Harrowing look into lives of the homeless

Jun 25 2002 By Helen Harper ,Caernarfon And Denbigh Herald

TWO programmes highlighting the links between heroin use and homelessness in Caernarfon, Menai Bridge and Bangor will be featured at the end of S4C's Shelter Cymru Appeal Week.

Twins Angharad and Sara Penrhyn Jones produced the twopartprogramme for Ffilmiau'r Nant, focusing on the links between heroin use and homelessness in their area.

The producers were keen to highlight that, contrary to belief, people with such problems are not all outsiders, but Welsh-speaking locals.

Angharad explained: "I went up to people begging in Bangor and they were all local to the area and I got to know them.

"Once you get to know one, you get access to the whole community. There is a whole underworld in Caernarfon; a whole community of young people who use heroin and who break the law to fund their habit.

"They end up crashing out on a friend's floor or outside. We realised that being homeless is not about living in a cardboard box and being visible to people. They have no stability in their lives, no emotional or financial stability, no possessions and are in and out of jail.

"The resources are totally inadequate, the soup kitchen in the area closed, there is nowhere for them to have a shower or brush their teeth. There is the Gisda hostel for 16-to-25-year-olds, but the over-25s have fallen through the net completely. The nearest hostel is in Bangor, where there are six beds."

The production took seven months to shoot and during filming, one of the people they had interviewed, Graham Beales, died from alcoholism and another was sent to jail for six months.

Filming proved to be a real challenge for the women on a technical and emotional level.

Angharad continued: "It was great working with my sister because we could offer each other emotional support, because it was a shock to find out how bad it was.

"There is a whole community of people and I was shocked by the extent of it. It has been incredibly eye-opening and harrowing. We just allowed them to tell their story.

"It's not a current affairs type programme, we were just filming them, showing that they are human. The aim was to shatter a few of the myths. This is not just an urban matter, it's happening on our doorsteps."

After filming was completed, the team spoke to young people in schools to make them aware about the dangers of drugs, and about how bad the situation really is.

"The war against drugs by the Government is just not working. People on the street say there is an explosion in terms of heroin problems. So few people end up going to detox, so few people stay clean. It is a whole way of life.

"Young people are very ignorant about drugs. They may seem very worldly, but they are not," she said.

One question which Angharad found asking herself was, will history repeat itself?

Angharad explained: "We met heroin addicts who had their children taken away. They are the next generation being brought up by Social Services or grandparents. What will become of these children who have had disruption in their life? I can't help expecting that historywillrepeat itself and will only get worse."

The first part, Ar y Stryd: Caernarfon, will be broadcast on Saturday at 9pm on S4C.

The second part, Ar y Stryd: Mynd i Sgorio can be seen on Sunday at 9.15pm.