Television Reviews : Homelessness From the Child’s Point of View

Judging from the current spate of special programming, the latest hot issue to touch television’s electronic heart is homelessness. Now, CBS explores the problem from a child’s point of view in “Home Sweet Homeless,” a “Schoolbreak Special” airing today at 3 p.m. on Channels 2 and 8.

The statistics are painful: It is estimated that the homeless are increasing by 25% a year. An estimated 500,000-700,000 of those are children. Yet a barrage of cheap shots in Kathryn Montgomery’s teleplay, directed by Kevin Hooks, comes close to trivializing the tragedy.

Linda Kelsey is Susan, a single parent of three boys, the oldest a sensitive and artistic teen-ager named Jeff (Ross Harris). Susan gets sick and loses her job, but doesn’t tell her kids because she doesn’t want them to worry. When the eviction notice arrives, they worry plenty.

Pretty soon, they’re sleeping in their car at night, looking for bathrooms and taking the family dog to an animal shelter. Susan’s too proud to see a doctor she can’t pay, so she coughs a lot. There’s an aunt in North Dakota who could take them in, but Susan drops the suggestion when Jeff objects because all his friends are here. Wouldn’t you?

Despite her brave, tousled, no-make-up look, Kelsey rarely rises above a “Donna Reed Show” sensibility. What saves this mawkish hour is Harris, who hits home with his vulnerable, dark-browed face, reflecting an agony of humiliation, anger and fear.