Hugh Dennis on Making a Difference campaign: 'Tiny amounts make an enormous difference'
The Outnumbered star returns for another year to front the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal, sharing powerful stories of resilience and hope from those whose lives have been transformed by St Martin-in-the-Fields' vital support.
Hugh Dennis is speaking to Radio Times from the set of the festive edition of the BBC One sitcom Outnumbered. You know, the one about a family tackling the issues thrown up by the generation gap all in the comfort of their warm, loving home.
But this comedic narrative is a long way from the experiences that thousands of families and individuals will be facing this Christmas. For over a decade, Dennis has been fronting Making a Difference, linked to the annual Radio 4 Christmas Appeal, now in its 98th year, which raises money to help change the lives of those experiencing homelessness.
Radio 4 listeners and Radio Times readers donated over £5 million to the St Martin-in-the-Fields charity over the course of last year. Now, in Radio 4 Christmas Appeal: Making a Difference, Dennis catches up with some of the people whose lives have been changed through the money given to support the Vicar’s Relief Fund that offers emergency grants, the Connection day centre at St Martin’s and its Mental Health Frontline Fund. But what makes him come back, year after year, to support these projects?
"One of the things you learn working with the appeal is that for the people in this situation, none of it is down to a choice that they’ve made. It takes such tiny changes in people’s circumstances to no longer have a home – a missed mortgage payment, a trauma, a breakdown in family relationships. It’s rather frightening in many senses – a case of there but for the grace of God go I. It takes so little for everything to disappear and, once in that spiral, it’s very difficult to get out, no matter how much you want to.
"The charity gives grants to people and they’re not terribly big amounts of money, the maximum is £500, but these small amounts make an enormous difference, which is why I really encourage people to give if they can."
Two of the people who received support last year are John and Carla. Dennis heads out on the streets of central London with Carla to experience how she was living before she received some help from the Connection, and it’s a pretty grim picture of life in 21st-century Britain.
She was sleeping in a tent, positioning herself near underground stations or cafés that had hot air vents on the coldest, darkest, wettest nights. For Carla, a daily visit to the Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields offered refuge, warmth, food, a shower and a chance to wash her clothes.
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
After years of struggling with addiction issues and a particularly awful period of sofa surfing – "most of the time it was with men, and they would always want something out of it" – Carla is now living in a hostel in London’s Victoria. It’s early days, but she has cut back on drinking, has a dedicated outreach support worker and is working towards getting her own accommodation.
When Dennis asks her how she feels about where her life is right now, compared with a year ago, she says she’s much happier, more relaxed, more at ease with herself and, crucially, "able to look forwards, not back".
Then there’s John, whose life changed radically when he found himself in debt following a period of clinical depression. The former engineer lost his house and ended up sleeping rough until he met someone from Hope into Action who helped him get a grant from the Vicar’s Relief Fund. This money paid the deposit on the one-bed bungalow in which he now lives.
"It’s really nice to have my own bed," he says. "When I was out on the street, other people were feeding me, and it just didn’t sit well. You should be able to feed yourself and now I can. I’m very happy living here. My wishes for the new year are to keep my home and live here forever. I’m a lot happier with my life the way it is now, and I’m very grateful to a lot of people."
It doesn’t sound like much to ask, does it? A roof over your head, bed to sleep in, food to eat, somewhere to wash but, as the Rev Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields points out in this year’s appeal, "We see homelessness everywhere and, across the UK, it is rising." The price of a coffee or your favourite listings magazine can make a difference this year to someone’s life.
As Dennis eloquently puts it, "The urge for a home is common to everyone I’ve spoken to, the need for stability, warmth, family relationships. Tiny amounts of money make an enormous difference, and we are incredibly grateful to people who don’t have much money themselves. It’s a heartwarming thing."
Read more:
- Outnumbered kids reveal hopes for their characters ahead of Christmas special
- Outnumbered kids are open to returning for a new full season
To support this year’s appeal, you can send cheques, made payable to St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal, to Freepost BBC St Martin’s Christmas Appeal; or pay by credit/debit card on Freephone 0800 082 82 84 and online at bbc.co.uk/R4christmasappeal.
