*IN OUR BACKYARD: A Community Conversation and Art Project About Homelessness* August 2, 2018 Contact: Tanya Tran, Outreach and Communications Specialist for Roni Chelben, City of Tacoma Artist-in-Residence | tanyathtran@gmail.com www.cityoftacoma.org/inourbackyard www.facebook.com/TacomaArtsCommission/ ——————————————————— *In Our Backyard* <http://www.cityoftacoma.org/inourbackyard> is at once a theater performance, a video art installation, and a community conversation. It is a collaboration with people experiencing homelessness, and about homelessness. It is a series of events that will be made most meaningful with your participation. There are four events left in the series—which will you attend? *August 4 – 7 – 12 – 16* <http://www.cityoftacoma.org/inourbackyard> *FOUR more events before the project concludes on August 16:* [image: www.facebook.com/events/224013104924657/] <http://www.facebook.com/events/224013104924657/> *Learn more at cityoftacoma.org/inourbackyard <http://cityoftacoma.org/inourbackyard> | RSVP on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/events/224013104924657/> | Watch the introduction video on Vimeo <https://vimeo.com/279381204>* *In Our Backyard* is a series of traveling community events that brings people together for a conversation about homelessness, its causes, challenges, and possible approaches.The project brings the experience of homelessness to the forefront, with the goal of sparking conversation and public awareness around the challenges of homelessness and the social responsibility of the community at large towards its homeless residents. The project is funded by the City of Tacoma’s Neighborhood and Community Services Department, in partnership with the Office of Arts and Cultural Vitality. Learn more at cityoftacoma.org/inourbackyard and follow using the hashtag #InOurBackyardTacoma. Please join us at one of the four remaining events and engage with your 253 community about homelessness. Sincerely, Roni Chelben City of Tacoma Artist-in-Residence