Teen A Hero To The Homeless

The Girl Scouts' highest honor is the Gold Award.

The Early Show's American Hero on Tuesday is a young woman who sought to obtain her Gold Award by making a film documenting some of the people in her community. What Francesca Karle never imagined, reports Thalia Assuras, was just how big an impact her little movie would make.

The film's premiere had all the fanfare of a blockbuster. But it was happening far from Hollywood, in Huntington, W.Va.

You wouldn't

And the director? Karle, 17, whose grainy, sometimes shaky film features many of the area's homeless. It was her first time as a director, and is earning rave reviews from her community.

"I couldn't believe it," Karle says. "They were saying my name like it was the Grammys or something. It felt really good."

Assuras says it all started on the banks of the Ohio River, where Karle interviewed most of the people in her documentary. After all, that's where they live.

Called "On The River's Edge," the film delves into the concealed camps and hidden lives of the normally reticent-to-talk homeless.

"It's hard," one homeless man says. "I mean, really hard when you get rained on. Everything's cold, wet, soaked, and dirty (and leaves you) looking like a tramp."

From each individual comes a different perspective.

"I'm six months pregnant," one homeless woman says. "I'm trying to get on my feet."

No situation is the same.

A man notes, "It ain't the world's fault, or the government, or nobody around me. It's because that's what I choose to do."

What did Karle want to accomplish with this film?

"I wanted to break stereotypes that all homeless people are alcoholics," she says. "And just show that it can happen to anybody. Like in my film. It showed that even a natural disaster could cause homelessness."Edited on a laptop computer with the help of a friend, the film was completed in seven months. Hard work was rewarded with brisk ticket sales.

Says Karle, "The night of the premiere, there was about 1,100 people, and we sold the tickets for $25."

Theatre space, food and drinks were donated, with proceeds going to organizations like the local Coalition For The Homeless.

"It's just been an unbelievable happening," coalition director Larry Musick says.

He believes Karle's film has accomplished much more than raising money or awareness.

"For those in the film," Musick says, "I think it's given them a great sense of dignity. I think they feel like they've accomplished something, and indeed they have. They've accomplished something for their own cause, and there's dignity in that."

Which may explain why several of the people featured in the documentary have moved away from the riverbank.

Larry Roberts is one of them. For over a year, he's had a place to live. For that, he credits Karle.

"She's been an inspiration to me," Roberts says. "She's been with me every step of the way. She's an angel. She doesn't just help me, she helps a lot of people out here. She brings them clothes. If they need anything, all they got to do is say, 'I need it,' and she gets it.

What does Karle think of being called an angel?

"He's an angel too," she laughs. "He's been a really good friend."

After its premiere, Huntington's historic Keith Albee Theatre continued screening "On The River's Edge" for area high school students, with Karle appearing to answer questions.

She's not about to become a director.

"I'm not a filmmaker or anything like that," she says. "It just kind of came together. And I think it had a purpose. And God had a purpose for it."

Karle is heading to college this fall, hoping to become a doctor.

No matter what, she plans to keep visiting her friends by the river, without the camera, but with her continued compassion.

Her film has garnered an award from Ohio University and a scholarship offer from the Marshall University School of Journalism.

She's probably a shoo-in for the Girls Scout's Gold Award as well.