Community Conversations: “The Cost of Living” Screening and Discussion

As part of our commitment to fostering community-based conversations and advocacy, SACSS joined with CPC (Chinese-American Planning Council) to host two screenings of The Cost of Living, a powerful documentary by Undo Poverty Flushing. These screenings were held at Flushing Town Hall on June 13 and June 23, 2025, in Urdu and Hindi, respectively.

The Cost of Living depicted the lives of three individuals and families who live in the greater Flushing, Queens area as they navigated economic hardships, and ever-increasing rent, food, and living expenses in their once affordable neighborhood.

Following the screenings, our attendees engaged in heartfelt discussions – taking a closer look at the problems depicted in the documentary and how they were reflected in their own lives. The multilingual conversations spanned everywhere from increasing rent costs to government assistance, to employment gaps, highlighting the vast range of issues faced by underrepresented and underserved groups in Flushing, Queens, and the lack of policies to address them.

“There are a lot of struggles and difficulties that have come with living in Queens,” one attendee remarked, “but seeing the passion for living the people on screen had, despite it all, was very hopeful for me”.

We are grateful to Undo Poverty Flushing and CPC for helping bring these vital stories to light, and thankful for all of our attendees. As always, SACSS remains deeply committed to amplifying community voices and advancing economic justice through collective action, culturally rooted programming, and compassionate support.