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Neverland
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Neverland details the individual struggles of five Appalachian women during a period of their recovery from substance abuse and domestic violence. All five of the women graduated from the Rural Women’s Recovery Program in Athens, Ohio. In the United States, only about 2 percent of government funding for drug and substance abuse is used for prevention, while the remainder is spent on substance abuse treatment, and its secondary consequences, such as prosecuting offenders and putting them in prison. The state of Ohio is in desperate need of legal reform to address drug abuse as a public health concern rather than a criminal justice issue. Public awareness needs to be raised regarding the strong correlation between domestic violence and substance abuse, as I have witnessed first-hand that many of these women become addicts as a result of incest or family violence. Those who are most affected by addiction are the children. Most of these women have 2 or 3 children, of whom many have lost custody. Is it possible to break the cycle that often passes silently from one generation to another?
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Born Addicts
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In the United States, the number of women abusing prescription pain medications (OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Darvon, Dilaudid, Demerol, Lomotil) and become opioid drug addicted is growing. "They are women that have had very rough backgrounds," said Steven Clay, D.O., Addiction Specialist in Ohio. "About 80-90% of women are coming here sexually and/or physically abused. About 80-90% of our patients are mothers. Women going in and out of prison. Kids being taken away. The way addiction is treated in the United States is -- we put people in prison. We think the way to treat it is to punish people." More and more mothers are using drugs while pregnant. According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in the United States, the estimated number of drug-exposed infants born each year ranges from 100,000 to 375,000. "We are going to have a whole society of children of drug-addicted mothers that are going to have learning, developmental, and physical disabilities. We have to start paying attention as a whole in the United States." said Terry Elifritz, NNP, Newborn Special Care Unit, Columbus, Ohio.
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Trish
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A short film about Patricia from Neverland
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Boys Behind Bars
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The Juvenile Detention Center, in the city of Boichinovtsi, Bulgaria is the only juvenile correctional facility for boys in the country. It is located in Northwestern Bulgaria, close to the city of Montana. As of August 4, 2008, the Center was home to 75 juveniles between the ages of 14 and 21, all of whom have committed crimes. About 50% are from the Roma ethnic minority, 30% are of Turkish ethnic origin, and 20% are Bulgarians.
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The White Brotherhood
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The Universal White Brotherhood is a religious movement founded in Bulgaria in the early XXth century by Peter Deunov. The group proposes a Christian esoterism characterized by prayer, meditation, breathing exercises, yoga of nutrition and paneurhythmy. Thousands of followers of Peter Deunov from Bulgaria and abroad celebrate on August 19, 2008, the biggest annual holiday for the White Brotherhood- the first day of the new divine year in the Seven Lakes region of Rila Mountain in Bulgaria.
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Halfway Freedom
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A boy, in his 16th year, slowly walks on the boardwalk around the river in Pomeroy, Ohio. "In my life there's been heartache and pain…", Gregory sings. A few of his friends are around him and listen to him singing. The sky is royal blue and the sun is about to set. Pomeroy, as many other rural areas in Ohio, is a hopeless place for any teenager to be growing up in, due to the limited opportunities of finding a job and having a future different than the cycle of drug abuse. Gregory and his friends are some of the few children in this town who are not trapped in this cycle. However, they are homosexuals and carry their own cross in a rural city such as Pomeroy.
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No More
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In a darkened room in Nelsonville, Ohio, a 43-year-old woman listens to Joel Austin's CD "Becoming a better you" - "Maybe you weren’t the person who made the bad choices. But somebody else’s foolish decisions caused you to experience wrenching heartache and pain…"
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Prologue
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The hunt for a good job in the midst of the worst recession in a quarter century is difficult. But when an ex-convict comes looking for work, securing a steady, permanent job is almost impossible, especially if you are a woman.
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Existence of Dismissal
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Existence of Dismissal presents the surgical and counseling work being done at Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, and its branch facilities throughout Ethiopia, in an effort to capture the internal and psychological injuries many women sustained while giving birth. In Ethiopia alone, about 9,000 women develop fistula each year.
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