SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME
Twin City Mission Celebrates Movie Adaptation
By HANNAH GERKEN
RON HALL AND DENVER MOORE
A
uthor Ron Hall’s “Same Kind of
Different As Me,” tells about his
encounter with homelessness. It is the
story of Hall, an international art dealer,
and Denver, an uneducated sharecropper
from Louisiana. It describes how their
paths crossed and how they were able
to become the best of friends. This book
has helped build a bridge of acceptance
and awareness about homelessness,
including in Bryan College Station.
In October, Twin City Mission will
join with Hall to celebrate the movie
adaptation of his book. The first of
two events is a Tuesday, Oct. 3, dinner
at 6 p.m. featuring Hall and speaker
Ryan Swope. Hall will talk about his
relationship with Denver, the making of
the movie adaptation, and the difference
between his first visit to B/CS and what
he sees today.
The second event will be a special red
carpet sneak preview of the movie “Same
Kind of Different As Me” on Wednesday,
Oct. 18, at the Cinemark in College Station
and is open to those who attend the
dinner. Along with the movie, viewers
also get to see soundtrack interviews of
Renée Zellweger and Greg Kinnear, two
of the stars of the film, as they discuss
54
INSITE September 2017
the impact of the making of the movie.
The movie will be released nationally on
Friday, Oct. 20.
With the release of the movie and its
viewing in B/CS, Twin City Mission hopes
to create a buzz across the Brazos Valley
with a message of acceptance for those
who are in a tough part of their lives.
“This is huge for us because we
spend a lot of time trying to educate the
community that [Twin City Mission] is
more than a homeless shelter,” says Ron
Crozier, director of community relations
for Twin City Mission. “This movie is
a huge avenue for expanding public
awareness. These issues are not unique
to large metro areas. They exist here in
our community.”
The influence of Hall in B/CS began
eight years ago. In March 2009, Twin
City Mission was in the midst of a
capital campaign that resulted in the
building of the new homeless shelter.
While visiting on behalf of his book,
Hall walked into the old facilities and
made an observation that has resonated
through the years and sparked change
in B/CS; Hall said that after seeing more
than 200 homeless shelters across the
country, the shelter in B/CS was by far
the worst he had seen. He chastised
the community for allowing this,
challenging them to make a change. Five
short months later, the new shelter was
complete and a new era of awareness
and service started at Twin City Mission.
Twin City Mission seeks to be a
shelter for anyone in need of help. Hall
challenged the community to service not
only the physical needs of the patrons,
but also the emotional and mental needs.
When asked how Twin City Mission
carries out this goal, Crozier offers a
simple answer.
“We treat every person that comes to
us with dignity and respect,” says Crozier.
“As a society we tend to look at those
people who are in need of services as
being less than. Ron challenges us to look
beyond that. The best quote that came out
of that book was, ‘We can’t begin to see
people for who we are until we can get
past looking at them for where they are.’”
To purchase tickets for the dinner,
visit twincitymission.org or call (979)
822-7511. Donations can be made in the
form of sponsorships, individual tickets,
or monetary donations in any desired
amount. All sponsorships include tickets
to the screening of the movie. i