SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga University will host a free screening of a documentary that focuses on raising awareness for aging Americans facing homelessness, "No Place to Grow Old."
Michael Larson, Gonzaga alumni and founder of Portland-based nonprofit Humans for Housing, produced the film and will be present for a discussion after the screening at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14 at the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center (MWPAC).
The film cites the annual Point-In-Time Count, an annual count of people experiencing homelessness, to track homeless trends and found that nearly one in four people experiencing homelessness were over the age of 55.
“This is a national problem happening in every single major city, that older adults are entering into homelessness,” Larson said. “We’re trying to raise awareness so that we can better focus on protecting this population of people, to make sure people aren’t retiring and then entering into homelessness for the first time in their lives.”
The 44-minute “No Place to Grow Old” introduces several people at different points in their housing challenges, telling stories that show the audience just how quickly one’s options dry up as age and economics combine in the harshest ways.
Larson is a familiar face in Spokane’s efforts to combat homelessness, having spent his years at Gonzaga organizing a Humans for Housing march and making films including “Humanizing Spokane” that illustrated the humanity of the Lilac City’s unsheltered community,
Larson also spent time volunteering at House of Charity and organizing the student-led Meals on the Margins group which was focused on serving meals to Spokane’s unhoused population.
Tickets for the screening are required and are free. People can sign up for tickets at the MWPAC online ticket portal or at the venue box office.
More information about Humans for Housing and the film can be found at the Humans for Housing website.
