Notes from Susan: America’s Youngest Hidden Helpers

Notes from Susan: America’s Youngest Hidden Helpers

by | Nov 23, 2021 | From the Executive Director, Shine News

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America’s Youngest Hidden Helpers

By Susan MacLaury

On November 10th, I watched a very moving event broadcast from the White House. It featured First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, Senator Elizabeth Dole, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in honoring America’s Hidden Helpers.

Senator Dole, representing the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, joined the White House’s Joining Forces, the Wounded Warrior Project and the Hidden Helpers Coalition as they pledged support to provide a range of services for children and young adults in military families who are caring for wounded, ill or critically injured warriors – suffering from both visible and invisible injuries – at home.

This year Shine Global was honored to work with Sesame Workshop to produce a short documentary for their HBO Max series, “Through Our Eyes.” We chose to focus on military children of injured parents. At the time, there were no studies that quantified the number of children living with disabled veterans, but the Hidden Helpers coalition just released their study at this White House event revealing this is a population of 2.3 million. Our short documentary, “Homefront,” tells the story of three of them: the Rodriguez family in Connecticut, the Richard Family in Virginia, and the Worleys in Georgia.

The First Lady asked Gabby Rodriguez, one of three children profiled in “Homefront” – to introduce her at the White House event. A remarkably poised and articulate child, Gabby breaks your heart with her simple candor about what it is like to have a father who has forgotten how to speak, how to read, or how to care for himself, and whose PTSD creates  emotional stress within the family.

Introduced by Secretary Austin, Gabby spoke eloquently about her father’s struggle, her mother’s unceasing efforts to care for him, and how she and her younger sister, Ava, try to help. I doubt there was a dry eye in the house by the time she thanked Dr. Biden for her support for military families and introduced her.

I know that there wasn’t a dry eye in our house. As a child, my father had been killed in the Korean War and my life had, of course, been hugely affected. Until we embarked on “Homefront,” however, I never had a real appreciation of the post-war challenges faced by soldiers with serious injuries, those who wouldn’t have survived Korea or Vietnam but, with medical advances, often do today. Their courage in trying to recover their lives and care for their families is something for us all to celebrate and support.

I’m proud that our film Homefront is playing a small part in bringing attention and support to these children and their families.  As Gabby said at the event, “I want every other caregiver kid out there to know that there are millions of us. You are not alone.” And I want Gabby and all the other kids to know that Shine Global is among the millions of Americans grateful for their parents’ service to us and who are pledging to support them.

—

Dr. Susan MacLaury, PhD, LSW is the co-founder and Executive Director of the non-profit media company Shine Global which gives voice to underserved children and their families by telling their stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change.  She executive produced the Academy Award® Winning documentary Inocente, the Emmy Award®-winning, Academy Award®-nominated War/Dance, as well as The Harvest (La Cosecha), 1 Way Up in 3D, The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront, and Liyana. She is also the producer of the documentary films The Wrong Light and Virtually Free and co-producer of Tre Maison Dasan. Susan is dually degreed in social work administration and health education and was associate professor of health education at Kean University from 1994 through 2013.

Shine Global is an award-winning non-profit media company that gives voice to children and their families by sharing their stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about at-risk children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on capitol hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.

 

 

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Notes from Susan: America’s Youngest Hidden Helpers

Gabby Rodriguez, Featured in our film Homefront, Speaks at White House

by | Nov 11, 2021 | Shine News

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Gabby Rodriguez, Featured in our film Homefront, Speaks at White House

Joining Forces and Hidden Helpers Coalition Pledge Support to Military and Veteran Children in Caregiving Families

 

November 11, 2021 — Gabby Rodriguez, age 9 and one of the stars of our film Homefront, spoke at the White House yesterday about her experience as a military caregiver. She was part of an event with the White House’s Joining Forces Initiative, Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), the Hidden Helpers Coalition, and military families celebrating military and veteran caregiver children and youth.

The event also marked the release of a first-of-its-kind study detailing the impacts of military caregiving in children and youth. The study finds that 2.3 million children in the United States are living with a disabled veteran – the first evidence based quantification of these “Hidden Helpers.”

Gabby spoke about what it is like growing up after her father, veteran Jorge, was hit with an IED in Iraq and suffered hearing loss, a traumatic brain injury, and PTSD.

“I would go to the playground and ask other kids, ‘Was your dad in the military? Does he have a booboo on his brain?’ It was three long years [later] when I was at a veteran family retreat for military kids that I finally made my first friend that said, ‘Yes,’ to both of those questions. It was a huge moment for me,” Gabby said, standing alongside her 6-year-old sister Ava.

“I want every other caregiver kid out there to know that there are millions of us. You are not alone,” Gabby added.

One of the primary findings of the study is that military caregivers endure “fears of stigma and being misunderstood by friends, family, and the larger community that can engender feelings of isolation for children and caregivers.” Military caregiver children are also more likely to experience trouble learning in school and to develop health problems such as stress and fatigue. The study also found children want more support to navigate their roles as “hidden helpers” and that their needs “can get lost in their family’s response to the needs of the care recipient.”

Shine Global’s film Homefront illustrates the impact of military service on the entire family by sharing the stories of three different families. Gabby, Terry, and Luther all have parents who were injured while serving, and each family has found a way to heal the wounds of war. Homefront shows how Gabby (9), a fierce animal lover with a stock of chickens, rabbits, bees, and dogs, loves her family and faces her fears about her Dad’s traumatic brain injury and PTSD via equine therapy. Terry (10), an enthusiastic boy and his parents, Taniki and Brandon, share their experiences and mental health struggles as they work to heal and help each other cope with depression and PTSD through honest conversation and embracing joy. Luther (9) is a charismatic boy who wants to be “like my dad when I grow up.” His father, Joe, a Navy veteran who lost his leg in an IED explosion, struggles through chronic pain to put family first.

“We made this film to bring attention and support to the children and families of veterans as well as foster an open dialogue around mental health, trauma, and recovery,” director Kristi Jacobson and producers Alexandra Blaney and Netsanet Negussie shared. “Through the eyes and voices of three remarkable and inspiring children – Gabby,Terry, and Luther – we can experience the unique struggles that they and their veteran parents experience and see how military service impacts the family unit.”

The Hidden Helpers study will also be used to provide effective support to caregivers of all ages. The event yesterday marked the first step in that work with the announcement of nearly 40 public and private sector commitments for new and expanded resources, programs, and financial pledges in support of military-connected caregiver children and youth.

Homefront is part of Sesame Workshop’s “Through Our Eyes” documentary series now streaming on HBOMax

You can read and download the full report “Hidden Helpers at the Frontlines of Caregiving: Supporting the Healthy Development of Children from Military and Veteran Caregiving Homes” from Mathematica.   

You can also watch a recording of the White House event here:

 

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About Shine Global

Shine Global is a non-profit media company that gives voice to children and their families by telling their stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change. Since our founding in 2005, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, and Tre Maison Dasan which broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens, and Virtually Free which won the SIMA Jury Award for Impact.

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Through Our Eyes: Homefront Now Streaming on HBOMax

Through Our Eyes: Homefront Now Streaming on HBOMax

by | Jul 23, 2021 | Shine News

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Stream Shine Global’s latest film Through Our Eyes: Homefront on HBOMax

The film is also available to watch as part of Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts Film Festival along with Shine Global’s film Virtually Free through Sunday, July 25th.

WATCH NOWHBOMax logo

ABOUT THE FILM

In the US, more than three million children live in homes with service members and veterans who rely on caregiver support. Gabby, Terry, and Luther all have parents who were injured while serving, and each family has found a way to heal the wounds of war. Homefront shows how Gabby (9), a fierce animal lover with a stock of chickens, rabbits, bees, and dogs, loves her family and faces her fears about her Dad’s traumatic brain injury and PTSD via equine therapy. Terry (10), an enthusiastic boy and his parents, Taniki and Brandon, share their experiences and mental health struggles as they work to heal and help each other cope with depression and PTSD through honest conversation and embracing joy. Luther (9) is a charismatic boy who wants to be “like my dad when I grow up.” His father, Joe, a Navy veteran who lost his leg in an IED explosion, struggles through chronic pain to put family first.

The film is directed by Emmy Award winner Kristi Jacobson (The Election Effect: Anmal, A Place at the Table, Solitary) and produced by Shine Global’s Alexandra Blaney and Catalyst Films’ Netsanet Negussie. Shine Global is proud to have partnered with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, in producing this episode in their first documentary series.

See the trailer for the four-part docuseries here:

HELP SPREAD THE WORD

You can help this film have a greater impact by sharing it with your friends and family.

Example Post:

Excited to watch the new doc Through Our Eyes: HOMEFRONT from @ShineGlobal and @SesameWorkshop now streaming on @HBOMax.  It’s an intimate look at the issues children of military families face every day. See trailer at shineglobal.org/projects/homefront  #MoreThanMovies #MilitaryFamilies

THE ISSUES

Our ultimate goal is to support the physical, social, and emotional health of military families and their children.

We will use HOMEFRONT to:

  • Raise awareness about the issues military families face every day, especially mental health issues
  • Demonstrate the need to better understand the children of veterans and their unique challenges
  • Inspire people, communities, and government leaders to support military families, especially their children

You can donate today to support our work using film to transform the lives of children and their families.

FURTHER RESOURCES

When a veteran requires caregiving at home, the whole family often takes on support roles—including children. Little is understood about the impact of caregiving within military families, but there is a growing understanding that better support systems are needed. These organizations can offer a place to start.

  • The Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s programs provide military and veteran caregivers the support they need at the local, state, and national levels.
  • Hidden Heroes provides support, resources, and community for military caregivers and raises awareness of the pivotal role that they play in nurturing veteran families.
  • Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers provides free and confidential coaching for the families and friends of returning service members and veterans to manage difficult transitions.
  • VA Caregiver Support: offers services for caregivers including online and in-person classes and  telephone and in-person support.
  • Veteran Caregiver Support, created by Operation Homefront, cares for wounded, ill, or injured service members and veterans and fosters connections among caregivers.
  • Blue Star Caregivers: programs for caregivers including social events, peer support, coffee chats, and digital resources.
  • America’s VetDogs trains and places skilled guide dogs with military veterans who experience both invisible and visible wounds.
  • Sesame Street for Military Families: Caregiving is an initiative to support military and veteran families as they care for a wounded, ill, or injured parent or relative.

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About Shine Global

Shine Global is a non-profit media company that gives voice to children and their families by telling their stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change. Since our founding in 2005, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, and Tre Maison Dasan which broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens, and Virtually Free which won the SIMA Jury Award for Impact.

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org.

About Catalyst Films

Founded by Emmy Award-winning Director/Producer Kristi Jacobson, Catalyst Films produces non-fiction films, television, and online content. We are committed to telling stories that treat societal issues with nuance, complexity, and high production values. Some of our partners include HBO, HBO Max, Netflix, Discovery Channel, ITVS, PBS, Sundance, Tribeca Enterprises, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Magnolia Pictures, Procter & Gamble, Orangetheory Fitness, and more. Equally important to our ambitious creative mission, Catalyst Films leads with conviction to center racial and gender equity, in our effort to challenge and re-shape the documentary industry behind and in front of the camera.

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Through Our Eyes: Homefront Now Streaming on HBOMax

Through Our Eyes: Homefront produced with Sesame Workshop launches July 22 on HBOMax

by | Jun 8, 2021 | Shine News

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SESAME WORKSHOP INTRODUCES NEW DOCUMENTARY SERIES “THROUGH OUR EYES”  LAUNCHING THURSDAY, JULY 22 ON HBO MAX

Five award-winning and -nominated filmmakers – including Shine Global – delve into children’s perspectives on some of today’s most challenging issues – homelessness, parental incarceration, military caregiving, and climate displacement

(June 8, 2021 – New York, N.Y.) – Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street and decades of award-winning educational programming, today announced its first documentary series Through Our Eyes, set to debut on Thursday, July 22 on HBO Max.  Shine Global is proud to have produced Through Our Eyes: HOMEFRONT, one of the four documentaries.

Through Our Eyes spotlights the perspectives of children as they experience some of the most challenging issues facing families today – homelessness, parental incarceration, military caregiving, and climate displacement – in four 30-minute films designed for adults and as a co-viewing experience for kids ages 9 and older. The series is produced by Sesame Workshop, with each episode directed by award-winning and -nominated filmmakers, several of whom have previously explored these topics through their cinematic work.

Shine Global’s documentary Through Our Eyes: HOMEFRONT is directed by News and Documentary Emmy Award winner Kristi Jacobson (The Election Effect: Anmal, A Place at the Table, Solitary) and produced by Shine Global’s Alexandra Blaney and Catalyst Films’ Netsanet Negussie. There are currently 1.9 million service members and veterans relying on caregiver support in the United States, and 3.4 million children live in the homes of these caregivers. In HOMEFRONT, three children of veteran families cope with the emotional impact of having a wounded parent, navigate the unique challenges of visible and invisible injuries sustained during military service, and together journey toward collective healing.

“Sesame Workshop has always worked to understand the most crucial needs of children and families, creating content that helps equip, inspire and build resilience to better prepare them for life,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, Sesame Workshop’s Executive Vice President of Creative & Production. “With Through Our Eyes, we bring viewers into our process of understanding the unique and immense challenges faced by children today. Our hope is to build empathy for families in crisis and remind those who are also enduring difficulty that they are never alone.”

The other three documentaries in the series are:

Through Our Eyes: APART

One in 14 American children will experience the incarceration of a parent, and 2.7 million children have a parent in prison right now. This introspective portrait of loss intertwined with moments of joy reminds us of the forgotten consequences of the criminal justice system – the families of those left behind. APART shares the experiences of three resilient children navigating the complex emotional challenges of their parents’ incarceration as their families work to provide stability and support. Directed by Primetime Emmy award-winners Geeta Gandbhir (I Am Evidence, Call Center Blues) and Rudy Valdez (The Sentence)

Through Our Eyes: UPROOTED

Since 2016, millions of people in the United States have been displaced by weather-related disasters that are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity. In UPROOTED, two children in Iowa face the loss of their family farm due to climate change, while a third in Texas waits for her hurricane-damaged home to be rebuilt. Directed by News and Documentary Emmy Award nominee Talleah Bridges McMahon (Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise, My Name is Pauli Murray)

Through Our Eyes: SHELTER

America’s homelessness crisis can feel distant and bureaucratic until you see it through the eyes of a child. SHELTER follows three unhoused children and their parents in Los Angeles. While each family’s circumstances are different and their futures uncertain, they are bound by love and a common determination to keep their dreams alive. Directed by Academy Award nominee Smriti Mundhra (St. Louis Superman, A Suitable Girl)

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About Shine Global

Shine Global is a non-profit media company that gives voice to children and their families by telling their stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change. Since our founding in 2005, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, and Tre Maison Dasan which broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens, and Virtually Free which won the SIMA Jury Award for Impact.

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org.

About Catalyst Films

Founded by Emmy Award-winning Director/Producer Kristi Jacobson, Catalyst Films produces non-fiction films, television, and online content. We are committed to telling stories that treat societal issues with nuance, complexity, and high production values.

Some of our partners include HBO, HBO Max, Netflix, Discovery Channel, ITVS, PBS, Sundance, Tribeca Enterprises, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Magnolia Pictures, Procter & Gamble, Orangetheory Fitness, and more.

Equally important to our ambitious creative mission, Catalyst Films leads with conviction to center racial and gender equity, in our effort to challenge and re-shape the documentary industry behind and in front of the camera.

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