Support Destiny's Bridge!

Jack Ballo's award-winning film "Destiny's Bridge" explores not only the realities of homelessness, but proposed solutions outside of the traditional shelter system.

The documentary follows the story of the homeless minister who stands up to a New Jersey town that is evicting him, along with 80 other people living in the woods. Police raids and arrests are met by charges of harassment in this explosive documentary that questions the human rights of the poor while exploring new ideas for housing the homeless. With the town closing in and eviction on their doorstep, the homeless set out to create their own self-sustained shelter called Destiny's Bridge, that provides community, ownership and rehabilitation.

We learn in the film that people whose lives have been taken over by poverty, addiction, depression and mental illness don't have the resources to be rehabilitated and to get their lives back together like most people can who have family support, healthcare and financial stability. Prior to its closing, Tent City of Lakewood, NJ, not only provided basic necessities like food and shelter to the homeless, but also the most important elements missing from their lives: love, family and community.

On Thursday, July 17th, the Destiny's Bridge film started a 30 day Indiegogo fundraising campaign.  The documentary premiered on August 8, 2013 and went on to have a successful film tour that included theaters, colleges and community screenings across NJ. However, the film cannot go into distribution and reach a national audience due to music licensing and other legal issues.  This campaign to raise funds will be our only opportunity to continue screening and sharing the film's message about "New Ideas for Housing the Homeless."

There is a lot we can learn from Tent City and this film needs to get out to people throughout the country.  If we can raise the finishing funds needed for the film we will bring it out on a national film tour, offer it on DVD/BluRay and have VOD distribution available. We will also use funds to promote our Outreach Program bringing awareness to the Destiny's Bridge concept for housing the homeless.

Please support the campaign by either making a donation or sharing posts that will help us to spread the word.  There are homeless camps and tent cities in most states in the country. Help us get this message and campaign information out to people throughout the US who care about homeless people and the nationwide crisis we are experiencing.  Small donations will help, Indiegogo is about getting large numbers of people to make small donations.  You will also receive a gift for your donation. Destiny's Bridge DVDs, T-shirt, posters and other perks are included with donations. Donate small and spread the word big and you will make a difference in the homeless cause in this country!

"Closing time, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end..."

Two days before my forty-first birthday, the page was turned on a major chapter in my life: Tent City of Lakewood, NJ, where I was a volunteer for eight months, was demolished and closed down by the Township. (tentcityvoices.blogspot.com)

I was never a resident of Tent City myself, but its closure had a major impact on me. I've never pitched a tent, slept outdoors, or been camping in my life, but throughout the process, I was grieving as if it was MY home that had been bulldozed. It's been said that "home is where the heart is," and words cannot express just how much I believe it.

What I experienced personally speaks volumes about the reality of homelessness. That home is so much more than just a roof over one's head. It's the sense of having a place to go to where you're accepted and loved for who you are, not judged...the feeling of safety and security amid storms (both the physical and proverbial types)...the people that surround you, who are present to you, and for whom you are present.

I came to that place in the woods one autumn day with a bag of apples, a case of water, and an open heart. Indeed, amid those makeshift shanties, in the spiritual sense, I myself found Home.

And the new journey begins, I will continue to do whatever it takes to build Home for those in need.