Monday, October 26, 2009

Teens make a documentary on poverty

A group of teens are working on a documentary that exposes poverty in Lafayette Indiana. Making the video is a service project for an after school club the kids belong to. The teens say making the film really opened their eyes to the problem in their home town.

From the Journal and Courier, writer Taya Flores talked to the teens.

A group of local teenagers wanted to bring awareness to this issue. Members of the Keystone Club, a leadership development group at the Lyn Treece Boys and Girls Club of Tippecanoe County, are working on a documentary about poverty in Lafayette.

"The goal is to create an awareness (about) poverty and the issues surrounding poverty," said Dustin Bankhead, program director at the Boys and Girls Club on Beck Lane.

The documentary will be screened Nov. 19 at the Lyn Treece Boys and Girls Club in Lafayette. The documentary is the group's National Keystone Project, an annual project designed to challenge teens to address social issues in their community.
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The teens questioned their subjects about how they defined poverty and if they thought poverty existed in Lafayette.

Working on the documentary was a learning experience for the teens as well.

Before beginning the project, many believed poverty did not exist in Lafayette because it hasn't manifested itself on the streets in the form of urban blight.

"If (you) walk around town, you don't see people on the streets sitting there asking for money," said 14-year-old Cheyenne Russell.

However, after working on the documentary, they realized that poverty is right at home in Lafayette.

"My family receives Medicaid and we have had food stamps in the past," said 15-year-old Selina Gaeta. "Most of us are in poverty and just don't realize it."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's great to know taht there are other teens out there trying to find out and put an end to poverty in their community.

I am also making a documentary for it as well. It's just good inspiration to hear that others care to.