Remembering D-Day

To mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, Rhode Island PBS presents stories from local veterans, filmed by award-winning filmmakers Tim Gray and Jim Karpeichik:

Thursday, June 5 at 8 pm - Day of Days June 6, 1944 

Thursday, June 5 at 9 pm - Navy Heroes of Normandy 

Thursday, June 5 at 10 pm - D-Day the Price of Freedom

 

Visit our Web site for encore dates and times. Visit the World War II Foundation for more information about the history film projects, and about the most recent Emmy awards. 

Take a Field Trip with Rhode Island Classroom #4

On Thursday, June 26 at 8 p.m., Rhode Island PBS presents the fourth episode of its quarterly series, Rhode Island Classroom.

Produced and hosted by Margie O'Brien, Rhode Island Classroom explores the programs, people, and policies that are helping your children receive a better education. 

And, if there's one thing we've learned in our 46 years of experience in education, it's that effective learning is not confined to a traditional classroom, as this episode clearly demonstrates.

For example, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, Rhode Island Classroom takes a field trip to Battleship Cove and the USS Massachusetts, as students learn about D-Day and World War II on the anniversary date. Among several notable accomplishments, USS Massachusetts is reputed to have fired the last 16 in (410 mm) shell fired in combat in World War II.

The RI Department of Health recently announced there have been more than 90 overdose deaths in the first quarter of 2014 alone. In another timely segment, Rhode Island Classroom visits Chariho High School, where former NBA player and heroin addict Chris Herren talks to students about the dangers of drugs and bad decisions.

Then, it's the end of an era at The San Miguel School of Providence: founder and Executive Director Brother Lawrence Goyette, FSC, is stepping down after 20 years. The San Miguel School of Providence is an independent middle school for urban youth from the Greater Providence area. It serves boys from all cultures and faiths in grades five through eight. 

Finally, meet the winning authors in the first Rhode Island PBS Kids Health Living Writers Contest. (Prepare for cuteness!)  More about the winning stories here and here.

Restoring Smith Hill: A Tale of Dreams and Muscle

On Sunday, May 4 at 6 p.m., Rhode Island PBS presents Restoring Smith Hill as part of Rhode Island Stories. 

Restoring Smith Hill showcases the extraordinary success of the work by the Smith Hill Community Development Corporation(CDC). The Smith Hill CDC has taken foreclosed houses in the area and turned the blight into safe, affordable housing.

Before

Filmmaker J. Henry Smith packs a lot of information and emotion into his 20 minutes behind the camera.Currently a graduate student at Providence College, Smith decided to document the practical and touching stories about Smith Hill CDC after witnessing transformation firsthand: Smith's father Francis Smith is the executive director of the Smith Hill CDC.

After

Restoring Smith Hill reveals a key element that sets these projects apart: the old homes are not demolished; they are restored, which preserves the historic and architectural character of the neighborhood. The neighborhood may have been established a hundred years ago, but the demographics have changed significantly. To cultivate feelings of belonging and ownership among residents, the film shows young residents recruited to care for things like tree pits and litter, eliciting appreciation from other residents, and fostering greater engagement and a sense of community. The film also shares intimate profiles of some of the newer residents who have moved into the restored living spaces - these profiles are among the most moving moments of the film.

Restoring Smith Hill makes a good case for partnership between the private and public sectors, resulting in optimal outcomes of the investment in neighborhoods and in people.

Providence College Annex

As the film airs on Rhode Island PBS, Smith will screen his film at a reception at the Providence College Annex on Douglas Avenue, another example of reclamation and revitalization in the Smith Hill neighborhood.

After the May 4 debut at 6 p.m., Restoring Smith Hill will encore on WSBE Rhode Island PBS: 
May 6 at 4 a.m.
May 10 at 11 p.m.

Restoring Smith Hill will air on WSBE Learn:
May 6 at 8 p.m.
May 7 at 3 a.m.
May 8 at midnight

Before

After

After

WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) programming over the air on digital 36.1; on Rhode Island cable services: Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, Full Channel 08; on Massachusetts cable services: Comcast 819HD, Verizon 18 / 518HD; on satellite: DirecTV 36 / 3128HD, Dish Network 36.

WSBE Learn transmits over the air on digital 36.2; on cable: Cox 808, Verizon 478, Full Channel 89, Comcast 294 or 312.

Coming Home Encore

The September 11th attacks on America in 2001 left a shared scar on the American psyche.

Even so, there are Americans, New Englanders, Rhode Islanders, whose scars are not shared by most Americans. Those experiences are only shared among the small group of American soldiers who have served in the "war on terror" in the decade that followed September 11.

In those ten years, 43 New Englanders lost their lives. Thousands of veterans have returned, forever changed. Coming Home is about four of them. WSBE is proud to encore Coming Home, a documentary by The Providence Journal, on Memorial Day weekend Sunday, May 25 at 6 p.m. on Rhode Island PBS (digital 36.1, Cox 08/1008HD, Verizon 08/508HD, FullChannel 08, Comcast 819HD, DirecTV 36, Dish Network 7776).

Coming Home
In October and November of 2011, The Providence Journal published an extraordinary series titled, "War on Terror: Coming Home." The eight-part series byJournal staff writer G. Wayne Miller chronicled the stories of several soldiers who served and the after-effects of war.

The stories upon which the newspaper series was based were woven into a compelling 50-minute documentary, Coming Home. Produced by Journal photographer John Freidah, Journal video editor Cecilia Préstamo, and Miller, narrated by Journal columnist Bob Kerr, and funded by The Providence Journal, the film also includes archival photos and video taken by the soldiers themselves.

In Coming Home, Army veteran Derek Pelletier and National Guard veterans John DiRaimo, Brian Santos, and Sean Judge share their combat experiences, and their lives back in the civilian world. Fall River resident Pelletier, twice honored with the Bronze Star, continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, as do Johnston native DiRaimo and Narragansett native Judge. Santos, who served with Judge, has followed a different path, becoming a New Jersey state trooper and marrying. Their interwoven stories illustrate the human toll of a war fought by a tiny fraction of Americans serving in an all-volunteer military.

To view the film anytime, and to read the original series of stories by G. Wayne Miller published in The Providence Journal, visit providencejournal.com/cominghome.

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Veteran and Family Assistance

VA Crisis Hotline 

1-800-273-TALK (8255) Press “1

The Providence VA Medical Center’s OEF/OIF/OND Clinic 

401-273-7100, x 6401 or
401-273-7100, x 6137

Rhode Island Army and Air National Guard Family Assistance Center 

401-275-4194 or
877-440-7994 

Rhode Island National Guard Family Assistance Center online

The Rhode Island Veterans Affairs 

401-254-8495

Rhode Island Veterans Affairs online