By Simone Barclay. The short film Sofa Surfer tells the emotional story of JRC, a young woman and her struggle with homelessness.
‘Sofa surfing’ is when homeless people live day to day by staying with family and friends, not really knowing if it is safe or when they will have to move along next.
The film raises the issues of hostels closing, limited housing and a shortage of organisations dedicated to helping young people who are finding it difficult to locate somewhere to live.
The subject of the film, 23 year-old JRC, described the feeling of being homeless: “I was very down; I was wishing for everything to go up, turn around and be really good again. I have to fight just to be positive and keep praying.”
Crisis estimates that there are more than 400,000 hidden homeless in Great Britain. The young people like JRC, are among London’s hidden homeless and the film depicts their plight in their battle to be helped.
The film also has a campaign which would like to see a push for change on how youth homelessness is handled. The campaign website asks youth organisations and young people to join the call for more accommodation and to tell their own story.
The screening of Sofa Surfer will take place on Wednesday December 21 at Boxpark, Shoreditch.
Youth charity Off Centre, filmed Sofa Surfer to raise awareness of the issue and gather support to push for more safe accommodation for London’s young people.
If you have your own story about youth homelessness or are part of an organisation that can help young homeless people, register with the campaign at www.sofasurferfilm.com
Simone Barclay is a journalist at Poached Creative
