GOOD Magazine: On Skid Row, Part 2 - Kids

Part 2 of the "Skid Row" video series focuses on teenage filmmaker Franklin Arburtha. I met him when he was living at the Ford Hotel on Skid Row. Franklin has assumed the mantle of disenfranchised youth. He saw his neighbor murdered from his balcony. No one tried to stop it. He was devastated. He got his mentor Charles Porter from a nonprofit called United Coalition East Prevention Project to get him a little camera. He mounted a candle light vigil and shot his first documentary called, "We're Not Bad Kids."

That was about 5 years ago. He's 16 now and epitomizes what happens when you're born into trans-generational cyclical poverty. Franklin's got his head on straight and had a lot of help. He's going to do great. He already is. He and his family have moved to South LA. It's a whole different kind of war zone. It's not good and they're facing eviction. They well may end up back on Skid Row. Clearly his challenges are far from over.

For more information about Sam and his "Skid Row" video series, be sure to check out his MySpace profile. Also, read his recent interview with the AWEARNESS Blog, in which he describes the true scope of the homelessness problem on Skid Row.