter of choice or being thrown of home for failing in life, since many social restraints and economic factors, such as Reagan's own economy policies, shattered a lot of households who lost their basic
income. And we're still debating the housing problems many decades later because of constant and unthought different problems - most recently the pandemic was largely responsible for an increase in the number of homeless
people, yet again the economic factor since debts couldn't be forgiven neither stop even a whole majority couldn't get out of home to work, and what alternatives people had? Zero.
Those with a little bit of luck could reach out to similar projects, if ever since for a great period everything was under lockdown.
A film like this serves not only just to tell a story that happened some 30 years ago; it also serves to reflect the times we are living and make a full comparative
analysis of what happened, what changed and what remained, and above all what can we, as a priviliged members of society, can do to reduce the problem and find sustainable and
helpful way to help and provide for the cause. Men like Snyder and groups as CCNV are in need these days and on all parts of the world. 9/10.
