While wheeling 150 miles across Indiana’s accessible trails in the documentary The Tenderness Tour — now playing at the Heartland Film Festival — Hoosier activist Richard Propes says, “I get closer to who I really am when I’m on the road. My disability feels less relevant. Living in a world where disability can be so often seen as a negative, seen as a burden, seen as a tragedy … when I’m on the road, it’s just part of who I am.”
Propes’s embrace of his disability and dedication to helping others in any way he can is the heart of the film. It’s also a call to action for all viewers, regardless of their station in life.
A double amputee with spina bifida, Propes has been wheeling across the state in support of various causes since 1989, from child abuse to domestic violence. The Tenderness Tour, which had its world premiere at Heartland on October 11, follows Propes’s 2024 effort to raise enough money to eliminate $155 million in Hoosier medical debt. (Outside of show business and the world of grassroots activism, Propes serves as the Director of Provider Services for the Bureau of Disabilities Services.)
The Tenderness Tour has one more screening at the Indy Art Center on Saturday, October 18 at 2:45 p.m. It is also available to stream online now through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19 (all times Eastern). All net proceeds from the film will be donated to Undue Medical Debt to help further alleviate medical debt in the state of Indiana and beyond.
Propes and his team have now erased over $1 million in Hoosier medical debt.
For more information about The Tenderness Tour and Propes, please visit this page for a list of related links.