Cue:

Homeless at Christmas

16/12/16 Ellie Rankin

For most of us Christmas is happy time of year spent surrounded by friends and family. However an increasing number of people are finding themselves without a home and therefore are forced to spend it on the streets. Ellie Rankin discusses the implications of being homeless and what can be done to help those in need this Christmas.

IN: ‘According to the charity Streets of London…’

[CLIP]

OUT: ‘…it’s a very straight forward thing to do’

DUR: 6’30

Additional Paragraphs:

Increased attention around homelessness reoccurs each year around Christmas. As well as this, a recent news report announced the death of an unknown homeless man who was found frozen in Birmingham city center earlier this month, this adds further topicality to the subject. When looking through ‘Meetup’ I found an event to be hosted in Southwark by an organisation called ‘See Fashion’ which aimed to raise money for a homeless charity through inviting people to come a knit a scarf. I thought that was an interesting and unique way to get involved with charity and would also act as a good example of community spirit and people coming together to actively make a difference, however small it may be. Whilst at the event I was able to interview the event organiser, a representative of the charity ‘Knit for Peace’ and an enthusiastic attendee.

Following this, I wanted to speak to a representative of a homeless charity in the hope that they would be able to highlight the issue that is homelessness and add perspective as to why fundraising is important. I was able to get in contact with the Charity Manager of ‘Firm Foundation’ which is based in South Harrow, so met with him for an interview. I had ideally hoped to also interview a former or current homeless person, which I tried to arrange through the charity. However this proved unsuccessful which is a shame as I feel the addition of a personal story would have been emotive.

Digital Story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYp3U7EZb1s&t=1s