CHARITY FILM AWARDS COMES CLOSER TO HOME FOR ASHFORD PLACE
Formerly homeless people nominated for film that shows it’s possible to get off the streets.
London based ASHFORD PLACE has stepped into the limelight, after it’s uniquely realised film, HOME, was selected as Finalist for the prestigious Charity Film Awards, to be held at a special BAFTA gala event on March 15th.
The charity, dedicated to bringing long term solutions to society's most disadvantaged, is one of five nominees in the Documentaries/Long Form Category to make the grade, selected from over 400 films by both People's Choice and a panel of nearly 30 judges.
The cumulative result of a collaborative project, Home is a collectively produced film that brings together on screen the first-hand accounts of individuals whose lives have been shaped and affected by living on the streets. Devised and curated exclusively by the very people who now, thanks to Ashford Place's guidance and encouragement, have managed to reclaim their lives, the film bears concrete testament to the charity’s central ethos of helping the seemingly helpless realise their full potential from within.
Ashford Place brings care, support and long term solutions to the most alienated in society by tackling issues ranging from mental health and dementia to substance abuse and homelessness. Now with the film HOME, which had a special screening at the House of Commons last year, the charity is beginning to enjoy a taste of wider recognition, thanks to The Charity Film Awards nomination.
In the meantime, while the nomination marks one of the proudest moments in its history, Ashford Place's Director of Services, John Doocey, a key driving force behind the collective making of Home, is keen to point out that their most persuasive accolades ultimately come from those whose lives the charity has helped transform:
“Without this place, I would have been dead by now. Instead I am living in a one bed flat they found for me in Willesden, near to where I slept rough” – Alfred, 52, who spent two years on the street
“They help people, they want us to be us again” – Ali, 21
“Ashford Place wants to bring us back to society, where we felt we didn’t belong until now. They make our homelessness brief, they make it bearable. We don’t have to let homelessness define and destroy us.” Bart, 27
“I never thought that I would ever become homeless until it happened. It hit me without warning, and without Ashford Place I would have been completely unprepared and unable to cope” – Stan, 58
NOTE TO EDITORS
Ashford Place is a charity dedicated to bringing practical, long term solutions to the disadvantaged and marginalised in society, resolving crises relating to homelessness, mental and physical health, substance misuse and unemployment.
Focused on taking our clients out of the cycle of homelessness for good, and with an impressive track record that speaks for itself, we provide essential round the clock services within a psychologically stable environment, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. These include an emergency housing project; ongoing assistance to source long term, quality accommodation; an on-site GP; drug and alcohol support; therapeutic interventions, as well as employment, training and educational services.
Our goal is to create a society in which everyone has the skills, resources, opportunity and confidence to reach their full and lasting potential.