Scotty Franzyshen
Housing, employment, community, and life in Butte County
About Me: sfranzyshen.org
Facebook: sfranzyshen
Email : info@sfranzyshen.org
Phone : +1 530 924 4306
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Video Discussion Guide
Recommended, not required: These video selections are prompts for open discussion, not a test of agreement. Read why we're here.
Our educational materials reflect a “shelter first” and lowest-barrier approach to addressing homelessness. They are recommended resources, not required material. If your group chooses not to use them, your participation is still encouraged.
Awareness doesn't take sides ... all voices and perspectives are encouraged. However, Campout for Compassion will not provide or recommend “treatment first” materials.
Download the Video Discussion Guide (PDF) ↓
Campout for Compassion 2026 · Saturday, November 14
Choose one video or an excerpt that fits your group. These are optional conversation starters ... not a required lesson plan, and not a substitute for a local conversation with someone who has experienced homelessness.
Choosing videos by age
Ages 6–10: The drawing, home-safety, and kindness activities in the activity guide are a better starting point. No video is automatically recommended for young children.
Ages 11–13: An adult-previewed, non-graphic excerpt of “Can You Tell Who is HOMELESS?” may be suitable. Use simple, respectful questions.
Ages 14–17: Consider language, teen and family housing topics, or a pre-screened firsthand story. Offer a non-video option.
Adults: Explore housing affordability, dignity, neighborhood concerns, services, and outcomes. Allow room for disagreement.
Please preview before showing: We verified the publisher pages and titles, but have not viewed every video in full or verified age ratings, run times, caption availability, or all potentially upsetting scenes. The short descriptions below identify discussion themes rather than summarizing a verified complete transcript. Facilitators must screen the videos first. Never require a participant to disclose their own experience. Some people in the room may have experienced housing insecurity.
Easy discussion format
Before (5 minutes): Ask what people already think or wonder. Agree on respectful language. Watch (5–15 minutes): Show one selection or excerpt. After (10–15 minutes): What surprised you? What do you question? What might you do differently as a neighbor?
Language, stereotypes, and human dignity
Use these to open a discussion about assumptions, labels, and the values we share.
Can You Tell Who is HOMELESS?
Why show it: A conversation starter about the assumptions we make from clothing, appearance, and first impressions.
Discuss: What assumptions do we make based on appearance?
Why PERSON-FIRST Language is Important.
Why show it: Introduces the idea of describing someone as a person rather than reducing them to a housing status.
Discuss: How can language describe someone's situation without defining the person?
The Missing Piece in Ending Homelessness: Shared Values
Why show it: Opens discussion about shared community values among people who disagree about homelessness policy.
Discuss: What do we have in common even when we disagree about solutions?
Families, young people, and housing costs
These options introduce forms of homelessness that may not look like an encampment.
Why So Many Teens Are Becoming Homeless
Why show it: Explores why young people may lose stable housing and what support they need to stay safe.
Discuss: What support could help a young person keep a safe place to stay?
The Reality of Family Homelessness
Why show it: Introduces the forms of family homelessness that can be less visible than sleeping outdoors.
Discuss: Why can family homelessness be difficult to recognize?
Arleen: A Mother's Fight for Stability in America's Hidden Homeless Crisis
Why show it: A first-person account of a mother facing housing instability and uncertainty while caring for her family.
Discuss: What becomes more difficult for children when housing is unstable?
Cheri - Homeless Senior Living in Hotel
Why show it: A senior's first-person account that opens conversation about income, shelter, and the cost of housing.
Discuss: Why might benefits or employment still not cover housing costs?
Why So Many Seniors Are Becoming Homeless
Why show it: Opens discussion about the pressures older adults face when rent and resources do not match.
Discuss: What support helps older neighbors remain safely housed?
Shelters, services, and meaningful choices
These raise questions about whether an option can actually meet someone's needs.
Why Homeless Services Fail Without Choice
Why show it: Explores why services can fail when they do not account for people's actual circumstances and choices.
Discuss: What makes a service workable for one person but not another?
Melissa: Why Homeless Couples Choose the Streets Over Shelter in Seattle
Why show it: A first-person perspective on the complicated decision to use shelter when couples cannot remain together.
Discuss: What matters besides bed availability when considering shelter options?
Housing: Human Right or Reward?
Why show it: Raises the question of whether safe housing should depend on meeting conditions or be a foundation for stability.
Discuss: What do people mean by compassion and accountability in housing?
Neighborhood concerns and responses to encampments
Best for adult civic conversations. These include debates about enforcement and potentially distressing displacement experiences.
Homeless ENCAMPMENT Response 101
Why show it: Introduces approaches and outcome measures for community responses to outdoor encampments.
Discuss: How should success be measured for an encampment response?
Skid Row Homeless Sweeps Make Homelessness Worse
Why show it: A firsthand reporting perspective on displacement, sweeps, and what happens after a camp is cleared.
Discuss: What happens when people are moved but not housed?
Don't Want Homelessness Services in Your Backyard? Front yard it is.
Why show it: Examines neighborhood objections and how community concerns may be discussed constructively.
Discuss: How do we hear neighborhood concerns without dehumanizing anyone?
Kim: From Freezing in a Tent to the Safety of a Home
Why show it: A story of moving from a tent toward stable housing, useful for discussing what meaningful progress looks like.
Discuss: What would lasting success look like for someone facing repeated displacement?
For group leaders
Original footage and commentary belong to OrgCode and Invisible People. Play videos from the publisher's original page; check copyright and public screening conditions before projecting to a large public audience. A linked resource should not be taken as an endorsement of all statements made in it.
You may also browse the OrgCode video library and Invisible People video library for additional topics.
For questions or suggestions, email scotty@sfranzyshen.org.