Short Summary

Betty Louise and Susan M. Davis have been  on the forefront of giving "Voice" to people and topics considered "edgy" or marginal since meeting, virtually, in 2009 when they each produced and hosted their own radio shows on Internet radio networks.

Thanks to serendipity, they both relocated to Nevada County, California in 2015, and became real neighbors, in the same rural, small-town community, and able to spend time co-creating with their CoPassions, which includes StoryCatching with KVMR 89.5FM Community Radio in Nevada City, California. Both Susan and Betty Louise have their own stories about homelessness, and are committed to igniting awareness and shifting perceptions about the homeless community and promoting collaborative, compassionate solutions.

Our Team of CoCreators – the artists, themselves - are equally as important as the two Project Directors. Everyone on the team has a personal story and connection to homelessness. Some have been homeless themselves, or have family members or friends who have been homeless. For all, this connection to homelessness is the driver for their passion and artistic expression in whatever media they choose to work.

The money raised here will be used to produce the “A Place To Call Home” Documentary Film, Music CD,  Daily Compassionate Action Calendar, and a free live, experiential public Multi-Media Event in November at the Center For the Arts in Grass Valley, CA. Each of these products or expressions will include and integrate the work of all our participating artists.

We believe that together we can co-create a collaborative movement , powerfully communicating through Story and the Arts,  giving voice to You, Me, Them and  US.

Our vision is to co-create a model for the inclusive world in which we all wish to live.

With this model, and your help, we can make a difference for homeless people, those working with homeless people, and communities struggling with the many issues of homelessness.

What We Need & What You Get

Our vision is B I G ! We have lots to do, and it will take about $100,000 in 2017 to do it right.

We've already begun, and have partnered with KVMR Community Radio in Nevada City, California. We've received the Humanities for All Quick Grant from California Humanities to seed the project. We've also applied for the Arts & Media Grant from California Arts Council, and will find out if we are a recipient at the end of June. The roots have taken hold, and we've been growing now for eight months. We need your help so A-Place-To-Call-Home can blossom and influence communities everywhere!

Perks for You - Perks for ALL of Us!

We have co-created some great perks and are excited about how they include all of our individual artists and benefit  some of our wonderful non-profit partners - the grass-roots organizations in Nevada County, California serving the homeless community.

Here are a few examples:

Brendan Phillips is a musician, singer/songwriter and a social worker with Turning Point Community Programs, working with chronically homeless folks who also have mental health issues, addictions, and are cycling through our jail. Brendan is also the son of the late U.Utah Phillips, a storyteller, folksinger, and activist who cared deeply about homeless people, and was one of the founders of Hospitality House Community Shelter in Nevada County, CA. Brendan is producing the "A-Place-To-Call-Home" music CD, which has original music created just for this project along with some Utah favorites.

Listen here for a taste of what's to come on this CD. You can also hear Brendan in the Audio Stories on our website.

Franceska Alexander is a talented painter and the owner of The Alexander Gallery in Nevada City, California. Her paintings will be on display at the Center For The Arts in November, as part of the "A Place To Call Home" Project. Sierra Roots, one of the non-profit organizations working with the chronically homeless folks living in the woods in Nevada County, has produced beautiful card-sets with the images of four of these paintings on the fronts of the cards.  Contributors of  $1000 or more, will receive a set of these cards, and we will donate $100 to Sierra Roots, designated to the fund for purchasing property for the sustainable, supportive community of micro-homes that is their vision to build.

And, of course, YOU benefit with these thank-you Perks when you become a Human Being Positively Human by contributing.

You win, They win, WE ALL WIN!

If we don't reach our goal, the funds will go exactly where they're needed most - to our artists who are producing the documentary film, music,  photography, audio stories, fine art, and the written word.

W H Y do we want to pay our artists?

We believe our culture is defined by the Arts and Humanities. Far too often, artists are "starving", and yet they are creating such a valuable part of what we see and experience as "culture". All of our artists spend countless hours in service to the homeless community, most of them volunteer hours. We want them to be compensated for the great value they add to our project, to our community, and to the world.
They are Humans Being Positively Human and what they offer in each of the media in which they work contributes to growth, healing, and COMMUNITY. 

If we don't reach our goal, we will keep on going, and create additional ways to fund this project.

More crowdfunding, more grant writing, more creative revenue streams!

WE are UNSTOPPABLE Humans Being Positively Human

The Impact

We have experienced the vulnerability and fear people have about homelessness and homeless people. It is not easy, for many reasons, to see people living on the streets. It is what inspired our co-creator, Terry Worden, to write a song "You Can See the People", which is the theme song on our video and a download and lyric sheet, one of our Perks.

Many people feel frustrated that such a wealthy planet has people without shelter literally dying on the streets, and others just feel scared a homeless person (or someone they think is homeless) will threaten their safety. 

"A Place to Call Home" fosters greater understanding from the stories "caught" and shared in the various media in which our artists work.  This results in greater connection to the humanity of us all, and translates to less fear. Through capturing and sharing fascinating stories of those involved  and connected with the homeless community, we have already experienced more compassion and generosity by the people listening to the audio segments, viewing photographs and fine art, reading the essays and stories, and listening to the original music created by our artists.

By August, 2017, we will have caught, recorded, and shared 60 audio stories from homeless people, those organizations working with the homeless, concerned citizens, and officials charged with finding solutions. Photographs are being taken, stories and poetry written, artwork and music created. From this wealth of creative multi-media, we are creating the interactive and experiential event in November, using real life situations to communicate and encourage empathy.

Our Supporters, Advocates, Believers, Champions, Enthusiasts, and Angels  - the Humans Being Positively Human - who contribute to our campaign, will know they are part of creating avenues for solutions to the far-reaching and multi-faceted problem of homelessness in our world - and that they are supporting the Arts and Humanities; a real W I N - W I N - W I N.

They will be helping us produce the documentary film, original music CD, and 2018 daily compassionate action calendar - all products developed through the stories we capture. We envision these products being used to shift perceptions and help homelessness here in Nevada County, California,  and to co-create a collaborative movement throughout the world.

What if we knew what to DO to co-create an inclusive world that worked for ALL???

You can be sure that Betty Louise and Susan Davis have experience co-creating with others, as Betty Louise is a certified Co-Active Coach and Leader for almost 20 years, and co-led a course designed at Stanford University on chronic conditions for 15 years. Susan Davis founded The Co-Creation Community, and wrote the curriculum to "9 Steps to Marketing Success", and has facilitated teams for decades. They call themselves the "Co-Pros", because collaboration and bringing community together for the greater good is in their blood and is the path they've walked their entire lives.

Risks & Challenges

We know there are many people looking for funds for their valuable special projects. We know that getting people to write checks for social justice issues is easy for some and hard for others. We know that often people don't realize the financial cost to producing meaningful, quality products - especially those relying on the hard work of artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and media professionals.

We will address these challenges by providing high quality content that people feel good about supporting, using, and sharing - content they can use in their own daily lives. We will listen to what our contributors are most interested in, and keep them  in the loop of our activities and progress. 

"A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members" 

~Pope John Paul II

Other Ways You Can Help

We've created a Shout-Out/Outreach & PR page on our website so helping us spread the word about the A-Place-To-Call-Home Project is EASY!
We'd so appreciate frequent and consistent support online, in social media, in blogs, in the press.

• Help spread the word about our Humans Being Positively Human - A-Place-To-Call-Home Indiegogo Campaign.
• Like our Facebook Page and share it with ALL your Facebook friends. Check in often and
• Like, Comment, and Share posts in all Social Media channels
• Join our eMail List and Share our Website; let your family and friends know about our campaign - MAKE SOME NOISE and Be a Human Being Positively Human
• Any audio/video editors out there? We could use some help.
• Know anyone involved with homelessness that would be willing to share their story?
• Know of any grants or other creative funding ideas that fit our project? Send them on over!