Cyrenians launches its winter appeal
A Scottish homelessness charity has launched its winter appeal through its first ever TV advert.
The Cyrenians ad features the story of Lauren and her journey to becoming homeless – and lets viewers know how they can help change her story.
The advert, below, is being shown on STV.
Cyrenians chief executive Ewan Aitken said: “Winter is always a difficult time of year for those we support. From coping with the realities of street homelessness, to facing a high stress time of year in the midst of a relationship breakdown, or concerns about food and where the next meal is coming from.
“While the world has started opening up for some of us, for many more people it has gotten smaller, harsher and a lot more difficult over the past year. With increased pressure on families and individuals across Scotland, we are here to offer a reprieve, much needed support, and for some, a lifeline.
“We want to change the story of homelessness, and we need the public’s support to do so. For people like Lauren, whose story is featured in our advert, the reality of homelessness happened bit by bit. Her support networks were eroded by a hostile home life, and when she needed a way out, there were very few options open to her.
“We’re delighted that she’s found some steady ground again, and that, most importantly, she believes there’s a positive future ahead of her. We know there are many routes into homelessness, but very few routes out without organisations like ours that can offer people-centered, wraparound support. We’re appealing to those who can, to support us this winter so we can continue to make a real, positive change across our community.”
The advert was created with the help of STV's Growth Fund and the communications agency Multiply.
Aitken added: “We are incredibly grateful to both STV and Multiply for their support with creating this advert. Without both, we would not have been in a position to be able to advertise like this, and reach more people who may not know about our work but who want to help us support more people who need us.”
