Several Santa Clarita agencies are coming together for It Only Takes a Moment™, an eye-opening event centered around the free showing of Listen, a feature film that confronts the mental health crisis thousands of youth are facing today.

This event will be hosted at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. Doors Open at 6 pm with the film starting at 6:30 pm. Following the film will be a courageous conversation featuring the film’s writer/director, producer, and actors highlighting issues like cyber-bullying, racism, gang violence, abuse, isolation, and suicide. A sponsor informational fair will be held onsite between 5 pm and 6 pm that evening.

Listen tells the story of nearly every high school in this country where students hide their pain, friends ignore each other’s cries for help, and adults are too overwhelmed to stop and listen. Created in response to the silent epidemic among our youth, Listen is a wakeup call to the growing mental health and communication problems that are sweeping our nation.

“I’ve spent the last sixteen years of my life working to give youth an authentic voice and now I hope others will listen to what I have heard,” said the film’s award-winning writer/director Erahm Christopher. “We need to look beyond social, economical and ethnic differences and recognize how often we all feel disconnected and alone.”

Producer Brooke Dooley adds, “Our goal for this film is to spark empathy, self-reflection and conversation in an authentic, relevant way; to be mindful and alert of what others are going through and reach out with genuine concern. We have to re-shift our focus and start learning to listen or else we will continue to suffer through preventable tragedies.”

Through the generous support of the William S. Hart Union High School District, City of Santa Clarita, The Child and Family Center, Los Angeles Sheriff Department, ACTION Family Counseling, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, KHTS, WiSH Foundation, College of the Canyons, Domestic Violence Center, Los Angeles County Fire Department, SCV Youth Project and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, this event is 100% free to attend. Teens and adults are invited to join this special event to share their experiences, receive free resources, become better listeners and unite their community. Seating is limited so please RSVP as soon as possible at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/listen-it-only-takes-a-moment-special-event-tickets-31600955308.

Listen has been test screened to over 15,000 people and the most common response from youth is, “This movie makes me feel like I’m not alone,” and “This is the movie for our generation.” One psychologist even stated, “If you see this movie it will change your life. If you tell everyone you know to see it, it will change the world.”

Christopher and Dooley have decided to forgo the traditional film festival route and release the film across the US and Canada at high schools, universities, health organizations and community centers during the 2016-2017 school year, completely free of charge in order to remove all barriers to the important mental health conversation. They are accepting tax deductible donations on their website – www.listenthemovie.com — to support their free screenings. Event dates are constantly updated on their website. They are also encouraging people to sign their change.org petition to reduce the student counselor-to-student ratio across the United States.