Two Local Nonprofits Team Up For ‘Rising Tide’ Screening; Film Focuses On Housing Insecurity

The most recent count conducted by The Cape and Islands Regional Network on Homelessness identified in one night 568 homeless individuals throughout Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. The result is the highest the network has recorded in more than 10 years. A new collaboration between two local agencies hopes to bring attention to the growing trend.

On June 7, the Chatham Orpheum Theater will host a 9:30 a.m. screening of the documentary “A Rising Tide.” The showing, co-sponsored by the Housing Assistance Corporation and Sustainable Practices, displays the struggle of housing insecurity with an aim of documenting how and why homelessness occurs. The film, directed by Cheryl Fabio, follows women and children in California’s Alameda County experiencing the plight of housing insecurity. The experience of the people in the film, according to Christina Wiseman, vice president of marketing and communications with the Housing Assistance Corporation, is not unlike the struggle of many Cape Cod families. 

 “There is so much stigma that is related to homelessness,” said Wiseman. “Often folks kind of think of Cape Cod as this picturesque place that is just vacation-land and aren’t necessarily aware of the real challenges that people face here, especially living year-round.” 

She noted that she would hope viewers take away “an understanding of the fact that this is an issue that exists everywhere, and the Cape is no exception.”

Multiple factors contribute to how Cape citizens are affected by housing insecurity, according to Wiseman. The Cape is constrained by the availability of land, the fragility of its ecosystem, and a market in which locals are competing with people interested in purchasing short-term rentals or second homes. Additionally, she explained, zoning laws traditionally favor single-family homes, which makes it harder for different types of housing, like apartments, duplexes, or condominiums, to be constructed.

It’s in recognition of these factors that Sustainable Practices Executive Director Madhavi Venkatesan saw the connection between the two organizations.

 “The issue of homelessness, people don’t realize, is actually directly linked to sustainability,” Venkatesan said. “When you don’t have as much, in terms of financial resources, you tend to overuse what you have and you can’t maintain it.”

Accessing the viewpoints of those experiencing housing insecurity, according to Venkatesan, is really the first step in the right direction in this conversation.

 “If you don’t interact with the people that need your interaction the most, you allow them to become a stereotype of what you fear — which is they are not really social, they can’t be part of society,” Venkatesan said. “This leads to a lot of adverse consequences to those individuals, and harm to society in general, because we don’t recognize that we are creating this based on how we treat those individuals.”

In writing about the event, the organizations highlight a desire to combat the stigmas of housing insecurity and that the film “aims to shift the narrative” by challenging misconceptions that “unhoused individuals are all suffering from substance use disorders or mental health issues.” In order to achieve this effect, the groups write, “The film juxtaposes the perspectives of various stakeholders affected by the ‘affordable-housing industrial complex,’ capturing the adversity faced by homeless families and exploring the plight of service providers and social workers on the frontlines of the housing crisis.”

The Housing Assistance Corporation and Sustainable Practices are both organizations dedicated to serving the people within Cape Cod towns. Sustainable Practices notes that it is “a Cape-based non-profit with the mission to inform Cape Cod communities on global issues regarding the human impact on the environment,” while the Housing Assistance Corporation offers a variety of services to the community such as homeless outreach, family shelters, rental vouchers, affordable housing development, energy efficiency programs, and first-time homebuyer support.

For those looking for opportunities to become more involved in the community, Wiseman said that the Housing Assistance Corporation has a fundraiser called “Walk for Hope” on June 1 that is a great chance to get out and meet the community. Information for the event can be found at www.haconcapecod.org. Venkatesan suggested that becoming more engaged in local governance is also a great way to make a difference.

 “The most significant manner that citizens of the Cape can make an impact is by participating at town meeting, learning how budgets are appropriated, and engaging on the issues that affect us all: quality of environment and quality of life in our communities,” Venkatesan said. “We live locally and our local systems affect our daily life quality. A few hours a year at town meeting can make a difference that will affect us all indefinitely. One vote is significant at the local level.

Tickets for the screening at the Chatham Orpheum Theater can be purchased at chathamorpheum.com or in person at the theater’s box office.