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The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Homelessness film premieres at GFT

This news post is about 10 years old
 

A short film depicting life for the young homeless premiered last Friday night to a packed Glasgow Film Theatre.

The premiere was part of an event held to celebrate the work ofCouncil for Homeless Young People (CHYP) and the Fire Station Project - both youth homelessness services run by Glasgow’s Queens Cross Housing Association.

The event brought together current and former service users.

The 10-minute film is the work of Claude Mutuyimana, 23, himself a youth homelessness service user.

Claude moved to Scotland from Rwanda in his early teens.

He moved to CHYP with his brother, Elie, when he was 16 after his relationship with his dad fell apart.

He says: “My film is all about what it’s like to be young and homeless, how terrifying that can be and how fantastic it is to have services like CHYP there to catch you.

“Without CHYP and Fire Station, I don’t think my life would have turned out as well. And I know that’s true for many other service users.”

Richard Allwood, Queens’ head of supported housing, said that the demand for safe and secure homes for young people is as important today as when the services were first set up.

“CHYP and Fire Station have helped more than 1,000 young people over 25 years and there is still a significant demand for their services.

“However we offer so much more than we used to. We aim to build confidence and self-esteem.

“We do lots of sports activities and also help residents in to education, training and work. In fact we deal with the challenges that all young people face today.”