Why We’re Here is a new short documentary that follows the journey of Milwaukee Diaper Mission from its humble 2020 launch to its present success in the community. The film, directed by award-winning Milwaukee director Adam Ryan Morris, will screen exclusively on April 25 at Turner Hall Ballroom.
The Milwaukee Diaper Mission is a nonprofit organization aiming to empower underprivileged families by providing a reliable source of free diapers and period supplies. Meagan Johnson, MDM founder and executive director, was a 2023 Milwaukee Magazine Betty Award recipient.
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Unlike many of the nation’s larger cities, Milwaukee lacked a diaper bank until Johnson decided to drive the change. “I wanted to volunteer my time to give back and help eradicate this issue of diaper need, and I looked up — I tried to look up ‘Milwaukee diaper bank’ to see if I could volunteer there, and that resource didn’t exist at all in our community, so then I set out on the journey to launch the organization,” she said.
To date, the nonprofit has distributed 1.8 million diapers and over 600,000 period products to the community.
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“This documentary is extremely special to me in a couple of different ways,” said Johnson. “It really beautifully tells our founding story, and, not only that, it focuses on some of our partners that we do this work alongside. Being able to kind of look back at our history, even though it’s only been three and a half years, from where we started in my garage to where we are today and everything that happened in between has been such an incredible journey that I’ve been really blessed to be a part of. I’m grateful to Adam Ryan Morris, the director of the film, who very generously gave his time and talents to make this film possible, along with the crew that he brought on board.”
After stumbling upon an article in The Washington Post in 2015, Morris was struck by the story of a 19-year-old single father who could only afford to buy one diaper at a time to use each day on his child. He carried that story with him throughout his early years of fatherhood, and in 2020, an opportunity to alleviate the issue lived next door to Morris’ Bay View studio.
“A sign went up outside of a door: “Milwaukee Diaper Mission,” said Morris. “I said, ‘What’s this? What is this?’ It was pandemic time, so no one was really in the hallway, no one was really talking to each other. People were in intermittently, but as restrictions started to loosen up, I walked past this door daily. Sometimes it was open, and I saw shelves, and this place was filled with diapers. It kind of slowly dawned on me, day after day of walking past, the memory of the story came up. I was just thinking, ‘Man, maybe that’s a sign. That story has always stuck with me, and now here’s this organization trying to do something about diaper need. Maybe there’s something I can do that’s not just volunteering, that’s making something and using my skill sets to do good.’”
After sitting on the idea for a few years, Morris connected with Johnson in December 2022. The two had different ideas of what the film should look like, but Morris brought Johnson’s vision to life by highlighting the organization’s mission and growth with a broad-scope interview, archival photos and B-roll of the warehouse at its most buzzing times.
“I hope that this film helps people realize that there’s something wonderful happening in the City of Milwaukee,” said Morris.
The April 25 screening event will feature a panel discussion with MDM staff and partners, appetizers from Beans and Barley and music from DJ4000.
