{"id":77147,"date":"2026-05-18T08:38:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=77147"},"modified":"2026-06-10T07:56:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T11:56:38","slug":"billy-weeks-and-utc-communication-students-tell-stories-of-chattanooga-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/billy-weeks-and-utc-communication-students-tell-stories-of-chattanooga-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"Billy Weeks and UTC communication students tell stories of Chattanooga homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A

Rising Rock students Hannah Godel, Clara Paulson, Sydney Banks, Malcolm Key, Delaney Holman, CJ Copeland and Corbin Winters attended the CHATT Foundation gala with Professor Billy Weeks. Photo by Everett Christensen.<\/p><\/div>\n

Storytelling provides a platform to give voice to the voiceless and to educate audiences about issues.<\/p>\n

At the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of Communication, Associate Lecturer Billy Weeks teaches his students to find stories and communicate them through writing, photography, audio and video.<\/p>\n

In January, Weeks worked with CHATT Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to resolve homelessness by providing basic needs and ultimately a path to self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n

He explained that his work with the foundation reflects a theme in his photography.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look back at the work I\u2019ve done throughout my years,\u201d Weeks said, \u201cI think you\u2019ll see that there\u2019s a common theme that runs through all of it\u2014one of respect and help. Anytime I get an opportunity to help the people who are less fortunate, I\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weeks has spent time in Guatemala, Kenya and Uganda, capturing moments amid some of life\u2019s harshest conditions.<\/p>\n

He was asked by Holly Reeve, chief development officer of CHATT Foundation, to help take portraits, create audio and video stories for the organization\u2019s Journey of Hope Charity Gala, which took place on April 23.<\/p>\n

Weeks recruited two of his students, junior Clara Paulson and senior Malcolm Key, to assist him in the process, along with local photographer Mark Gilliland.<\/p>\n

Paulson and Key take Weeks\u2019 Rising Rock course, which focuses on local storytelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just called them,\u201d Weeks said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s kind of how it worked with me, too. They just reached out and said, \u2018We got this thing coming up. We need some photos.\u2019 I\u2019m the one who took it further than that because I never give them what they ask\u2014always give them more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A

A photo from the gala of the day Malcolm Key, Clara Paulson, Mark Gilliland and Billy Weeks worked to collect the stories. Photo by Everett Christensen.<\/p><\/div>\n

Paulson assisted with the lighting for the portraits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was helping with lighting on one of the sides and would move it; however, he was saying,\u201d Paulson said. \u201cMark would do it on the other side. Billy was taking the photos. After that, I would run one of the second video cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key collected the audio.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter they had their portraits taken and they told their story, I was in another room with the director of communications, Holly Reeve,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was conducting longer form interviews where they really got to sit down and start from essentially wherever they wanted to, whether it was square one or just last year. She got them to tell their stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy role was helping her set up the audio, getting everybody mic\u2019d up, listening to the levels, making sure it sounds good and telling people to be quiet outside of the hallway, which was a really common occurrence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paulson and Key recalled that it was an emotional day listening to participants\u2019 stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis really happened to somebody,\u201d Key said. \u201cThey went through this and it was just as traumatic as it sounds, even more so because they were the ones experiencing it. It was like, man, how fast things can go wrong and just how fast things can change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paulson explained that while the work may be difficult to hear, it will help shed light on a difficult subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe power of storytelling is so interesting because you can go a long time without thinking about someone\u2019s story,\u201d Paulson said. \u201cThen you hear all these people\u2019s stories, and once you leave, you\u2019re like, \u2018Man, they\u2019re out there in the cold and you\u2019re thinking about all these people more.\u2019 It was great that we got to highlight them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of stigma around homeless people. People will be like, \u2018Don\u2019t go down that street, watch out.\u2019 Being able to be in the room with them and hear their stories\u2014they\u2019re just people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both students appreciated the opportunity to learn from Weeks and to tell an important story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super grateful to have somebody around like him and learn from somebody like him who is the embodiment of somebody who\u2019s good at their job and somebody who lives for their job,\u201d Key said.<\/p>\n

Paulson credits Weeks\u2019 courses for changing the way she views photography.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t expect to be in Billy\u2019s classes until the end of college,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s been such a good experience. I did enjoy photography before college, but I never really focused on the story of photography. I was just getting pictures of things I thought were pretty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I came to college, and now I can\u2019t drive down the street and see a protest without going, \u2018Oh, I got to go get photos.\u2019 But now there\u2019s a lot more emphasis on the moments within the photos.\u201d<\/p>\n

With their audio stories, portraits and video collected, they delivered an important message to the audience at the gala.<\/p>\n

\u201cTelling these people\u2019s stories at the end of the day is really important and so overlooked,\u201d Weeks said.<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

UTC Department of Communication<\/a><\/p>\n

Rising Rock<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of Communication, Associate Lecturer Billy Weeks teaches his students to find stories and communicate them through writing, photography, audio and video. In January, Weeks worked with CHATT Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to resolve homelessness by providing basic needs and ultimately a path to self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n

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