Headhunting The Homeless

Headhunting The Homeless [1] is a British documentary series for the BBC by John Walsh of Walsh Bros Ltd. This three part series followed five homeless people for over a year as they looked for employment on a new scheme involving two hundred companies, including Marks & Spencer, Pret a Manger and Wates Construction, following the work of Eva Hamilton MBE’s [2] Business Action on Homelessness project [3] as part of Business in the Community. The goal of this project was to try and break the cycle of homelessness for good,[4] to challenge perceptions of homelessness, and to change the attitudes that business people have and in the process observe the demanding transition into the working world for homeless people. The series followed The Prince of Wales’ Seeing is Believing Programme and then pioneering a new multimillion pound Corporate Social Responsibility project, addressing attempting a new approach on CSR in relation to homelessness.[5]

Headhunting The Homeless
Television poster
Directed byJohn Walsh
Narrated byRay Burdis
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerJohn Walsh
Running time3 x 60 min.
Production companyWalsh Bros Ltd.
DistributorBBC
Release
Original releaseMay 9, 2003 (2003-05-09)

For Carol Thatcher it’s her first job in 20 years: “I proved to myself that I can do it…I had tears of joy running down my face.” Carol hopes that this new start will help her to reconnect with her children who were taken into care 12 years ago. Accountant David Haighbrown doesn’t fit the stereotype; he’s well-spoken, college educated and motivated. Yet he found himself living rough, forced to rummage through dustbins for food and sleep in shop doorways. “I remember thinking, ‘What have I done to deserve this?’ I’ve never abused drugs or alcohol nor have any criminal record, yet here I am.”

Describing his own film, Walsh has said: "These moving stories of human frailty and redemption, gave for the first time, a dignified voice to people who are not often heard and seldom depicted as real human beings."[6]

Episodes
Episode Date Time Channel Description
1. Down ... But Not Out 7 May 2003 21.50 BBC2 A three-part documentary following five homeless people in their efforts to secure long-term employment. In this first programme Carol Thatcher, whose poor mental health has been a hindrance for nearly 20 years, starts work at Sainsbury's. Meanwhile 19-year-old Jide Sosimi hopes that a placement at a top London advertising agency will help him to fulfil his dream of becoming a shoe designer providing that he manages to keep his place at a hostel.[7]
2. From Malaysia to Britain 14 May 2003 21.50 BBC2 In the second of a three-part documentary following five homeless people in their efforts to secure long-term employment, Carol Thatcher finds out whether she's landed the job at Sainsbury's and Jide Sosimi reaches a crossroads regarding his future. Meanwhile David Haighbrown, an accountant by trade who is living in a homeless hostel, hopes to find work so that he can bring his family over from Malaysia to Britain.[8]
3. First Job Last Chance 23 May 2003 21.50 BBC2 Concluding a three-part documentary following five homeless people in their efforts to secure long-term employment. David Haighbrown finds every cloud has a silver lining after things go wrong for him at his placement. Teenager Sam Ogunde is preparing to go on a course which he hopes will get him a job and a stable home, but his confidence levels are very low. Meanwhile, Michael Brown lives in a hostel in central London. His work placement is a big step. It's the first time he has worked in more than five years and it could be his last chance.[9]

Awards

Grierson Awards Nominated for Best Documentary series or Strand.[10][11]

Reception

The series was part of the BBC’s 120 most treasured programmes of the first half of 2003 in the corporation’s drive to convince its critics that the licence fee should not be abolished.[12]

The Guardian described the series as "truly touching".[13] and also chose it as their Pick of the Day [14]

One episode achieved a rating of 1.4 million according to The Stage [15]

References
  1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/04_april/17/headhunting_homeless.shtml
  2. http://www.responseabilityalliance.com/html/eva_hamilton_obe.html
  3. https://www.bitc.org.uk/news-events/news/business-takes-practical-action-prevent-homelessness
  4. http://www.ovguide.com/video/headhunting-the-homeless-bbc-documentary-series-922ca39ce10036ba0e115de22ba45801#
  5. http://www.responseabilityalliance.com/html/eva_hamilton_key4life.html
  6. IMDB plot summary
  7. http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/666fd460ee9144ffb3a60e728f837d27
  8. http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/26548e5462a447cd8517a52b3271d6d0
  9. http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/2bc8452eb043445fbf2f04e206533ce7
  10. http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/grierson-judges-attack-catastrophic-decline/1097032.article
  11. "Headhunting the Homeless". bbc.co.uk.
  12. John Plunkett. "BBC list aims to win over critics". the Guardian.
  13. https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/may/18/features.review7
  14. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/may/07/tvandradio.television1
  15. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001637/20030522/024/0032
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