The Channel 4 series continues to reveal the reality of poverty in the UK.
Tuesday 4 August 2009
There are almost 4 million children living below the poverty line in the UK. One in two of them have a parent in work – but often in low paid jobs that make it hard to make ends meet. But, with Government targets to lift children out of poverty widely expected to be missed, for many in the UK the problem seems invisible.
Made by the team behind Secret Millionaire, a new three-part series aims to shine a light on this hidden problem, showing just what it means to grow up in poverty in twenty first century Britain.
How the Other Half Live follows the story of two families in each programme, as a wealthy family decides to assist a family living below the poverty line in the UK. Each family hopes that their children will gain from the experience by understanding what life is like for others.
Many people give money to charity in the UK and abroad – by bringing families from different backgrounds together, and making the giving more personal and direct, the programme raises important questions about how we respond to the poverty on our own doorsteps.
Nine year old Brandon lives with his brother Marcus, mum Michaela and step-dad Shaun in one of the South East’s most deprived neighbourhoods. Step-dad Shaun works forty hours a week as a bus driver but the day to day reality of their lives often means going without. And now, council tax arrears mean the bailiffs have been round threatening to take things from their flat.
Brandon doesn’t even have a bedroom. At night he goes to bed in his mum’s room and is carried through to sleep on the sofa when she goes to bed. He can hear people fighting outside his block of flats at night. He wants to be an inventor but he doesn’t even have somewhere quiet to do his homework.
Ashley (13) and Daisy (10) live with their mum and dad Sam and Scott in a secure gated community. They also have a house in Spain. Ashley is learning to play golf and has his own set of clubs. Daisy has a selection of designer handbags.
Scott works hard to provide a nice life for his family but his wife Sam knows that life isn’t like this for everyone – she grew up in a 16-storey block of flats and she doesn’t want her kids to take their life for granted.
Although the families have never met, Sam and Scott have decided to help out Brandon and his family. Shaun is frustrated that he can’t provide for his family in the way he would like but, he says, “sometimes you just have to swallow your pride. I’m not too proud to accept help when it’s offered.
When Sam and Scott send a cheque for £2,000 Michaela, Shaun and Brandon are over the moon. They immediately pay off the bailiffs, settle their council tax arrears and buy a new washing machine to replace the one that has flooded their tiny kitchen.
Colette Marshall, Save the Children’s UK Director. “There are now 4 million children living in poverty in the UK. Their families, trapped by debt, struggle to afford even the most basic essentials like shoes and clothes for their children despite some families having at least one parent working. However, for those that find work it is often low-paid and insecure.
"Poverty in the UK is a hidden crisis: poor families are rarely able to talk openly and honestly about the conditions in which they live and are desperate to escape the situation. That is why this Channel 4 programme is so important,” Marshall continued.
The programme touches on issues that Save the Children is very familiar with. Earlier this year Save the Children and Family Action launched the Cash Crisis Grants scheme to help families struggling to get by. So far almost £60,000 has been disbursed to over 341 families in crisis, helping 699 children.
The largest number of grants has been to help purchase children’s clothes and other grants have helped people buy beds, cookers and other essential household items.
Donate to the UK Child Poverty Appeal or please call 0800 8148148.
Watch the second programme on Channel 4 on Thursday 6 August at 9pm.
Find out more
Find out more about our child poverty work in the UK.
Read our How the other half live briefing.