The mission of Small Forces is to build bridges from global issues to local solutions by supporting grassroots organizations who, despite formidable obstacles, are creating a means to counter large-scale societal ills at a community level.
The opioid crisis in America is expanding at an alarming rate. The medical and mental health systems are overwhelmed, and there's been no clear path developed to stem the rising tides of addiction. However, in southwest Ohio, we found a woman who decided she would devote her life to creating a new path for women in her community.
Scarlet Hudson left her corporate career to serve women suffering through addiction and sex trafficking on the streets of Cincinnati. Through her nonprofit Women of Alabaster (WOA), Scarlet meets the women where they are- the street. At night, she drives the city in her worn-down minivan, providing food and water, medical attention, and most importantly, building relationships. Once a trust is built, Scarlet begins paving the road to recovery, brick by brick. She works with courts to expunge their records. She works with local employment and housing resources. All along, she shows the women unconditional love, earning her the nickname "Momma Scarlet."
The women on the streets know how important Scarlet's work is, but conveying the impact to key partners has always been challenging.
Our objective was to create a documentary short that WOA could use to dissolve stigmas of the women they serve and clarify their work to stakeholders.
At Small Forces, we believe that grassroots organizations led by people with creative ideas can solve our world's biggest problems. Our strategy was to create a documentary-style video campaign that would put faces and stories to the opioid crisis.
We set out to show the work of Scarlet Hudson, founder of WOA. Scarlet's community partners might not be able to join her on the streets of Cincinnati, late at night, serving the women caught in addiction. So, we captured her work in action - rain or shine - through a "fly on the wall" approach. Traveling with a small and versatile crew of two kept the production mobile and non-invasive. We were able to fully embed in the WOA action for a week to capture the hard work and sincere empathy. This style of documentary filmmaking brings community stakeholders right out to the streets with Scarlet, and helps clarify the grassroots efforts at play.
In addition to our verite style, we implemented a few key filmmaking strategies to help validate Scarlet's organization and accomplish our objectives.
First, we identified women who had been successfully saved by Scarlet and WOA. These women speak to the complexities and power struggles of addiction and trafficking, but they also speak to the enormity of the help and love that WOA gives. Because Scarlet's program is so grassroots, it's important to show that it is working.
Second, we validated Scarlet's approach with an endorsement from the police department. WOA has to cooperate with local authorities, but also works as an activist to keep the women safe. Having a police officer, who advocates for Scarlet's method of help, say that the police force "can't arrest [their] way out of this problem" is key to establishing Scarlet's legitimacy within the community.
Last, we showed community members helping Scarlet as part of the call to action to help inspire a wide segment of people to action. No matter your situation, there's a way to see yourself helping Scarlet's mission. You can help bring food to the girls, you can donate clothing, volunteer at their office, or simply donate money to keep all of their programs active. The need is vast and diverse, and we wanted the call to action to match that scale.
Rather than tracking anonymous views and impressions, we measure success in impact areas key to the growth of WOA.
Fundraising:
Outreach & Education:
People Power:
Scarlet takes her Small Forces documentary with her wherever she goes. She now has a lasting tool to create impact for her organization.
"We can't do it by ourselves. It takes a village to do this and that means everybody has a gift, and they need to use it," Scarlet said. "You guys definitely have a gift for video storytelling and you're using it and it is definitely benefiting those that the nonprofits serve and also the nonprofits themselves."
