Julie was abandoned at age 7 by her alcoholic parents. By age 12, she was living on the streets of Albuquerque and working as a prostitute.
Julie's story was one that touched UNM anthropology professor Beverly Singer. Singer's documentary debuted Saturday at the Guild Cinema as part of a film festival benefiting homeless youth in Albuquerque.
Amanda Rich, a board member of Youth in Transition, said the festival's main priority is to raise money for the center.
"People don't realize that there's a lot of young people on the streets," she said. "We're serving a population that's being ignored in Albuquerque."
Youth in Transition is a drop-in center for homeless youth in Albuquerque.
Several documentaries produced by local filmmakers were on display as part of the festival.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Singer's film, "Waking up on Central," followed 12 young people who are homeless or had been homeless in Albuquerque. She interviewed more than 100 people for the film.
She said she was compelled to make the documentary after she moved to Albuquerque from New York City to teach at the University.
"I would drive down Central every day to my office, and I would see lots of young people just hanging out," she said.
She said the homeless people in New York City resembled the homeless on Central Avenue.
Singer started talking with youth on Central to find out about their lives.
"It turned out there were a lot of different stories that I was hearing," she said. "I began to slowly ask if they would like to work with me on documenting their stories."
For the next two years, Singer talked to homeless youth in Albuquerque and merged the project with her work at the University.
"I wanted UNM and the community around the University to recognize that we have issues in our yard that could be researched," Singer said.
More than 1,000 homeless youth are on the streets of Albuquerque on any given night, according to one of the films titled "Are You Getting This?"
Singer said a lot of homeless people are around campus, but people tend not to notice.
"Because it's a university campus, we're all so busy with what our immediate concerns are," she said. "There's not a lot of time to pay attention to otherworldly causes."
Carol Spizman, a graduate student in occupational therapy, came out to support the film festival. She also donates her time to Youth in Transition.
Among other things, Spizman said she teaches a cooking class at the center to help give young people a skill and self-esteem.
"I'm really excited to work with them," she said. "When I'm done with school, I want to get grants and more money so I can do this permanently."
Singer is working on a grant to get Youth in Transition to show the film around the region.
She said group volunteers will present the documentary at high schools around the state and offer discussion groups about problems the homeless face.
"The real seeds of change can happen from young people themselves," Singer said.
