Homelessness is a tricky subject for television. The goal must be to convey the grim reality of life on the streets – but to do so without descending into misery porn. That balancing act is carried off with impressive sensitivity in Stories from the Street (Virgin Media One, Monday, 9pm), a profile by the film-maker Luke McManus of four homeless people that lands its punches yet never strays into voyeurism or depicts its subjects as pitiful or lacking agency.
Watching it, you’ll be sad and angry. Sad because of what these people must suffer through day after day, night after night, and angry because of how they have been failed by the State and society. One grim statistic is that, in psychological tests, people react to the homeless much as they would inanimate objects. We see them not as people but as things, because that makes it easier to sidestep our guilt
The people we meet have wildly different stories. Cian works in construction but can’t get accommodation. He grew up in care and wakes every morning feeling the odds are against him. “It’s very hard to stay motivated,” he says. “I’m nearly three years at this. I’ve had my teeth broken. I was nearly murdered three times.”
Tracey from Tallaght describes becoming homeless in 2017. “I stayed in one or two hostels, which weren’t the best,” she says. “I ended up stepping on a dirty needle.”
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Wesley and Fiona are a couple who met on the street. Wesley helped Fiona get clean. They now have a house, and there is even the possibility that he will reconcile with his daughter and see his two-year-old grandchild.
There is a positive outcome for Tracey, too. She goes back to education and passes her exams.
The film takes a tragic turn halfway through. Thomas, a homeless man, is found dead in his tent on Loftus Lane in Dublin. His sisters break down as they remember a loving but unpredictable sibling. “He’d be in a house one week, two weeks,” they say, recalling his wayward life. “Then he’d get up and go.”
This is where a chill descends. At a vigil for Thomas outside the Oireachtas, figures off camera complain about the Government housing Ukrainians. “Don’t turn this into us against them,” pleads organiser Keira. “It’s not about ... pitting us against each other. Everyone deserves a home.”
Stories of the Streets finishes with Cian announcing he’s off. He has a breakdown during which he begins to shout and talks about his “brain popping” from stress. Having calmed down, he outlines a plan to move to England. A note before the credits reveals he is now in Britain, where he has a flat and a job. Ireland could give him one but not the other – and what an indictment that is.
