Inside Safe:
The Hidden Costs

This short film produced for The Los Angeles Community Action Network, follows Shameka, an unhoused woman living in Downtown Los Angeles. It shares her harrowing experience with Inside Safe, an initiative led by Mayor Karen Bass aimed at sheltering unhoused individuals in Los Angeles.

“All I want is to be seen and treated like a fellow human being, with respect and dignity, just like anyone else.”

I partnered with Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN) and the Downtown Women’s Action Coalition (D.W.A.C.) to highlight Shameka’s challenges with Inside Safe, including her loss of autonomy, degrading treatment, and health risks from substandard conditions like spoiled food. Shelters are not permanent housing, and often contribute to the trauma unhoused women face. As a mother of three and a vegan chef, Shameka's story underscores the urgent need for humane solutions in addressing the root causes of houselessness.

CREDITS
Director: Melissa Phillips
Editor: Melissa Phillips
Colorist: Stephen Latty
Sound Editing: Eric McCann
Music: Johannes Bornlöf, Eric McCann