June 1, 2012

By David Nguyen

We’d like to share a trailer from the upcoming documentary “American Winter,” produced by Emmy Award-winners Joe and Harry Gantz.

The documentary focuses on Portlanders who call the 211info resource hotline to connect with social services like emergency shelter, groceries from food banks, help paying utilities, or medical or mental health care.

Every year, non-profit 211info answers more than 120,000 calls from people in need and connects them with health and community resources that can help.

211info is an amazing resource for folks in our community who are feeling stuck: pulling from a database of more than 4,500 programs, expert staff at 211info can help you find a place to sleep, get help paying an overdue utility bill, connect with medical or legal services, and much more.  Particularly in the winter, it's an invaluable resource for people looking for a warm, dry place to escape the weather.

The production of the film is at its critical phase and the producers have asked the community for help funding the project.  An IndieGoGo page has been setup to gather donations.  Visit American Winter’s website for more about this exciting project.