Understanding Homelessness Through Film

This unit provides a powerful way for students to develop their knowledge and understanding of homelessness in Australia. Through viewing the narrative film Some Happy Day, students follow Tina, a woman experiencing homelessness in desperate search of a better life, who meets Francis, a social worker with troubles of her own. The film reveals over the course of one day how Tina’s and Francis’s lives interweave, connect and lead to change and redemption.

Understanding homelessness through film is a unit that not only humanises the struggles of those experiencing homelessness but aims to foster students’ empathy and highlight the impacts it has on society as a whole. Students will view and analyse clips and themes in Some Happy Day to explore key issues surrounding homelessness and to dispel common misconceptions. Lessons will enable students to examine and reflect on personal and societal perceptions about homelessness, its complexity and its underlying causes. Students will also have the opportunity to research and deepen their understanding of homelessness to propose solutions and feel a sense of hope about making a difference.

You are invited to take part in Soup Kitchen Production’s study.

Soup Kitchen Productions have teamed up with Cool.org, Screenkind and Lonergan Research to conduct a study measuring the effectiveness of these lesson plans and the movie Some Happy Day on changing students’ attitudes and behaviours towards homelessness.

We are interested to hear the thoughts of students who complete the lessons about their attitudes and behaviours towards homelessness, as well as your feedback about the lesson plans and their effectiveness. If you are an English teacher with a Year 9 and/or Year 10 class and would like to take part (or know someone who does), please contact us at shd@lonergan.team for more information, including research materials (student and teacher questionnaires).

Accessing the Film

Teachers should watch Some Happy Day to familiarise themselves with the narrative, characters and content. The film is available to access on ClickView (clickview.net/au/videos/80775107). ClickView is home to curated curriculum-aligned videos for every learning level, subject and topic - making it easy for teachers to find the perfect video in seconds. If your school does not have a ClickView account, you can still access the film using your school email address to access the free 30-day trial. Watching the film as a class helps contextualise the lessons, but most lessons feature clips from the film to reinforce the context of learning, so lessons can also stand alone without the film.