Tuesday, March 31, 2026
6:30 to 8:00 pm
Bernal Branch Library
500 Cortland Avenue
San Francisco
HOMETOWN HOMELESS is a collaborative documentary project based in Santa Cruz California and directed by Maleah Welsh. The culmination of six years of work in the city-sanctioned Benchlands encampment, the project began as an interview and portrait study geared towards highlighting community driven solutions. As the work progressed, it evolved into a short, poetic documentary that explores the meaning of home.
Post-screening of the film, we invite the audience to join in conversation with the filmmakers, Maleah Welsh and Momma Shannan and small business owner and homeless advocate, Christin Evans.
Seating is limited. Registration recommended
Maleah Welsh is a documentary filmmaker and photographer working in both analog and digital formats. Originally from Santa Cruz, California, she focuses on intimate, story-driven work that reflects the complexity of everyday life. She holds a BA in Cinema from San Francisco State University and continued her education at University of California, Santa Cruz in the Social Documentation Masters program. Her practice is rooted in collaboration, often working closely with individuals and communities to explore themes of personal history, home, belonging and collective memory. Guided by curiosity and care, Maleah creates work that values process, connection, and shared authorship.
Momma Shannan (Shannan Vudmaska), the film’s co-producer, is an unhoused poet. Through her quiet musings and discussions with the other women in her circle, she explores her own definition of home, the Potrero district of Santa Cruz, and the changing landscape of the encampments within the Potrero.
Christin Evans is a small business owner and homeless advocate in San Francisco. In 2018, she served as a legal proponent for Our City Our Home (Proposition C) which raises approximately $300 million annually for housing, behavioral health, homeless prevention and shelter. She has been a volunteer with the Coalition on Homelessness and has observed over 100 encampment resolutions and sweeps. As owner of Booksmith and Alembic in the Haight-Ashbury, she has worked with local outreach workers to help homeless folks connect with appropriate resources in her community. She also has served as a Commissioner on the city’s nascent Homeless Oversight Commission from 2023 to 2025.
