Comments for Movin' Out the Bricks

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This piece belongs to the series "Homeplace Series"

Produced by Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister

Other pieces by Long Haul Productions

Summary: A year in the life of Catherine "Coco" Means, as she leaves her long-time home in a Chicago public housing development and moves to her first private-market apartment on the city's South Side. Her move is part of a citywide effort to "transform" the lives of public housing residents -- but, does it really transform Coco? (Winner: 2003 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Excellence in Journalism)
 

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Review of Movin' Out the Bricks

The high rise public housing projects that lined the Dan Ryan Expressway on Chicago's South Side are widely regarded as a mistake. But does tearing down these high rises and dispersing thousands of people to private market apartments automatically improve their lives? That's the question that producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister attempt to answer in this half-hour documentary. Coco is the focus and narrator of this program. She's immediately impressed with her new apartment, which by most standards is humble: "This is like the Bahamas. This is literally like the Bahamas compared to Stateway ... I don't see no thugs hanging out on the corners." However, a few weeks later, she's admits to being bored with her new surroundings because there are "no friends around. It's boring. I miss Stateway." She also misses the beer drinking and pot smoking. Soon, her landlord scolds her for having too many people hanging outside the apartment. "I guess we just need to get out of our ghetto mentality," Coco says. This is an inside look at a person who is trying to turn her life around. It's done without expert interviews and without narration by the producers. It's sad, touching and insightful.

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Review of Movin' Out the Bricks

Coco's story is rather riveting. At first some of the transitions felt slow to me. I started to get really depressed when it seemed like she was going to make a bad life choice and move out of her new home rather than change her lifestyle. But then she turned it around and started to meet the challenges, and I found myself rooting for her. That's the mark of a great piece when you get personally involved in the person's story. Producers Dan Colliison and Elizabeth Meister interweaves this hero's journey with tenderness, car and professionalism. It's the small stories that can often be bigger than the headlines of the day. This is no exception. Stations would do well to check out "Movin' Out the Bricks" as a special with another of the Home Place Series half hours. This is really fine work. I'm still rooting for Coco...