Housing Matters invites the community to attend Feb. 13th event at the Rio Theatre
SANTA CRUZ, CA — January 22, 2025 — Housing Matters invites the community to attend a screening and panel discussion with the filmmakers of Beyond the Bridge: A Solution to Homelessness, on Thursday, Feb. 13, at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. The event, in collaboration with the City of Santa Cruz Economic Development Department, Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley, and former mayor and Housing Matters board member Don Lane, aims to encourage community-wide-conversation about creating a comprehensive solution to homelessness. Beyond the Bridge is an ambitious documentary film about solutions to homelessness. A Bigger Vision Films team traveled more than 40,000 miles around the U.S. to answer this question: How can this country solve homelessness in a comprehensive way? Filmmakers found a solution that surprised them with its straightforward but simple approach from two large cities that proved solving homelessness is within reach of any community.
Their answer was this: Working with deep coordination — a single homelessness response systems plan based on the principles of Housing First with community buy-in from law enforcement, judicial systems, business communities, service providers, volunteers, and leadership from the mayor and county executives, all working from the same page.
“[This film] is not only about people who are homeless themselves, but about how every member of the community can get involved in solving this issue,” said Sam Tsemberis, Father of Housing First and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most Influential People of 2024. “It’s something you should see.”
“Housing Matters believes in the transformative power of the Housing First model,” said Mer Stafford, Chief Impact Officer for Housing Matters. “We’re excited to explore with Santa Cruz County citizens the possibilities for resolving homelessness together.”
The Beyond the Bridge team is midway through a 40-city screening tour, with the goal of changing the national discourse on solutions to homelessness. Each screening event includes post-screening panels and Q&As, calls-to-action and follow-up activities for audience members, and the opportunity for community members to collectively discuss how they can begin addressing homelessness locally.
The Santa Cruz screening and panel discussion will be held at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., in Santa Cruz at 6 p.m. on Feb. 13. Tickets are $12 and are available online. For more information about the Beyond the Bridge film screening and community conversation, including purchasing tickets, visit: housingmatterssc.org/event/beyond-the-bridge-a-solution-to-homelessness
About Housing Matters
Housing Matters partners with individuals and families to create pathways out of their homelessness into permanent housing. Housing Matters offers housing support services and case management as well as emergency shelter and direct services — including hot showers, public bathrooms, and a mailroom — to people experiencing homelessness. Our campus shares space with the County-operated healthcare clinic Homeless Persons Health Project and Dientes, a full-service nonprofit dental clinic, making these services easily accessible to Housing Matters’ guests and the community. Our case management and housing navigation services help end homelessness for hundreds of individuals and their families every year. Learn more at www.housingmatterssc.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
