Without Sue Roy, I'd probably be dead right now!

After being in the Sault just a month, Tracy Mack found herself in jail.

Again.

In a new documentary film, Stepping Forward, Mack talks about running away from home when she was 15 and being placed in a mental institution because of it.

"No one ever even asked me why I was running away," she says. "I was just another problem. A number. A nobody."

When released from a correctional facility several years ago, Mack thought about leaving town.

She realized she couldn't.

But she didn't want to let down the only case worker she felt had ever cared about her.

That case worker was Sue Roy from the John Howard Society.

"I couldn't call her right away," Mack said. "But when I did work up the courage, the first thing she said to me was: 'Are you okay?' And she said it because she really cared about me."

Tracy is now a very successful student at Algoma University, and one of the speakers on a panel at the premiere of the documentary.

She says she couldn't have succeeded but for the help she got from Roy.

"Without her," Mack says, "I'd probably be dead right now."

Mack is one of 11 people whose stories are told in the documentary Stepping Forward.

Seen here at the premiere last Friday are Dree Pauzé, the Sault's community coordinator for social services, with four people whose stories are told in Stepping Forward.

Theresa Artuso-Guild is now the coordinator for Meals on Wheels.

Matt Taylor and John Farrell were both residents at Pauline's Place who have stayed close friends as they found their own places to live and lives to lead.

The film follows the very diverse life stories of 11 people who were nearly defeated by the challenges they faced.

They came from diverse backgrounds.

Artuso-Guild is a mother of three teenaged children who overcame her challenges to become the co-ordinator of Meals on Wheels in the Sault.

The stories share a common theme of facing challenges that seemed insurmountable, experiencing a life-altering experience or a sudden urge to change their lives, and finding ways to do that through agencies and services available in the Sault.

Some of the individuals profiled are successful students. Others have found satisfying employment that has led them to become respected and valued members of their community.

Some are basking in their role as parents.

The film was produced by Sault Ste. Marie Alliance to End Homelessness.

All funds raised from sales of the film will be used to educate people about the issues facing people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless in Sault Ste. Marie.

After the success of an earlier documentary, Invisible People, the Sault Ste. Marie Alliance to End Homelessness went looking for a follow-up project, said Pauzé.

Alliance members knew many good stories of people who had accessed social services in Sault Ste. Marie and really moved on with their lives.

"We wanted to show that for three specific reasons," Pauzé said. "Number one: for those that are in that situation, don't give up hope. Secondly; for the front-line staff, keep doing what you're doing because you never know if the acts of kindness you're doing are going to make a difference today, tomorrow or next week. Eventually it does make a difference. And thirdly, for the funders, and we all know there isn't enough of them, keep funding those programs because they are making a difference in people's lives."

Pauzé also said, as an underlying goal, the group wanted to show the community at large that the face of homelessness is not always who you think.

The first part of the film shows where people were in their darkest times, she said.

"It's a sort of snapshot of their lives," Pauzé said. "Then the middle part is that part that talks about when did the light come on, when was that significant event or turning point when they realized they wanted to make a change and then the last part is about who they are and where they are now."

Artuso-Guild told panel members that she wasn't sure she wanted to be in the film when first approached.

But her children thought it was a good idea.

"They said I always wanted to give back to my community and well, here it is, your way to give back," she said.

Pre-orders for the film are being taken now and it will be distributed at a cost of $20 when it is reproduced, Pauzé said.

Anyone who wants a copy can call her at 759-5420 or e-mail her at [email protected]

Screenings are also being arranged for Sault College, area high schools and social agencies.