New Voices from Wales

Documentary series showcasing short films made by talented new film-makers as part of It's My Shout training scheme.

Some have slept in doorways, experienced ‘sofa surfing', or struggled with challenges to their mental health. All of them have one experience in common - family breakdown. The young people in this film have found temporary supported accommodation at Llys y Gwynt Housing Project in Holyhead. It provides a safe place for people who are or are at risk of being homeless with the aim of helping them to move on and live independently.

However, being in the hostel can itself add to the stigma they experience. They feel they are often judged negatively by their local community and by wider society. ‘Tramp' , ‘dirty', ‘low life', ‘scum', ‘druggy', are some of the names they have been called. They are told ‘they deserve to be homeless', ‘they're scroungers'; and ‘It's their own fault'.

In this documentary, the young people invite us to see the world from their perspective, inviting viewers into the hostel and sharing their stories, in their own words. Through intimate interviews, they talk about their early lives, how they became homeless and how the negative stigma they experience makes them feel.