BREAKING THE CYCLE:
CHANCE & SARAH
Based in Everett, WA, Cocoon House’s mission is to break the cycle of homelessness for youth and young adults in Snohomish County. In this piece, we meet Chance and Sarah, two kind, compassionate, and deeply sensitive individuals who vulnerably share their story with us. Produced for the Cocoon House annual fundraiser, our goal was to help the audience connect with the mission of the organization by highlighting the transformative experience that both young people had with the organization.
For: Cocoon House
Creative Direction & Story Development
Production & Post-Production
Read the full case study below
Our Approach
Homelessness is unfortunately a widely stigmatized issue in our region. A myriad of stereotypes and misinformation dominate the discourse, negatively affecting the experiences of people living in traumatic situations. For this project, our goal was not only to create content that promotes the impact of Cocoon House on the lives of Chance and Sarah but also to help counter the negative narrative surrounding the issue. We aimed to highlight the resilience, strength, and humanity of both individuals, briefly touch on their experiences with homelessness, and emphasize the emotional experiences they each were willing to share.
“I’ve never felt more confident in the ethics of a video.”
Challenge
Individuals experiencing homelessness often face noteable trauma, in addition to the trauma of living unhoused. As a result, telling these intimate and vulnerable stories requires strict adherence to ethical storytelling practices. While not a challenge, per se, these practices do signify a level of intentionality necessary. They include hosting a pre-interview conversation to discuss off-limit topics, inviting the interview subject to consent to creative decisions during production and post-production, and building a relationship that feels mutually beneficial rather than extractive. A challenge we did encounter during this process was finding individuals excited to share their stories with us. We faced several last-minute cancellations before filming with Chance and Sarah, which we met with patience. As the deadline for the fundraiser approached, we met with Cocoon House staff several times to recommend different ways of engaging and communicating with young people about the process and encouraged them to increase the amount and type of compensation they were willing to provide.
Impact
The final fundraising video was shown at Cocoon House's annual fundraiser, 'An Evening of Silk', to an audience of over 300 people. Both Chance and Sarah were in attendance to see themselves on the big screen. As a result, Cocoon House raised more money that year than in any previous year, over $150,000. While significant, the most important indicator of success was Chance and Sarah's reaction. As soon as the video ended, they both exited the room in tears. When they returned, they hugged our team while crying, saying, "This was so amazing. Thank you.”
To expand the impact of the fundraising video and honor their individual stories, we produced two shorter videos featuring both Chance and Sarah independently. These videos are intended for use at presentations, in email marketing, and on social media.