By AIESHA SOLOMON

From Left: Laurel Advocacy and Referral Services (LARS) Executive Director Shannon Mouton, Dr. DeBorah Gilbert White, Audrey Vaught, the LARS permanent supportive housing program manager, Jeffrey Bingham, LARS lead permanent supportive housing case manager, and Ross Hughes, a LARS client at the nonprofit’s red carpet event on Feb. 27.
Courtesy of Aiesha Solomon

Laurel Advocacy and Referral Services (LARS) premiered “No Address” at Regal Laurel Towne Centre on Feb 27. The sold out event, which raised $8,500 for LARS, aimed to shine a light on the struggles of individuals without homes. City of Laurel elected officials, LARS board members and featured speakers attended the event, which included a VIP reception.

Produced by Robert Craig Films, “No Address” tells the story of a fictional character named Lauren, played by Isabella Ferreira, who loses her home. She connects with other unhoused people, and forms a tight-knit community. They support each other, face challenges and reach for success. 

“One of the things the movie does really well is show the myriad of reasons why [people become unhoused] … It’s not the stereotype. They’re not the drug addict. They’re not the prostitute. They’re not in a gang. This truly does show that homelessness can happen to anybody and so, for us, that’s what we wanted to convey,” Shannon Mouton, executive director for LARS, said in a video interview. 

Mouton learned about the film through a listserv she follows. Robert Craig Films was supporting film screenings by donating 50% of the net profits from the film and related initiatives.

Profits from the premiere and Robert Craig Films’s donation are earmarked for services LARS provides to the city’s unhoused community. The nonprofit provides basic supplies, clothing and home furnishings to clients enrolled in LARS’ permanent and transitional housing programs. 

Audrey Vaught, LARS permanent supportive housing program manager, described these two programs in a video interview. “One is for people who have long-term experience with homelessness and do not have the ability to change their housing status on their own, and the [transitional housing] program is for people experiencing very temporary, short term [housing needs].”

Vaught was one of the speakers at the Q&A session following the film. Two LARS staff members, an unhoused individual and a moderator participated in the session, which explored a range of topics related to issues raised in the film. Mouton aimed to drive home the critical circumstances these individuals face.

“I wanted to make this real. So often, especially when you’re in suburban communities, you don’t necessarily see homeless people, [which is] different than being in a major city — DC, New York, Baltimore, Seattle — where you’re walking around, and you see them,” Mouton said. She noted that Laurel has an unhoused population. 

Jeffrey Bingham, a program manager with LAR, experienced being unhoused, himself.. In a video interview, he supported Mouton’s interests in premiering the film and said it was important to shine a spotlight on this issue.

Ross Hughes has been a LARS client for about 10 years.  

“I always like to support the people that are homeless because I’ve been there … and also it’s a privilege to help out LARS because they helped me so much,” he said, in a video interview.

Vaught underscored that sudden, unexpected circumstances can leave an individual without a home. “We need people to understand that there is no one face to homelessness. Homelessness could be you, it could be me, it could be your best friend or your neighbor,” he said. “So many people are one traumatic experience or one bad day or one missed paycheck away from homelessness.”