Emilio Estevez Gives Aurora Shelter Residents Sneak Peek At Film

AURORA, IL — Residents at Aurora's Hesed House and Mayor Richard Irvin welcomed actor Emilio Estevez Monday for a special showing of his upcoming film, "The Public." The movie deals with such issues as homelessness and mental illness, issues that directly affect Hesed House residents.

Residents of Hesed House got to meet Estevez at a sneak peek of "The Public" before its Monday night premiere at Cinemark Tinseltown movie theater. In the movie, Cincinnati is hit by a cold blast that forces the local library to become a de facto homeless shelter for its "homeless, mentally ill and marginalized" patrons, City of Aurora wrote in a Facebook post.

Hesed House has been serving the residents of Aurora for more than 30 years, offering meals and shelter to the area's homeless. Billed as the second-largest homeless shelter in Illinois, Hesed House is run by a staff of more than 7,000 volunteers from nearly 100 churches throughout Aurora and its surrounding communities.

In 2018 alone, Hesed House officials say the organization helped 291 people find permanent housing and served more than 240,000 warm meals.

Estevez's movie, "The Public," is set to open nationwide on April 5.