About 30 people gathered at Trinity United Methodist Church Wednesday for a luncheon and round table discussion in honor of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.  Reverend at Trinity Ed Grove and Judy Boykin, the executive director of the Family Resources Network of the Panhandle, Incorporated organized the event.  They said the event was a call to action for the most vulnerable people in our society.Before breaking for lunch, local filmmaker Jeff McCoy spoke to the group about a project he is working on that will highlight the plight of the homeless in Berkeley County.  The film will follow the story of three main characters through the end of 2008 with scenes shot in Martinsburg, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., New York City and even Los Angeles, CA.  McCoy has teamed up with Ryan Hardy and OceanGate Entertainment to create the documentary titled “Land of Liberty”.  According to the films website, the 70 to 90 minute production will not only bring awareness to the issue, but will also give homeless men and women a voice.

McCoy hopes to get the film distributed nationally in order to get the word out that the homeless need help.  Crimes against the homeless are on the rise.  One of the crimes is being used to push legislation through congress classifying crimes against the homeless hate crimes. 

Boykin was a guest on WEPM’s Panhandle Live where she told host David Welch that studies on homelessness showed that nearly 900,000 men women and children in the United States did not have a permanent address as of 2007, an increase of 150,000 since 2005.  She says the film will illustrate that the realm of homelessness is broader than many people realize.  She points to issues of foster care, mental health issues and those unable to pay medical bills as just some examples of how people can find themselves without a place to live.  McCoy estimates that nearly 300 people in Berkeley County alone do not have a permanent address.An art exhibit to help support the final stages of production is scheduled.  Boykin says that will allow people to see the actual faces and places of people living in camps around the area, and will hopefully help raise money for the project.Once completed, the work will be taken to film festivals around the nation.  McCoy says that simply distributing the work and making the issue known are the main goals of the project.                                                                                                                                         

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