Life Since "The Homestretch"

The documentary The Homestretch premieres Monday at 9:00 pm on WTTW11. It follows three homeless young people in Chicago as they struggle to graduate high school and navigate their future. That's followed by a Chicago Tonight special edition at 10:00 pm, where host Phil Ponce sat down with three of the documentary subjects to talk about where their lives have taken them since the events of the film, and he also spoke with the filmmakers who spearheaded the project. 


Navigating immigration issues while looking at colleges, dealing with a mother who doesn’t accept your sexuality, trying to remain a part of your young son’s life – those kinds of challenges would be stressful for anyone. But it’s especially difficult when you don’t have a stable living situation. The new documentary, The Homestretch, follows three young people living in Chicago as they graduate high school and navigate toward a more stable life. The film also introduces us to some of the programs that help these young people, and a teacher – who was once homeless herself – who brings one of the young men into her family.

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Watch a preview of The Homestretch

In this Chicago Tonight special edition, host Phil Ponce talks to Kasey White and Roque Sanchez, two of the young people featured in the documentary, and teacher Maria Rivera, who invited Roque to live with her, about where their lives have taken them since the cameras stopped rolling. We were also joined by Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly, the two filmmakers who spent five years bringing the project to life. Plus, Chicago Tonight’s Jay Shefsky takes a look at a new service offered by Teen Living Programs, one of the organizations featured in The Homestretch.

Watch the full 30-minute special edition.

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