Film puts focus on the homeless (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford charity Hope Housing films documentary on homelessness

10:30am Monday 31st January 2011 in News

Thomas McIntosh, left, and Adam Clark are putting the spotlight on homelessness

A Bradford charity is filming a documentary about homelessness in the city and hopes to release it as an educational resource.

Members of Hope Housing have been taking video cameras around squats, outbuildings and makeshift shelters.

Project co-ordinator Adam Clark said: “We went to five or six squats last week and saw horrible conditions.

“This project is highlighting Central and Eastern European migrants – a third of the people we work with.”

Poverty and Homelessness Action Week runs until February 6 and the theme is ‘Who Counts?’ While the 2011 census tries to list everyone living in the country, there are many it will not include, such as the ‘hidden homeless’ and destitute migrants in Bradford.

Hope Housing helps people access housing and employment. As part of a year-long pilot, the charity accommodates homeless people in a property on a rota basis and helps them gain employment.

Mr Clark hopes the documentary, to be launched this spring, will be used as an educational tool.

“We want to try and dispel myths about migrants,” he said. “In the film we’re addressing the issue of why people stay here homeless rather than going back. In many cases they’ve struggled to make ends meet back home and can earn more here. If they do manage to get work they can send money back to their families.”

The charity also provides emergency accommodation for adults in volunteers’ homes, in a scheme similar to Bradford Nightstop which provides a spare room for the homeless aged 16 to 25.