From the president

Derek Conner, a second year student at FVCC, is a dedicated student and film maker actively engaged in the issues of youth homelessness, and community homelessness as a broader issue. For the last six months, Derek has worked closely with the Youth Action Board, a local non-profit that advocates for housing stability for youth across the state, to document the humanity of homeless youth and tell the stories of those impacted. Derek provides an artistic and open-minded approach to problems and is committed to bringing positive changes to the youth homelessness issue and also the stigma that surrounds the issues of housing instability.

Jane Karas

President

Flathead Valley Community College

Image
derek conner

Personal Statement

I am committed to a project serving homeless youth across the state of Montana. Working closely with the Youth Action Board and board chair, Ashlie Wise, we believe the rising number of homeless youths needs attention and must be taken seriously by lawmakers and the general public. My project is a video that combats the stigma around youth homelessness across the state, and dives into the housing crisis, including how rising home/rent prices and the rise in short term rentals have impacted the homeless population in our area. This video will be a prequel to a full feature length documentary. As the population increases in Montana, so does the number of displaced youth. The price of “affordable” housing does not reflect wages for lower income jobs. These are the issues we hope to bring attention to with this project, that families are being evicted because the rent has finally broken the budget. What can we do to help these experiencing housing instability? How do my actions and decisions personally affect these people? These are all questions we hope people ask themselves, their friends, and their leaders as they watch the video we are producing, and also the full documentary piece.

Derek Conner

Graphic Design

Flathead Valley Community College