Movie Reviews
AMERICANS WITH NO ADDRESS: THE DOCUMENTARY Review
More than a million homeless people in the United States lack basic needs, self-worth, medical care, and a sense of community. Each person has inherent dignity, because every person is created in God’s image. The government may have failed, but private citizens have rallied to answer the call. AMERICANS WITH NO ADDRESS: THE DOCUMENTARY stands apart because it lays out the need, while also highlighting some solutions. However, the movie has plenty of disturbing content about crime, poverty, substance abuse, and mental illness. Strong caution is advised for pre-teenage children.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Strong Christian, biblical worldview in documentary about the issue of homelessness, with dozens of interviews of experts, government officials, homeless people, doctors, and charity workers, including many Christians;
Foul Language:
No foul language;
Violence:
Some discussion about violent crime, plus a brief scene from an upcoming movie where a man holds a knife against an elderly homeless man;
Sex:
No sex;
Nudity:
No nudity;
Alcohol Use:
Discussion about alcohol abuse and alcoholism, and the need for rehab and recovery;
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
Discussion about drug abuse, overdoses and the drug epidemic and the need for better rehab and recovery programs; and,
Miscellaneous Immorality:
Some discussion about mental illness and its effect on homelessness.
AMERICANS WITH NO ADDRESS: THE DOCUMENTARY is a very well thought out, superbly executed, and inspirational documentary that explores the current homeless crisis in the United States. All political parties agree that the government has failed to solve the problem, and some argue that the government has made the problem much worse. This masterfully done documentary includes content with adult topics, such as drug use, violence, broken families, and crime. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for children.
The movie explores the homelessness epidemic in 20 cities across 18 states in the United States. It interviews dozens of people about the subject, including experts, government officials, policemen, homeless people, doctors, and people working in nonprofit groups giving food and shelter to the homeless.
According to the United States government, homelessness rose 12% in 2023, to 653,104 people. Also, it’s been estimated that one third of the population knows a family member or a friend who became homeless in the last year. Homeless encampments that were once only associated with “Skid Row” in big cities are now seen everywhere. Yet, government spending on homelessness has tripled in the last 12 years.
The documentary says the homeless problem isn’t new. In fact, it’s been brewing since Congress passed the IMD Exclusion Act of 1965, which left the problem of homelessness to the states. This essentially means that the federal government will not offer assistance to any homeless persons between the ages of 21 and 65.
In 2013, the federal government began providing HUD housing to homeless persons without requiring treatment for substance addiction recovery and mental health illnesses. Experts agree this is a system set up to fail. To make matters worse, in the last several years, state governments have stepped in to provide clean needles, straws and other paraphernalia to assist homeless people in their substance abuse issues. Hospitals are only allowed to provide 15 beds to mental health patients, no matter the size of the hospital. Many people in need are turned away or end up in prison. The rate of incarceration has exploded in recent years. Moreover, the closure of most mental hospitals in the 1970s and 1980s only made the problem worse.
The system clearly is broken, the movie argues. In fact, the movie shows that many of the measures taken have been detrimental to those in need and is costing taxpayers even more money. For example, the city of San Francisco spends $257,000 per day to clean up homeless encampments. This doesn’t solve the problem, because the homeless population simply moves to another nearby location.
More than physical needs, scores of people are bereft of love, self-worth and a sense of community. Each person has inherent dignity as every person is created in the image and likeness of God.
The movie quotes Mother Teresa, a champion for the homeless, who once said, “We think that sometimes poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.” Then, movie also quotes the co-founder of the Salvation Army in 1865, Catherine Booth, who said, “You are not here in the world for yourself. You have been sent here for others. The world is waiting for you.” Amy Grant personalizes it best in the movie when she ponders, “What if I were that person? Because life can turn on a dime.”
The government has failed us, but private citizens have rallied to answer this call to care for our brothers and sisters who are “outcasts, lost and forgotten.” Some of these organizations across the country include Step Up, Haven For Hope, Community First! Village, the Salvation Army, St. Vincent De Paul, Harbor of Light, Helping Hands, and The Helping Up Mission, a collaboration between Johns Hopkins University and The Helping Up Mission. These programs are spread out across the country. All of them are successful, to one extent or another, the movie notes.
In the end, the movie’s best, most enlightening parts are the stories of the people involved in this issue, whether it be the homeless people themselves or the Christians and charity workers helping them.