As the calendar turns to September and I move into another busy month of audio work, I’m realizing that I spent much of the summer on documentary or doc-like projects. There was a couple of weeks covering an innovative Math Camp at Stanford University, some news & sports gigs and very satisfying short documentary of vehicle dwellers in Silicon Valley. This last project was with Paige Bierma and involved us getting some very close up and detailed looks at families and individuals who for one reason or another live in RVs, vans or cars in what is generally considered an affluent suburban area.
The issues and story are much deeper and longer than in the edit you’ll find below, but if you take the time to watch, you’ll get a glimpse into some lives and learn about services being offered in Silicon Valley.
So often it is easy to take for granted the basic elements of survival and comfort...a safe shelter a night, toilet and shower facilities, clean clothes and the ability to get food. Those beat up old RVs you see on the side of the road have families with children inside...and they are simply people trying to get by.