Student Reveals The Stories Behind Homelessness In Cardiff

A new short film reveals the stories of some of the people that live on the streets of Cardiff city centre. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Third year photojournalism student Ben Blyth spent a night and two days on the streets of Cardiff, learning what is like to be homeless and speaking to those who face this reality every day. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Ben said: “In my first year of university, I did a photography piece with people who were homeless. But I realized that I hadn’t really done it justice and I wanted to revisit this subject to really find out more about the people that I was speaking to and find out more about their stories. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The only way that I could do this film authentically was to try and understand what it is really like to live on the streets. If I didn’t, then it wouldn’t necessarily have had the right motive. Even though I spent time acting homeless, I could never understand what is like to actually be homeless, no one can until it happens for real.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

With just a large coat bought from a charity shop and a go-pro camera, Ben set out to experience what it was like to sleep rough. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“I slept on a bench near to the museum in Cardiff, although I didn’t really sleep very much. During the daytime I was begging for a few hours, and when I was sat on Queen Street, people who I knew walked passed and didn’t recognize me. I hadn’t disguised myself in any way, but they just didn’t take notice,” he said. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“I met a number of people on the streets who agreed to be part of the film. I just sat down and spoke to them to begin with and listened to their stories. They didn’t know that I was making a film initially, so I broke down the barriers before I asked if they would be on camera. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“They all had a lot more to say than what is in the final nine minutes of film, and there is a lot more that could be said. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“You can feel so lonely on the streets. In today’s world, we all so connected, that we rarely even go half an hour without speaking to someone. But a lot of people on the streets, whilst they of course welcome gestures of change or food and drinks, they also really would just welcome a conversation with someone, and to be treated as a human, which just can’t be replaced. One person can’t stop homelessness, that’s not going to happen. But I think that each person can make a homeless person’s life better by just asking if they’re alright or having a chat.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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