Comm: "From New York to St Petersburg homeless people are cast as scroungers solely responsible for their plight. But many are the unlucky victims of rocketing rents, family break ups, mental health problems, addiction or shifting political agendas. And, contrary to popular opinion, a large number ARE overcoming prejudice and low self esteem to come up with practical solutions (to their situations) and challenge government policies.

"This last edition of 'Street Wise' listens to what these people have to say - as individuals, and as representatives of the groups or networks they've formed. Finally, it sees how a key tenet of the Habitat Agenda - the right to shelter - is not just a 'Developing World' issue but one which needs to be addressed by cities worldwide.

NewYork, US

"For centuries New York has been a magnet for those in search of the American Dream. But in the last thirty years its population has doubled. Banks here have some of the world's richest clients. But where do the majority of New Yorkers live? What happens if you're not a wall street banker?"

Maria Forbes, Clay Avenue Tenants Association: "Good Morning, my name is Maria Forbes, I've been living in the south Bronx for 39 years and I became a public housing resident in 1995. I needed to become a public housing resident because it was affordable for low-income people.

"Here we are standing in front of a development that was turned over to privatisation. This development here was managed by New York City Housing Authority and New York City Housing Authority turned it over to private management to operate, and this was the destruction. I want you to come with me and see the destruction, the deterioration and the displacement of many, many, many, families. Just look at this: it just doesn't make any sense to see buildings boarded up when there are hundreds and thousands of people on their waiting list trying to get into public housing, low income families who need housing desperately."

Comm: "The tenants association estimates that there are many buildings throughout the US which could be used for public housing."

Maria Forbes: "I'm coming to a meeting to help this other tenant association, you know, we all have to stick together and we have to support each other. It's the support needed by us to help each other and tell each other 'save public housing for low income tenants', because if we don't save public housing for poor people, we will be homeless, displaced, dislocated, I mean, it's no telling where we'll end up.

"They want us now to do community service in our building, 8 hours a month you going to be required to do some form of community service. This is the year 2001 and I don't see that I have to pay my rent to the government or to New York City Housing Authority, who is the land lord, and then come out of my apartment and clean my hallway that's not, this is 2001. This is not slavery. Ceilings are exposed, the work hasn't been completed so poor maintenance is another thing that we face.

"You talking about people, who have, for 25 years, have been receiving no services, very little attention, so you get in the habit of not being serviced!"

Comm: "The tenants association works with the Huairou Comission - a grassroots network of women activists."

Maria Forbes: "After 20 years of neglect, these buildings was all so run down so that they had to actually vacate a lot of the apartments because they were inhabitable for humans. We have six apartments on each floor and on this floor, 3 of the 4 apartments are vacant. This is a prime example. That's actually fungus growing, is that fungus? And mushrooms! Look at this room here, look at the ceiling - mould! You can actually smell, can you imagine, people were living, this a bedroom. So children were sleeping in here more than likely. Wall to wall mould. This apartment didn't deteriorate after the tenants moved - the tenants was living in these deteriorated conditions. And then they moved so that, you know, something could be done. But take a look at this kitchen! A family was actually using this kitchen.

"If you look here, you will see where there's a whole nest of roaches on the wall here, and that's, they been there for a long period of time. And if you even look up in here, you will hundreds of roaches crowded around in here, because there's no on going working plan to get rid of the roaches and the rats. So umm, it's just more devastation.

"If it deteriorates to the point where it's no longer feasible to repair, then, you'll point to those developments and say 'we may as well tear that one down 'cos it's too expensive to fix it'. OK, so that's why you have, all over the country, low income housing is being torn down, pulled down, the people are struggling for 'where can we find a place to live'. They're not saying tear it down and create more low income housing, they're saying tear it down, and don't worry about what happens. Low-income housing is not being recreated at the same speed that it's being torn down.

Caption: The numbers of houses being torn down across the States is huge

"We're at my home today, because I want to prove to the world and to the United States the myth of public housing residents, that we're all substance abusers, public assistants, recipients and we're not all of that. I work hard, and even.

"I work hard, and even though I'm in a low-income bracket my children have gone to school, gotten their education, they've graduated, they're working. It's not that distortion they see on the news everyday about crime: killing, raping, gangs. Some people literally work hard here, and they go to work to provide for their children, they go to work to help raise their family. It's a lot that we do here.

"We're on our way to the Emergency Assistance Unit, EAU, to see where people go once they become evicted, displaced, relocated and are unable to find housing with their families. When you go to the EAU, you will see hundreds of families who have been there for months, looking for a place to stay, trying to apply for public housing.

"So, when you applied for public housing, how long did it take you to get into the projects?"

Interviewee: "3 years."

Maria Forbes: "3 years, you waited a long time, right?"

Interviewee: "Yeah - 'cos now I don't have nothing. They say that I gotta wait maybe a month, 3 month but some people here say 6 month."

Maria Forbes: "She's been here for a month and a half with all her children, she's been hospitalised, she's almost had her children taken away, her children have missed two weeks of school. I mean, this is horrendous.

"That thing makes me so angry 'cos there's hundreds of thousands of more people in the Emergency Assistance Unit as well as people on the waiting list for low income and affordable housing. You can't tell me that all those families of people going to find homes, someplace to eat, someplace to stay with their families. Is unbelievable to me that the city, the system would allow people to sleep on the floors, to sleep on benches and not have any place to sleep.

"I want it written into law, and I want people to understand across the world that everyone is entitled to decent low income and affordable houses in order to raise their families and be a human being, just by law that you should have some place to live, somewhere to raise your families, some form of structure, foundation and stability that you will always have a place to live. That should be a law. Someplace to live. That's it."

Caption: Bristol, UK

Comm: "From the outside, one of Britain's largest cities has a genteel problem-free image. In reality it has the second highest number of homeless and vulnerably housed people in the UK. it also has a large population of rough sleepers."

Mike Baker, Groundswell: "This is one of the places called the [inaudible] down here. Where a lot of people used to stay, sleep over, hang out, doss out, whatever, do you know what I mean?

"Erm, nowadays, it's not so many people stay down here, erm, because of the problems of getting moved on all the time. You still get a few people down here now and again, hanging out, sort of just chilling out, drinking and what have you, do you know what I mean?"

Rough Sleeper: "I had my own house, and that."

Mike Baker: "You had your own house?"

Rough Sleeper: "Hmmm."

Mike Baker: "Was it a bad break up?"

Rough sleeper: "Yeah."

Mike Baker: "Yeah? Was it to do with drugs?"

Rough sleeper: "No."

Mike Baker: "Or just a bad relationship?"

Comm: "In England around 25% of people become homeless due a failed relationship; while nearly 30% find themselves on the streets as friends or relatives can no longer put them up."

Rough sleeper: "Yeah."

Mike Baker: "Yeah - the way John's ended up on the streets is one of the typical situations of becoming homeless, a family break-up, relationship break-up, do you know what I mean? Where you actually lose everything. Um, you lose your home, as he said, he had a house, he's got a missus and a little boy and that, you know, and something happens in that relationship and it breaks up and he ends up out on the street. Um, I can identify with that one myself, um, that happened to me."

Comm: "80% of rough sleepers are addicted to alcohol or drugs."

Mike Baker: "For me, I gave up, for me I gave up on all I knew, I lost the lot. Too many bad things happened at once, my self worth got knocked down to the ground.

"If I went out there and used, you would not recognise me and you would not like me, because I'd be a, I'd be so different, I'd be a Jeckyll and Hyde, and I wouldn't, I wouldn't care, and I wouldn't care about myself, and I wouldn't care about anybody in here and I wouldn't care about anybody out there."

Comm: "Mike found encouragement from two grassroots organisations - Narcotics Anonymous and Groundswell. They helped him find his own way to beat addiction and link up with other people who had succeeded."

Mike Baker: "I've found some people who I can identify with, and who identify with me. I found people who can tell me their story, and it was if they were telling me my story.

"Right, we're here. I think it might be an idea for us, sort of, to introduce ourselves, just to say who we are and where we come from. Yeah? So, if somebody would like to start."

Pete: "Yes, as you know my name's Pete, um this is my first time I've been to anything like this, um, er, and it's really brilliant, I think, the idea that gains the knowledge that you just want people that are homeless to be in control of their own destiny. And I think that's one of the major motivations is to want to do it, to have that little bit of hope in your life."

Harry: "I'm Harry from London; I'm a recovering alcoholic. The thing is, a lot of the reason for that is there's no direct help from the government as such for homeless people in dire need of treatment centres and places like that and this is what I hope to be striving for, is other people to change.

"I er, I got repossessed, and that is how I came into going through the same processes or feelings as other people in the homelessness sector. The loss of my home, the loss of possessions, um, the responsibility of having children felt quite devastating."

Comm: "Groundswell brings together people that are homeless excluded or living in poverty to share their experiences and develop self help initiatives through information and events such as exchanges across the UK."

Mike Baker: "When I went to my first meeting and I opened my mouth for the first time and I said 'my name's Mike and I'm an addict that's, that's two of the first honest things I've ever said in my life. My, my brother's a Christian, do you know what I mean, he believes in God, he doesn't want to go to Hell, right, most of us have been to hell, and we've come back out of Hell."

Comm: "Groundswell is in contact with over 1000 groups and individuals who are developing their own solutions and have shown that there's an alternative to top down government programmes which often fail to meet the needs of homeless and marginalised people."

Mike Baker: "We've still got to have faith. Whether it's in God, or power or a person just giving us a smile on the street and offering to help. Do you know what I mean, that's where the faith is, that's that [inaudible] I want to do something, do you know what I mean, and that's where our true strengths lie. "

Caption: Prague: capitalist since 1989

Comm: "During the communist era there were no official 'homeless' in the Czech Republic. Rents were cheap and high rise blocks provided accommodation for every worker. But many have forgotten that conditions were far from perfect with several generations of one family crammed into one flat.

"Now, just as in the States, people are worried that a lack of political commitment to public housing and proposed legislation put them at risk of becoming homeless. While there are groups which are trying to work with people to help prevent this, many people like Renata feel alienated in this new society."

Caption: Cerny Most estate

Renata: "I thought that after 1989 all the politicians were promising that everything was going to be better, that salaries would rise, that you'd be able to buy everything you wanted. So you can buy everything you want, sure, but it's too expensive for us to buy. We don't have enough money. We're now even worse off. When the hungry pig comes to the trough it takes too long before it's satisfied.

"I think it used to be better during the communist era. Everybody has their own opinion. When will our Government fulfil their promises?

"They've been promising it since 1989, but nothing's been solved yet. Are Czech people prepared for capitalism? I think young people may perhaps one day be prepared for the future, but people educated during the communist era, they don't know what capitalism is about. I am at least glad that I have a place to live, but it's like a prison here. There is flat upon flat on top of each other."

Comm: "After paying her rent, Renata is left with just US$100 a month. She can't afford to buy her flat. And is scared that if a new law is passed giving landlords freedom to increase rents she'll lose her home."

Renata: "I'm afraid that the de-regulation of the rents will mean uncontrolled prices. At the moment I pay five thousand crowns and I would maybe pay fifteen thousand or more and it's just not possible. They can't allow that.

"If this new law is passed I don't know what our situation will be. I think it will be a catastrophe because I'm trying to make ends meet. We live on a very small amount of money."

Comm: "Renata's position is no different to many others living in the Czech republic. But there is still doubt hanging over the proposed legislation."

Renata: "We can't afford anything. I cannot pay for the children to go to summer camp. If this law is passed we could end up on the streets. There's no one in this country interested in helping us. What are the chances for my children? In this way of life, nothing special. I don't know if there will be work. I don't know what's going to happen to these young people when they grow up. I'm afraid we'll be losers - homeless when they throw us out of the flat when we have no money."

Comm: "During the making of this film Renata lost her job."

Caption: St Petersburg, Russia

Comm: "Just as in the Czech Republic, homelessness in Russia is a relatively 'new' phenomena. But here, the situation is spiralling out of control with a new class of mafia-style landlords ready to cheat people out of their homes.

"While in New York and Prague, lobbying may yet safeguard public housing, in St Petersburg the immediate issue is how to rebuild self esteem among people who've suddenly lost everything. As in Bristol, the solution seems to lie with people-driven initiatives where the homeless find the answers themselves."

St Petersburg, Russia. Population 4.8 million

Comm: "At least 8,000 people are now homeless in St Petersburg.

"Some of these people are selling a special paper to make a living."

Volodya: "My name is Volodya , I'm 51 years old and I'm homeless. This is the Shelter where I live and opposite is the office where I get newspapers to sell to make a living.

"At 10am we go to the office and we buy 10, 20, or 30 papers. We pay 1 rouble 60 for each paper which we then sell for a fixed price of 4 roubles (pradavat)."

Comm: "Rock Bottom" newspaper is one of a worldwide network of 36 street newspapers.

"The project provides the homeless with work and an income."

Volodya: "We go to the streets and metro stations and sell the papers all day long (ulitsa). All of us living in the shelter have licences to sell and are given badges and documents so that the police won't stop us selling.

"During the Soviet times I worked as an engineer and I had a normal life; I had an education, a home, a family and then that disaster we call a market economy came along. Many of us found it hard to work it all out because it was new to us. Eventually I was cheated by a criminal gang (stranoi zhezni). I had to sell my flat to pay back a debt I didn't even owe and I became homeless (biz dom)."

Comm: "35% of St Petersburg's homeless were cheated out of their homes by criminal gangs or unscrupulous estate agents.

"Volodya's wife left him. For 5 years he lived in basements, lofts and stairwells."

Volodya: "(Kagda oz naozda program) Someone then told me about the Shelter. The shelter people said I could live here for a while but then I'd have to start selling newspapers to support myself.

"My definition of home is a place where you're sheltered from the rain and where you have no enemies. This feels like home to me. Last year, a journalist on our paper used a quote from me in his article; I had said that this was like a five star hotel compared to other places I had lived.

"I've been here in the Shelter for a year and a half. To get this single room on the top floor you have to sell 50 papers a day. I moved in here 6 months ago because I sell the most papers. I've moved up all the levels and one day I might get to the roof and buy myself a Mercedes!"

Comm: "Valodya has also taken on the job of distributing the newspaper for others to sell. The office gives him 5 free papers for every 100 he distributes to other homeless."

Volodya: "The most important part of this is going to work every day and feeling like a normal person (na rabotu). I feel now like I did back then when I had a normal life. When I see other homeless I tell them that there is a way to better things.

"I'm starting to think about a new life and move on from here and live and work like other people. What's stopping me is a fear that I'll end up back in the situation I was in a few years ago. But if something goes wrong I can always come back and sell the paper again. I hope that this summer I can find the resolve to move on to a better life."