Headhunting The Homeless

Headhunting The Homeless ^[1] is a British documentary series for the BBC by John Walsh of Walsh Bros Ltd. There are over a hundred thousand homeless people in Britain today. Not all of them can be seen sleeping on the streets. This three part series followed five homeless people for over a year as they looked for employment on a new scheme involving two hundred companies trying to put the homeless back into the work place. The goal of this radical project, was to try and break the cycle of homelessness for good.^[2]

There are over 100,000 people homeless in Britain. The aim of the series was to challenge perceptions of homelessness; change the attitudes that business people have and in the process observe the demanding transition into the working world for five homeless people with major companies such as Marks & Spencer, Pret-a-Manger and Wates Construction. For Carol Thatcher it’s her first job in 20 years: “I proved to myself that I can do it…I had tears of joy running down my face.” Carol hopes that this new start will help her to reconnect with her children who were taken into care 12 years ago. Accountant David Haighbrown doesn’t fit the stereotype; he’s well-spoken, college educated and motivated. Yet he found himself living rough, forced to rummage through dustbins for food and sleep in shop doorways. “I remember thinking, ‘What have I done to deserve this?’ I’ve never abused drugs or alcohol nor have any criminal record, yet here I am.” "These moving stories of human frailty and redemption, gave for the first time, a dignified voice to people who are not often heard and seldom depicted as real human beings." said the Radio Times reviewer.

This award-winning 2003 BBC documentary series by John Walsh followed the break through work of Eva Hamilton’s Business Action on Homelessness project ^[3] as part of Business in the Community.

Awards

Grierson Awards Nominated for Best Documentary series or Strand.^{[4] [5]}

Reception

The series was part of the BBC’s 120 most reasured programmes in the corporation’s drive to convince its critics that the licence fee should not be abolished.^[6] The Guardian described the series as "truly touching" ^[7]

External links

• Headhunting The Homeless on IMDb

References