Poverty film-makers Parliament bound

A PIONEERING group of teenagers fighting against child poverty in Dumfries and Galloway will take their campaign to the Scottish Parliament.
The young people made a short film about child poverty in the region – from the perspective of youths themselves – in order to show the real picture of the various struggles their peers are facing on a daily basis.
The hard-hitting documentary, titled ‘Through Young Eyes’, has been receiving rave reviews and was recently watched by Scottish Health Minister Jenni Minto.
Now, the inspiring teens behind have been invited to Holyrood to speak to politicians about their film and their fight to reduce child poverty in Dumfries and Galloway.
Three of the filmmakers gave a presentation to councillors at Dumfries and Galloway Council’s tackling poverty, inequalities, and housing committee on Tuesday. One of the teens named Emma, from Stranraer, said: “What do we want to do next? We want to continue to raise awareness of the key issues to professionals.
“So far we have held two events for organisations and individuals working with young people. And the film has recently been published on social media, YouTube, and on Dumfries and Galloway’s cost of living website.
“We presented to the Minister for Public Health, Jenny Minto, on her recent visit to D and G – and have since been invited to speak at parliament next year.
“(We will) develop a toolkit for practitioners to have conversations with young people about poverty in brave spaces, which will be ready in early January.
“We will work with Dumfries and Galloway’s Youth Council to identify actions we can take forward to begin to address some of the issues highlighted in the film.”
The team of young filmmakers visited youth groups and schools last November to interview youngsters in poverty. The 12-minute film delivers emotive first-hand accounts of the struggles youths in this region are facing on a daily basis.
In one heartbreaking story, a teenage boy told how going for days without food “destroyed” him.
Meanwhile, a teenage girl explained how she faced a constant dilemma of going without electricity – or food.
At the tackling poverty, inequalities, and housing committee, the teenagers involved in making the film highlighted common themes in the feedback when interviewing their peers in poverty.
Mental health issues caused by financial instability, social stigma, shame and isolation were among the problems experienced by young people living in homes where there were ongoing struggles to put food on the table or pay for gas and electricity.
This also led to “low self-esteem and a sense of hopelessness”, councillors were told.
They stated: “How can a young person be expected to think that their future when they don’t know if they will get fed that night? Or dream of a career if they know that the university is way out of reach for their family?
“Young people in poverty live day to day. Their focus is on surviving, not thriving.”
The short film was made possible thanks to the Through Young Eyes Steering Group, supported by Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Youth Work Service, and produced by Urbancroft Films.
It can be viewed on YouTube by searching for ‘youth work dumfries and galloway’.