Cutting through the silences
How often is it that we get exercised about the injustices of government, get angry, frustrated, feel powerless and then do nothing about whatever it is that is upsetting us? Charity worker Sara Young, aged 23, Hastings-born and bred, sensed people were internalising what they felt strongly about and wanted to give them a voice. HOT reporter Lauris Morgan-Griffiths talked to her about her idea for a documentary.
Sara is inviting people to tell their personal stories and opinions, whether positive, negative, passionate or sitting on the fence. A selection of those accounts will then be filmed. The intention is to encourage Hastings and St Leonards residents to talk about how cutbacks and changes to Government policies are actually affecting individuals.
In the South East, Hastings has born the brunt of council cutbacks. The 2013/14 cuts in spending have been as much as 39% – the council budget for 2013/14 begins with a £3.2 million gap.
Sara is open to who or what may come out of it. “I absolutely have no hidden agenda. I am hoping for a wide spectrum of different opinions. I want to get people talking about social awareness; people are quick to lay blame – on people with benefits, with children, the unemployed, people coming from different countries – and they are simply not listening to what people are going through. So this is their chance. And I think by filming Hastings residents’ experiences, it will bring it home how people really think and how they are affected.
“I know friends who have left university who haven’t found work. I was told about a church providing food banks. They have been taken aback by some of the people turning up – parents who might just be scraping together enough to pay their mortgage and feed their children but they are going hungry. I know of people turned away from the Job Centre for being a minute late which means they can’t sign on. There is less tolerance for people today. I find it is all really quite scary.”
Contact Sara Young sararoseyoung@gmail.com if you would like to air your views. Volunteers can remain anonymous – Sara will only record their voices. She will film during the next few months and give a public screening of the film late summer/early autumn.
Find out more at m.facebook.com/CuttingThroughTheSilences
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