By Ashley Parker on
Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown recently spent a week with a poor family taping a documentary entitled “Seven Days on the Breadline.” She is now urging UK politicians to do more to help those receiving welfare.
She traveled back to her hometown of Leeds, England, where she stayed with unemployed single mother, Elaine Henry, and her five children, ranging from ages 6-18.
Before arriving, Brown knew nothing about the family or the state of the house. She was shocked by how decrepit the home was. She helped the family make the most of the financial aid they receive each week, and also encouraged them to keep up on chores around the house.
It didn’t take long for Brown to realize that the family wasn’t lazy, but had lost hope for having anything better. They were depressed by their current status and had essentially given up. Brown thinks the government could change this by offering a community outlet for children and teenagers.
Brown hopes the show “will make people think twice about people on benefits, rather than calling them lazy money grabbers. On the whole I think the majority could be encouraged to do a bit more if the government would step in. If you do not give people a way out, educate them, provide them with somewhere to live, and a community centre for them to visit and be stimulated, then how can you expect them to have the urge to get up and do anything with their lives?”
Copyright © 2009 Look to the Stars
