From Concept to Creation

Needed Change is a seed from which "change" can grow. With the recent tumultuous political and economic situations, many adopted the slogan, "Change we can believe in." But in most instances, we found it only to be a slogan. As time has passed, the hunger for "change" has starved itself out of the picture. Like numerous others, we felt our job was done and we could wait for this so called "change" to show itself.

Personally, we have not been able to find the change and dreams recently promised. Economic stability, careers, doing what we love, and making a difference have eluded us almost completely. From our own experiences in the workforce or with personal business endeavours, we found ourselves in the same boat as many Americans and citizens of other countries, barely afloat.

Instead of wasting one more valuable minute waiting for this so called "change" we have put into place a plan to submerse ourselves in the homeless culture that millions across the world are suffering from. Our goal is not just to document problems like many before us, but to help make the needed change. By doing so, we hope to better understand and address this horrible epidemic.

By becoming one with this forgotten society we will need to learn to survive all over again. From life's basic needs such as food and shelter to handling the mental strain of life on the streets, this will be a test of will and core beliefs.

Kevin Saftner, Galen Sisco, and Drew A. Dayton are taking the first step in creating change. The first step is not words or feelings, but actions. Our journey will take us to the streets of Miami and undoubtedly many more places. With photography, film, and pen we will document our experiences in this whole new world we will be entering. Together we hope to find solutions for the Needed Change.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Camera, Publicity, Plans, & More!

We are uber excited to finally get our new camera into our hands tomorrow. Yeah, we've been able to get some okay footage with out little Flip HD but nothing that will do the interviews and footage justice that the Canon Vixia can do. Thanks a ton to everyone who helped pitch in with sending money to get us the camera, theres no way we could even come close to affording it on our own. As soon as we get that tomorrow, it'll be back to talking with as many people as possible. We've got some great ideas where to go but if you have any please feel free to chime in.

Some other good news has been the publicity we have been receiving from publications in Miami. Gus Garcia Robers, a writer from the Miami New Times has published two different articles about our travels, trials, and experiences so far. I like that the exposure is there but he kind of wrote the article based on our Blog, Facebook, and Twitter...which is okay but it doesn't really convey everything a sit down or phone interview would have done. But hey, it's exposure and it explains mostly everything we are doing. The one article can be found here. You can also find the other article on the Miami New Times website by searching Kevin Saftner, Galen Sisco, or Drew A. Dayton on their website.
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2010/03/three_young_filmmakers_going_u.php

Tomorrow (Wednesday, March 31) we will be sharing our tale on the Joe Castello Radio Show at 11am. You will be able to listen to it live at http://www.sofloradio.com/  We like that it will be an internet radio interview as all of the content and discussions won't have to follow commercial radio/fcc restrictions that is found on public radio, which we undoubtedly hate, but I digress, that is a topic for later. If you can't catch us at 11am you can check it out later in the day as all of the interviews are archived and can be listend to on demand.

We've also been talking with a man who calls himself the Haitian Hillbilly. He's a real awesome guy with a heart of gold and a lot of connections to people that can help us down the road. He knows a girl who is close to Billy Corben. For those of you who don't recognize that name, Corben was the director of the hugely successful documentary Cocaine Cowboys. I can't sing the praises of that documentary enough, if you haven't seen it I'd suggest getting it on NetFlix or at your local movie rental joint. It's a wild tale depicting the Cocaine boom of the 70's and 80's in it's rawest sense: chaotic, violent, cut-throat, and authentic.

It's weird to stay it's sad to be leaving the Miami area in about a week. We never thought we'd say we'd miss living under fridges, asking for money, or surrounding ourselves in the homeless culture but we certainly will. Miami has a new place in our hearts and it's got a home feeling to it that I know I can't deny. From here, we'll be working our way up to Broward, Hollywood, and Daytona to do the same as we've been doing here.

After we spend an ample amount of time in those other areas of Florida we will be taking on the streets of Charlotte NC, Philadelphia PA, and New York City...all areas with a huge homeless problem. After our combined 4-6 week stay in those towns we'll be back in the Burgh. But, when we get back it won't be back to the comfort and privacy of our homes, it'll be to the streets for at least week. I'm intrigued to see how that is going to work out because we figure to run into some of you guys following us or other people we know in general. First things first, we've got stuff to take care of here first. It's nice to plan but we know we can't get to far ahead of ourselves on the work we need to do.

But, like I said, it's nice to plan, so just to throw this out there...when we return we want to have fundraising parties to help the homeless. Yeah, it'll be super sweet to get to see each other once again but we can also do some good with the time and resources we'll have together.

Beyond that, we are in preliminary talks of having a huge fundraising party in Miami sometime in the early summer, we are thinking anywhere between mid May and mid June. If at all you could be part of that, it would be awesome. This project has been big but we want it to be the stepping stone in what will be a fulfilling and sustaining life helping others in need from all walks of life.

We have so many opportunites, skills, creative ideas, resources, talents, connections to help people who deserve a chance but we oft ignore them or shoot down ideas because we think they won't work or because they are unconventional. Screw that nonsense. It's high time to step out of our boxes and just make moves. If we all get together and brainstorm, differences can be made, big or small. We are encouraged by your support on a daily basis to keep doing what we need to do to raise awareness and we aren't going to stop anytime soon. We will do what we can to help make this world be a better place and we will take all of your ideas into consideration for this project.

If you have any input concerning these matters email us at neededchangedoc@gmail.com, post on our blog, post on our facebook, call me at 724-554-5481, send us anything you think will help, or just check in on us everyday. Either way, just hearing from you means so much to us. Shalom.

-Galen
Posted by Needed Change at 5:09 PM

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