The One To Watch.
 

Did anyone watch the repeat of “Cathy Come Home” on BBC4 last night?

This was a 1966 documentary about a homeless couple and their children in their desperate search for a place to just live.

This documentary has such an impact that it indirectly inspired the charity Shelter.

On Wednesday 29th November at 10:40 on BBC One is the DOCUMENTARY OF THE WEEK – Evicted.

Evicted allows three children of homeless families to tell their own stories and judging from the written preview by Alison Graham in the current Radio Times, it is a harrowing tale that has absolutely no place in 2006.

Even for a hard bitten old salt like myself I just know that I will shed more than a tear or two and I’m sure that the nation will be drawn to tears of first sympathy and then anger. Anger for how can such things happen today when this government, who is supposed to look after the citizens, are wasting billions on everything but what the citizens have a right to expect.

Watch it, but don’t blame me if you cannot get to sleep on Wednesday night. Blame the government.

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I watched it. I was too young to see it when it was first broadcast in the sixties, but could quite see why this powerful programme had such a big impact at the time, and still does.

I also watched the programmes sandwiched around it about the journalist and television presenter Ray Gosling. Very sad how he also became homeless.

Great television for a change.

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I Watched The Origonal, What An Impact It Had At The Time,,,

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Very moving documentary, things were different then the nanny state has swung to far the other way now. Ray Gosling was a very good tv presenter, the program was very well done, the piece I liked the most was his attempts to hold on to his teasured manuscripts, when Notingham University stepted in at the eleventh hour was like the cavalry appearing. Getting back on thread children should never have to suffer as Cathy's did ever again, what was allowed to develop was a disgrace, and has no place in the 21st century.

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Until hearing about this new program I rather naively believed that nothing like this ever happened now in this day and age. :(

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This is the usual do-gooding nancy-pancy wet liberal nonsense from Jambutty. I have no doubt the politically-correct BBC will present a heart rendering picture of some poor, unfotunate families deliberatly let down and made homeless by a cruel and heartless system.

In reality, these people will be will be crack-dealers, prostitutes, burglars, dodgy asylum seekers and whatever else social and criminal thrash so besmear our streets and neighbourhoods.

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I have seen the trailers and all they confirm is that it is the usual BBC political codswallop.

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I missed Cathy come home this time round. But it's one of the best films Ive ever seen.
I can remember watching it the first time around when I was very small.

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makes one wonder if anything's changed... not a lot in my opinion .... I remember at the time whoever was in power said they were going to make big changes: but this issues is still A MAJOR PROBLEM today: I could go on and on here, it makes me really, really mad that we still have this problem and its getting worse: what with more and more private Land Lords ( in some cases ) not all of course but the word Rachman springs to mind and where have all the council houses gone:

Magpie

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For some reason a high percentage of homeless people are ex-servicemen. Go down Charing Cross Road and try talking to some if you don't believe me, and ask them how they became homeless. Quite eye opening at the ease of circumstance at which it can happen.

I hope you never find yourself down on your luck. Still you could always rely on your wit and charitableness to get by.

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The cynical member for Church/Wapping, to wit tealeaf, should take note, the innocent victims in these senarios is the young children, who can hardly be blamed for the shortcomings of their parents, be it drug abuse or alchohol related problems. It it easy to be judge and jury from the relative comfort of an 'ivory tower'.

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Don't worry, he's really a bleeding heart. A bit of pretend cynicism for show, but a bleeding heart none the less.;)

Monday nights he'll be found down the soup kitchen in Vauxhall, then it's over to hand out free Johnnies to the working girls up King's Cross.:D

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I do think tealeaf has a fair point, although I think that unfortunately it seems our so called systems seems to fail the very people who are most needy. If you are an asylum seeker or an immigrant coming to work in this country then we seem to bend over backwards to house them and give them all the help they need! Perhaps the government have a lot to answer for. Political correctness has gone overboard somewhere along the way.

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Do not encourage him vicky, he bites everyone you included.

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Evicted, BBC1 this evening.

Moving and brilliantly informative programme about the plight of homeless families living in the UK today.

As much as it didn't fit in with some people's perceptions that all homeless people are prostitutes or drug addicts, this programme featured two families, one on Weston Super Mare, the other in Nottingham. Both families became homeless through no fault of their own, and were fighting to keep their children from going into care.

The children were amazing. Bright, funny, but sad because they didn't know were they would be from week to week, and also the councils wouldn't take responsibility for their education because they didn't have a fixed abode. Both sets of parents were examplary, considering the circumstances in which they found themselves. Though one mother found the situation so stressful she was tearing her hair out, literally.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pro...homeless.shtml

130,000 children of June this year are classed as homeless.

Thirty years have passed since Cathy Come Home, sadly it is still a problem for some.

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My mouth just dropped in shock when it said in the end credits that the family with the family 2 little girls should never have been evicted from their home in the first place. Their local council had admitted it was an housing benefit error. Absolutely disgusting! :mad:

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I saw some of this last night, but switched off in disgust. Was the cost to the council of having to pay B & B for these lazy, fag-smoking wastrels mentioned?

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I don't think it's intentional, but you don't half make me chuckle Tealeaf ;) :D

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Bang on the nail Tinkerbelle, should not some form of financial redress be forthcoming to this unfortunate family, from this disgraceful local authority.

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I don't think any amount of financial redress can ever make up for what that family had to endure, thanks to an 'unfortunate' error! :mad:

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I remember the original docu-drama with clarity.

The moral of the story.....do everything in your power to avoid being at the mercy of the local County Council.

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One family in the programme last night had no choice. The father was working as a landscape gardner, and because he was on the minimum wage was eligible for housing benefit. There was a delay with payement, and lack of communication between the housing benefit office and the coucil's rent collecting office. This resulted in them being evicted.

Basically this family was made homeless because of a late benefit payement from one office to another. This was no fault of the family. The council then decided that the family had made themselved intentionally homeless, and thus were not eligible to rent another council house. They then had a struggle to find a house to rent because of a limited housing stock in their area, most of whom require a guarator and a two months rent as deposit. Not always easy when families are on a limited income.

Seeing these kids heating tins of beans on radiators so they could have a warm(ish) meal was heartbreaking. Cooking isn't allowed in these temporary B & B's, so it was that or a Pot Noodle.

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Just shows how much pen pushers care and why I dont trust them especially the council. They could have made inquires but basically couldnt be bothered so when it was proven that it was their (councils) fault they heap more misery on the family and yet there is no comeback or recompense. :(

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There was a family sat in a shelter in a blustrey Weston Super Mare, as a cold evening was drawing in. These people didn't have anywhere to go, and it was only the organisation Shelter threatening the council with legal action, that they agreed to put them in a B & B for the weekend.

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I did not watch the programme.. I could do without the depression to be honest.. but it seems like yet another issue that is pushed under the carpet and brought up every now and then. The council housing system seems to vary in different parts of the country. I know of a married couple with 2 kids that defaulted on there rent in the private sector and the council (southwark london) would not even give them an offer for a council flat. they contacted carlisle council and were offerd a 2 bedroom house and given the choice to view 8 houses.. the council were almost begging them to re-locate to carlise.

I've seen posts on here complaining about houses being built in the "greenbelt" what rubbish.. the population is growing and more houses need to be built whether they be "affordable" homes or otherwise.

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It is. The family were advised by the council in Weston Super Mare that they should try Taunton council twenty five miles away, which they had to do. This meant to keep their kids in school, they had to take them on a fifty mile round trip everyday. Madness.

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just like the old "get on yer bike" crap we got .. why should families move themselves and kids to unknown towns just for somewere to live?..2006 and we still have people trapped in this sort of ****!

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