The New York Times Op-Docs • July 24, 2021 • Op-Docs
The number of people currently experiencing homelessness in the United States is unknown. For Elizabeth Herrara, David Lima and their four children, homelessness meant moving between unsafe apartments, motels, relatives’ couches, shelters, the streets and their car. With rapidly rising living costs, job insecurity and the challenges of building good credit, the Herrara-Lima family was stuck in a cycle of housing instability in California’s Bay Area.
Their family isn’t unlike many American families — the kids go to school, the parents work — but the obstacles they face are often invisible. With director Erika Cohn, Herrara filmed the Op-Doc “What You’ll Remember,” intimately capturing her family’s journey as they move into their first stable housing in 15 years. Herrera and Lima always believed that together they could create a home for their family — with or without a house.
“I’m incredibly thankful to be able to share our journey and to help shed a little light on a growing issue that has managed to stay out of society’s sight and mind,” says Herrera. “I have great hopes viewers will walk away with a different understanding of what homelessness can look like.”