There is no shortage of problems in this world that don’t get the attention they deserve, and one of them is how to deal with children with serious behavioral and emotional challenges. Lone Wolf Media in South Portland has just finished a documentary on the subject called “The Kids We Lose,” which looks at the struggles faced not just by kids, but also by parents, teachers, administrators, police, and mental health experts.
Director Lisa Wolfinger and producer Mika Lentz have worked on many documentaries before, but this was one different. For one thing, it is not easy to watch footage of kids melting down in classrooms, unable to express their anguish, at times causing such disruption that they are placed in restraints. The temptation may be to look away. As the makers of the film point out, these are “the most expensive kids in our society. Doing nothing costs a fortune. When we don’t help…we all lose.”
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“The Kids We Lose” will debut at the New Hampshire Film Festival on Thursday, October 11. It will be shown at 7:30 at the Music Hall Loft in Portsmouth.