Street Reporter (2022)

Sheila White is a fifty-nine year old reporter who has struggled with homelessness for some time. Washington DC is a difficult place to live, but living on the streets of the District of Columbia is far more challenging. Sheila and her coworkers at Street Sense want to spread awareness, and they want to make the world a safer place. Sheila is a Street Reporter in more than one way–not only does she cover the streets, she’s from the streets, and she provides a unique perspective; and Sheila will do whatever she can to help those around her.

I feel that there’s always a disconnect between the homeless community and the rest of the world. We walk down the streets of major cities–Philadelphia, New Orleans, New York, and more–and we see them asking for money, food, and necessities, but I would venture to guess that the majority of us rarely ask how and why they’ve ended up here. Street Reporter does everything it can to reel in viewers and express to them the reality of living on the street, and more specifically, living in what many call “Tent City.”

One person in particular makes this work more than any other in the film, and that’s Mike Harris. Mike Harris becomes, in a lot of ways, the primary focus of Sheila’s journey–and he acts as the bridge between that homeless community and everyone else. He’s intelligent, he’s articulate, and he’s able to express the troubles of homelessness, as well as his aspirations, with what appears to be ease. His ability to do this makes Street Reporter incredibly easy to understand–and I would assume that many people, maybe for the first time, are able to comprehend just what goes through the minds of those individuals living on the streets.

The footage present throughout the course of Street Reporter is raw, it’s rocky–and that plays into exactly what Director Laura Waters Hinson wants and needs to happen in order to reach viewers. I don’t think that a film that looks like it cost millions of dollars could have the same effect. I wouldn’t want to see a film that has a clear disconnect from its subject, and allowing this raw footage to be what guides the film, what brings Street Reporter to life, it finds success in the process.

Like a lot of independent documentaries, the primary subject is someone that the majority of viewers would have never heard of prior to watching the film. Sheila is no different, but she’s the perfect person to tell these stories throughout Street Reporter. She knows this world as well as anyone else, and she’s able to express the realities of this world to viewers. Much like Mike, Sheila is able to help bridge the gap between subject and viewer, but she’s also the storyteller. Her ability to bring these realities to life is impeccable. She says it best herself (and I’m paraphrasing)–she knows how to tell this story because she’s been there, she’s been homeless, and she’s the one capable of expressing the realities to the world. She does just what she promises–and throughout the duration of the film, Sheila spins a web that captures viewers, and her experience with homelessness propels Street Reporter to a place that it couldn’t have achieved without her.

I’ll be honest, when I heard that Street Reporter was a documentary about homelessness, I figured the ability of these filmmakers to reach me would be nearly impossible. I’m a tough nut to crack–and much of that comes from me being so stubborn, but Sheila, Mike, Hinson, and the rest of the individuals tasked with bringing Street Reporter to life do such a wonderful job of making connections with viewers. Street Reporter works in a number of ways–and I, along with the majority of viewers, were able to appreciate everything done throughout.

Directed by Laura Waters Hinson.

Starring Sheila White, Reginald Black, & Michael Harris.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10