New Documentary Explores Resources Making an Impact for Students in Rural America

The 50-minute original film is the third in The Mind Inside, a series exploring mental health in public schools.

Omaha, Nebraska Feb 11, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - Today, Just Jump Films - the award-winning Susie Buffett backed production company - released its new feature documentary about mental health and poverty in rural America. The 50-minute original film is the third in The Mind Inside, a series exploring mental health in Nebraska's public schools.

Film Trailer - :30 sec  | 2:41 min

Filmed prior to COVID-19, the documentary follows two school heroes as they work to advocate for students' well being and break the devastating cycle of poverty. The once-bustling railroad town, North Platte, Nebraska, has become a microcosm of America's poverty crisis, with more than half of its families at or below the federal poverty level. A generation of children is reeling from the effects of inherited trauma, drug addiction, and neglect. Within this distressed landscape, one Student Services Director and one School Resource Officer together provide refuge for families, intervene to protect the welfare of students, and navigate systems of support, to offer hope for the future.

"While these issues were happening before the pandemic, we must take this moment to address what's really happening within our communities - the reality of poverty and drug abuse," said Brandy Buscher, one of the two North Platte Public Schools staff members featured in the film. "If we don't intervene, this is going to be everyone's problem in about 10 years. It's not just our community's problem, it's a national problem."

Produced by the award-winning creators of the I Love Public Schools project, the feature documentary reveals how inherited trauma, generational poverty, drug abuse, neglect, and other home dynamics complicate the path to academic success and impact the greater community. As America's health and economic crisis worsen from the fallout of COVID-19, the documentary examines the gap between public schools and the child welfare system and invites the question of what can be done to help kids.

"As a school, we sometimes feel we're the voice that no one listens to. We are with the [students] for seven hours a day, each day, and we're seeing kids who are not having basic needs met. We can't teach them in this environment, and we need help from HHS and other agencies to help us get to a place where we can," Buscher said.

"The school is doing so much more than just teaching a child in a classroom. They don't have all the resources they need, but with the little they have, I think they do a lot," Lincoln County Attorney Rebecca Harling shares in the film. "Without the school, a lot more kids would fall through the cracks."

The new episode is available to stream free online here. Film Director and Cast Participants available for interviews and discussion. Previous episodes in the series feature internationally-recognized clinical professor of psychiatry Dr. Dan Siegel, and Dr. Sharon Hoover of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. View Episodes One and Two now, alongside the Director's Note. 

 

For more information or to request a digital conversation with the director and cast, please contact Brittany Mascio, Director of Impact, [email protected] or 402-490-5786. 

 

About Just Jump Films

Since 2011, Just Jump Films has been documenting the stories happening in public schools through Nebraska Loves Public Schools (NElovesPS) project. The Mind Inside is one of the more than 50 'I Love Public Schools' films the organization has created since its inception. NElovesPS - a 2013 Webby Awards Official Honoree, PovertyCure Film Festival Official Selection, and Film Streams 2017 Local Filmmaker honoree - produces a series of documentaries that explore a range of issues with the goal of raising awareness about public schools. In addition to films. NElovesPS has started the 'I Love Public Schools' conversation nationwide. To learn more visit iloveps.org, Facebook (/nelovesps), or Twitter (@nelovesps).

 

Nebraska Loves Public Schools is made possible by The Sherwood Foundation and is dedicated to supporting public education one documentary film at a time. Responsible for the I Love Public Schools shirts worn everywhere. For more information on this film, Just Jump Films, and Nebraska Loves Public Schools, contact Brittany Mascio - [email protected] or 402-490-5786.  

 

Media Contact

Nebraska Loves Public Schools

[email protected]

4024905786

4910 Dodge Street, Suite 213

http://iloveps.org

Source :Nebraska Loves Public Schools / Just Jump Films / I Love Public Schools Films

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