ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE!

DESCRIPTION:

We're in the final stretch of production on a documentary chronicling the individual battles and personal victories of pregnant women experiencing homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area — women who, without a home, want to raise their children in a safe and healthy environment. We're seeking funding to complete the film, and we can't do it without your help.

YOUR MONEY AT WORK:

BraveMaker is our fiscal sponsor. As a registered 501(c)(3) organization, this means all donations are tax-deductible.

Our feature documentary has been years in the making. Filming is complete, and we're now in post-production — the final stretch before it can reach audiences. Your support will help us cover music, color grading, title design, and film insurance.

WHY THIS MATTERS:

Pregnant women are among the most invisible members of the unhoused population in the San Francisco Bay Area — a painful contrast in a region overflowing with wealth from the tech industry.

According to San Francisco's Department of Public Health, 239 individuals known to DPH were both homeless and pregnant at some point during the 2019–20 fiscal year. These women live in cars, RVs, hotels, and encampments — largely out of sight.

Finishing this film means putting faces, histories, and lived experience behind those numbers — spotlighting a crisis that too often goes unseen, and helping change the odds for mothers and children at risk.

A UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative study found that housing instability during pregnancy increases the odds of preterm birth by 20 percent. The average hospitalization cost for one premature infant is $55,393 — far more than the cost of stable housing would have been.

WHO ARE WE?

LAURA FERRO - Producer and Director.

Years ago, I saw a news story about an unhoused woman giving birth at a bus stop in the San Francisco Bay Area. I was pregnant myself around that time. My own birth story looked nothing like hers — I had prenatal care, a stable home, and support waiting for me. She had none of that.

I couldn't look away from that gap. I still can't. That moment stayed with me, and became the idea for this film. Over time, one step led to the next: talking with service providers, learning the realities of the Bay Area streets, and visiting encampments to understand what was really happening — slowly building this project into what it is today.

For 10 years, I've owned and run a small production company in Silicon Valley, leading multi-crew productions and producing video projects from concept through completion — tech and creative alike. Documentary has always been my passion work, and it's sharpened my commitment to ethical storytelling and human impact.

SHAWN SHEARIN - Associate Producer.

In 2007, Shawn was pregnant and living without a home. Today, she's both a voice in this film — sharing her own story on camera — and someone who's been by my side throughout all these years, supporting this project every step of the way.

Since 2013, Shawn has worked directly with the homeless community, doing outreach to women through Street Life Ministries, a nonprofit providing services and support. Her work includes visiting encampments and building trusting relationships with the women there.

Shawn's knowledge of the Bay Area streets has been essential to this project — she's scheduled interviews, scouted locations, and made introductions that would have been impossible otherwise. She holds a BA in Psychology from Azusa Pacific University.

If this story moves you, please consider giving what you can. Every contribution brings us closer to finishing this film.

For more information, visit pregnantonthestreets.com