Patrisse Cullors' New Doc On LA's Youth Homelessness Crisis
Patrisse Cullors’ New Documentary Highlights LA’s Youth Homelessness Crisis
Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors is drawing national attention to the youth homelessness crisis in Los Angeles with her latest project, a short documentary titled Close to Home.
Through Close to Home, Cullors aims to amplify the voices of homeless youth in LA, particularly those advocating for a “care-first, solutions-driven approach” to housing. The film highlights how systems often fail vulnerable teenagers and young adults long before they end up on the streets.
Cullors said the powerful message behind her latest project comes at a critical time, as the Trump Administration cracks down on homeless communities in D.C. to eliminate crime in the city. The social justice advocate noted how the president’s plan was a clear example of how the U.S is failing to provide resources to homeless individuals.
“The timing of our debut alongside the current federal response creates a profound contrast,” Cullors told the Associated Press during a Sept. 3 interview. “Our film reveals what those approaches miss entirely — that behind every tent, every doorway, every temporary shelter is a young person with a story, often one marked by system failures long before they ever reached the streets.”
That “federal response” came in August 2025, when President Donald Trump initiated a sweeping crackdown on homeless encampments in Washington, D.C. Though he did not fully dismantle the city’s home rule, Trump invoked emergency powers under Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to place the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under direct federal control to carry out his plan— a move that significantly superseded local authority. He also deployed over 800 National Guard members in the city and their presence may be extended throughout the year, according to CNN.
What is the documentary about?
Directed by Whitney Skauge and executive-produced by Cullors through her company, Abolitionist Entertainment LLC, Close to Home is a 30-minute film that centers on the stories of four youth leaders from the LA Emissary. The organization, founded in 2021, works to influence funding, policy, and systemic change for the young, LGBTQ+, and unhoused population of Los Angeles County.
To meet its mission of preventing and ultimately ending youth homelessness, LA Emissary believes the public must first see unhoused youth as fully human.
“People seen on the street are seen as inconveniences. Rather than people, we are seen as like litter,” Detrell Harrell, a 21-year-old policy and advocacy coordinator at the LA Emissary, told the Associated Press.
Harrell expressed concern that, amid growing fears over National Guard deployments and increased policing in U.S. cities, many young people experiencing homelessness are still viewed as expendable.
“I just hope that this film shows people that there’s a way to survive,” he said. “It’s not a very hopeful scene right now, but yet and still we’re here, we’re surviving, we’re working, we are pushing forward.”
The youth homelessness problem extends far beyond LA.
In 2020, Los Angeles County had more than 4,100 homeless youth — the highest number in the country, according to the Population Reference Bureau. These young people often find themselves sleeping on the streets, in cars, in abandoned buildings, or in other places unfit for habitation.
But LA’s crisis is just one part of a worsening national issue. There has been a rise in homeless youth and children nationwide. According to HUD data, nearly 150,000 children under the age of 18 experienced homelessness in 2024 — a 33% increase from the previous year. The number of unaccompanied homeless youth also rose by 10%, reaching 38,170.
The Covenant House notes that Black or African American youth have an 83% higher risk of reporting homelessness in the U.S. than their white counterparts. That figure plummets to around 33% for Hispanic youth.
Cullors believes that existing government programs—from child welfare and public housing to healthcare and education—are falling short, particularly when it comes to helping young people in the U.S.
“This work feels like a continuation of demanding justice, but it’s also taught me about the particular responsibility that comes with documenting young people’s pain and resilience,” Cullors added.
In a post shared to Instagram on Sept. 4, Cullors said that the documentary serves as a “love letter” to her younger self, as she experienced homelessness growing up as an “unhoused queer youth.”
Close to Home marks Cullors’ continued work in the arts after stepping away from BLM in 2021 and navigating public controversy related to the movement. The film is currently screening at the Seattle Film Festival and is available to stream in 135 countries via the festival’s online platform, EOFlix, through Sept. 7.
SEE MORE:
