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-We wanted to make a film about homelessness in Belfast--
- --and the conditions that people live in.
-We wanted to find out the truth behind the stereotype
of homelessness.
-I think it's really sad, in this day and age, when people
are so well off financially, that we have to have
people lying in cold alleyways.
-There are so many in Belfast, that you're just kind of like,
I don't know-- you can't exactly give to them all--
-You can't give money to all of them, and some of them,
you feel, kind of, don't use the money appropriately, I guess.
-They should be taken off the streets.
I've been homeless myself.
-Most of them are homeless for--
- --a reason.
- --a reason like drugs.
-I think I've got a raw deal at the moment due to the cutbacks
and government, where they've actually sliced most
of the housing benefit by 40%.
-After we spoke to Jerry, he told us
that he was currently living in a hostel.
We were all shocked to hear this,
because he didn't match the stereotype of homeless people.
-He agreed to tell us more of his story.
-A stereotype of a person living in a hostel would be:
you're on drugs, you're an alcoholic.
You're, you know, one of these guys that drinks or takes
drugs, walks the streets.
But it's not so.
I had been renting properly off a landlord.
And the landlord was making bad deals behind my back,
and I actually lost the flat.
And for myself, I lost it.
It's OK, but there's nothing like your own key--
-Yeah.
- --to the door.
I also had a brother, Daniel.
Four years ago, he was homeless, after his marriage fell up
in London.
And he came back to Belfast, and he was homeless,
walking the streets.
And he fell asleep one night on Queen Street in a shop doorway.
And around half 2 in the morning,
there was people who came past and poured
lighter fuel over his legs, and went and set him on fire.
-We decided to interview a manager of the hostel
to find out more about the situation of homelessness
in Belfast.
-A year ago, 25% of the people staying in this building
were under the age of 25.
Homelessness is not perceived as being for young people.
It's perceived as being a man with a beard and a ratty
coat and smelly coat.
That is not what homelessness has evolved to.
Homelessness is now young people that cannot afford homes.
It's people that have had breakups in marriages.
So we are not as bad as the rest of the UK at the moment,
but homelessness is always growing.
And until benefits gets sorted out, changes get sorted out,
and social family networks are built up stronger,
homelessness will be an ongoing problem.
-When I was young, I thought I'd never be homeless myself.
But homelessness can strike at anyone, anybody, any race,
any creed.
It hits anybody.
-I was shocked to hear Jerry's story,
because he doesn't match the stereotypes
of a homeless person.
-Not everyone that sits outside is homeless.
-I was surprised that three out of the five people we
interviewed were homeless.
-I realised not to judge people for what they look like.
-There are people out there who are homeless,
and a bit of respect for the people
that's really walking the streets, because it
could be yourself someday.
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