The Story Project of Measure 110

Part One: PEERS

(Documentary film TRT 30min) - Grant Financed - Portland, OR

For this first episode, I received a $15k grant to produce a documentary short film focused on Peer Support Services. I am the Producer, Director and Writer for this project. As of September 2024, the film has won Best Director of a Documentary Short from the Seattle Film Festival and will screen at the Klamath Independent Film Festival, Oregon Documentary Film Festival, City of Angel’s Women’s Film Festival and the Friday Harbor Documentary Film Festival (online). It has also won an honorable mention from The Social Justice Film Festival in Chicago. We have plans to expand the project to include other documentary shorts, audio storytelling, live event storytelling, writings, music and art—all focused on the the people whose lives are affected by the Measure 110 Movement through funding and services.

For this project, I leveraged my relationship with Morgan Godvin to network with organizations that employ Peer Support Specialists. Morgan connected me to Candi Balabon, a Peer Supervisor at Columbia Community Mental Health who became one of my main sources for this project. My aim is to highlight peer specialists and their stories while also giving insight into the work they do. The people interviewed for this video project were previously incarcerated on drug related charges. Most are still in recovery. They are the hope that the drug crisis needs right now.