When Jennilie Brewster first started inquiring about volunteering at the Coler nursing campus on New York City’s Roosevelt Island, she never imagined that her work with the residents would have a national impact.

Brewster – a writer, painter, and film producer – joins the podcast to discuss her work with OPEN DOORS NYC and the Reality Poets, a group of younger men of color, each affected by gun violence, who all found themselves living at Coler. What started as a powerful creative pursuit soon turned into a nationwide movement in the wake of COVID-19, as the Reality Poets filmed their experiences under lockdown in real time.

The resulting film, “Fire Through Dry Grass,” shed a harsh light on the treatment of long-term care residents during the catastrophe, and inspired the Nursing Home Lives Matter movement for change; regular listeners will remember previous episodes with Andres “Jay” Molina and Vincent Pierce, two members of the Reality Poets and vocal activists for nursing home residents of all ages and backgrounds.

Learn more about Brewster’s work: https://www.jenniliebrewster.com/

Watch “Fire Through Dry Grass” for free on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/pov/films/firethroughdrygrass/

Explore the Reality Poets’ work: https://www.opendoorsnyc.org/realitypoets