John Lewis homeless advert

[2littleguineas]

I'm not sure what the story is behind this John Lewis advert is, are they behind a supporting the homeless campaign?
I'll admit while I watched the clip my eyes welled up with tears and I'd a huge lump in my throat. Simultaneously though I welled up with rage and disgust.
While I agree the sentiment is good and they're trying to get us to see the people behind the homeless label I think the type of homeless person portrayed in this advert does a huge disservice to the majority of homeless people.
While I am well aware that many people living previously living ordinary lives with jobs, mortgages and familieshave ended up on the streets through a down turn in circumstances, many many more have never had such a pretty back story. Their previous circumstances and what led them to living on the streets and the lives they live on the streets are nowhere near as palatable as the story of the man in the advert.
Drugs/alcohol/abuse and crime have often played a major role as to why these people have ended up where they are. Is it not as important to show the true circumstances as to why people end up on the streets even if the back story is raw and alien to the majority of us?

Here's the link sorry!

Take a look at this OP

twitter.com/ParadigmTenant/status/1056934912060735488

The homeless people in the advert look remarkably well. Nothing like the reality that is homelessness in my nearby city

Can you explain what you mean by 'the true circumstances' op?

are you saying that most homeless people are druggies OP? Because a lot of homeless people are there due to lack of money.

You realise this is a spoof - not the actual John Lewis ad

I don't get it

There's nothing on the John Lewis twitter about it. It's fake.

I don't think it's JL Christmas ad but apparently it's part of a collection they've done to help high light homelessness, but of course that could be a spoof and it's got absolutely nothing to do with John Lewis at all.

I am absolutely not calling homeless people drugies, I'm not sure how/why you jumped to that conclusion Helena? I gave it as one of 5 possible reasons I know of of why people end up homeless and I'm well aware there's many many more reasons I couldn't begin to imagine. I wouldn't pretend to have much insight into why people become homeless but I do know there's a wealth of suffering behind every individual person.

I googled John Lewis Christmas ad 2018 and got some weird shit about a gingerbread man burning his house down.

Oh with some whiney voiced child murdering "Firestarter" ugh

I thought the gingerbread man one was a hoax? I can't keep up.

www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/16960070.homeless-before-christmas-69-oxford-women-evicted-as-social-housing-block-put-up-for-sale/

It’s definitely a spoof nothing to do with John Lewis

Pebblespony I sincerely hope so, but let's face it, JL have form.

It doesn't appear to be an official John Lewis ad, there are several claiming to be it but none from JL sources.

It is a thought provoking watch though. People end up homeless for so many reasons, we shouldn't assume or stereotype. And whilst we're all thinking about what to buy for Christmas and what to eat on Christmas Day, there are people sleeping outside in sub zero temperatures.

The level of homelessness in this country is a disgrace. It is a complex problem, but when the poor are subjected to multiple benefit cuts, when mental health funding is slashed to the bone, when servicemen are discharged with zero support - a substantial part of the reasons become clear.

I think this advert definitely has its place to bring awareness and a bit if empathy , but I have to admit I usually love a good boxer dog John Lewis Christmas ad.

@2littleguineas "these" people find themselves homeless for a multitude of reasons a "major factor " being financial, they say most people are only a month away from being homeless as people have no savings due to the rise in the cost of living and static wages.

It’s thought provoking, and yes - if course there is always an individual and a story behind the surface. But the reality is that the majority of street homeless people are not there because of “lack of money” or because they are “ordinary people who have fallen on hard times” and it actually does homeless people (and the services who work with them) a disservice to pretend that this is the case. Most street homeless people have chaotic backgrounds featuring addiction and substance misuse, a history of offending, poor mental health, abuse, broken families and so on. Pretending that this isn’t the case means that the general public obtain a false perception that getting people off the streets is easy - find them a home and help them to get a job and everything will be ticketty-boo. When it’s far more complex than that because many homeless people are ill-equipped to maintain a tenancy on their own, look for work or hold down a job, and have far more complex support needs which means that without intensive support and a willingness to engage they often revert to the streets. This is what we need to highlight - that every person on the streets is different and that most want to be “normal” members of society but that there is no easy win. Homelessness services need increased funding and support because of this.

bourbonbiccy I can well imagine many people are only a month away from been homeless if the financial circumstances took a bad turn. Looking back I now know we would've been in a similar position but thankfully things never aligned badly enough for this to happen. Like wise we would never have ended up on the streets as we are fortunate to have family or friends who would and could help.

Actually technically speaking I was homeless at the age of 17 when I left my country to go to London with my boyfriend. We stayed in one of his siblings house (squat really) for a few weeks but the sibling wasn't stable and we had to leave with no notice. Someone else put us up temporarily and put us in touch with a priest who found us a room and gave us money towards rent. Luckily we both had jobs by then and could afford the rent.
Looking back that priest was an amazing man, we had been put in touch with him previously and pretty much scoffed at the idea we'd need his help that was a lesson in humility

Anyway I think it's worth pointing out there's a difference between been homeless and sleeping on the streets. Some people fall under the term homeless as they've no home of their own which is beyond terrible but they have somewhere to sleep each night. People who live on the streets have nowhere save temporary beds in hostels with no guarantee from night to night.

So you’re upset about this issue OP. What are you doing to offer practical help?

ComtesseDeSpair thank you so much, you've put it exactly how I want to bring it across and am failing!
It's funny I could articulate in words to my dh almost exactly like you said earlier when he showed me the ad but I'm not great at putting my thoughts as clearly in writing.

I hate this advert, really hope it’s a spoof. Getting a bit tired of the misery porn and massive companies who really could make a difference to people’s life taking adavantage of vulnerable people to push their stores.
Not to mention the broken homes and the women ‘not giving up’ on him. Most people don’t want to split families up, you only have to read threads on here from women who have reached the end of their tether and decided to leave their husbands that are now being made to feel guilty for ‘giving up’ load of bollocks

VaselineDion what's the point of your question? Can we not have a discussion without attempting to undermine each other?
Whatever I do on a personal basis to help homeless people or indeed any other charity I support will be a drop in the ocean of what's needed. I'd love to be able to claim to make a big difference but all I can hope is that every little helps.

I’m glad that’s not the JL ad, it’s a bit shit isn’t it?

It's nothing to do with JL.