0:00:02 > 0:00:05This programme contains strong language.
0:00:05 > 0:00:06Summer, 2012.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10The Royal Jubilee, the Olympics.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Even the bad weather can't stop Britain feeling good about itself.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18But these are uncertain times.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29In the age of austerity, not everyone is celebrating.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39For three teenage girls, it's a summer of struggling to get by.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Caught between a disappearing childhood
0:00:50 > 0:00:54and an unknown future, this is their story.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Obviously, when you're young you're like, you try and show off,
0:01:09 > 0:01:14don't you? I think really I showed off a bit too much,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18and cos I showed off, like, I had to keep that
0:01:18 > 0:01:21reputation up...if you get what I mean.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25But now I regret it, cos look who's there.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28They used to say to you in school, like "boffs" and everything,
0:01:28 > 0:01:30we used to laugh at them.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33"Ha, look at you, you boff, computer nerd," and stuff like that,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36but look where they are now, and then look where I am.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38SHOUTING
0:01:41 > 0:01:4417-year-old Bridie was visiting her best friend Billie.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Slagging Bridie off.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49But in doing so, was taking a risk.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51She's currently on bail and banned from this street.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54What you BEEP on about...?
0:01:54 > 0:01:57Had me in front of that BEEP judge, you BEEP all right, you.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59A neighbour has heard that Bridie's back,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01and is threatening to call the police.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03- Crackhead!- Bridie, leave it.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08By the way, she's bailed to my road.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12She's bailed to my address.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16I used to live with me nan. At me nan's I had discipline,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19but then, cos I didn't like what she was saying,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23I just argued with her until I just couldn't live with her.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26But that's what I wanted back then, not to live with me nan
0:02:26 > 0:02:28so I didn't have no rules,
0:02:28 > 0:02:33no time in or owt like that, just doing me own thing.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36She says I'm on her street when I'm not, so she's phoned coppers again.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41I'd have been all right if I'd have kept my mouth shut, but can't have somebody slag me off behind me back.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44After this court thing, I'm going for her. I'll get done for assault.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46At least I'm getting done for something proper.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Me nan and granddad, they're like,
0:02:48 > 0:02:52"Oh you need to get a job," and this that and the other. I used to say, "I'll be up dole, me."
0:02:52 > 0:02:55"Ah, d'you know how much you get up dole?"
0:02:55 > 0:02:59"How much, Mother?" "Hundred quid, that's got to last thee a fortnight."
0:02:59 > 0:03:02I used to laugh... cos hundred quid back then seemed a lot,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07and I used to laugh and say, "Oh, yeah, hundred quid, I'd be able to live off hundred quid."
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Now she's laughing at me.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Why?
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Cos I just can't live off hundred quid.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Have you seen the papers? No, you haven't, you trollop.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24I actually want to go in Army...
0:03:24 > 0:03:26so I can go back to me Nan and say,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29"Look, I know I was a real shit back then but I have come out
0:03:29 > 0:03:33"with summat and not just a criminal record or summat stupid like that."
0:03:36 > 0:03:39When are you going to make this change?
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Soon...very soon.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Bridie, I arrest you on suspicion of breaching your bail conditions.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56You don't have to say anything.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00This is ridiculous, this.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03I'll sit you in the back of this police car, all right?
0:04:07 > 0:04:11If they want a scene, let's give them a scene, come on.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Bridie will spend tonight in the cells.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Amber. Amber!
0:04:17 > 0:04:18Uh.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Amber, you have to wake up.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35- No.- Yeah!
0:04:35 > 0:04:37Ah!
0:04:39 > 0:04:42SHE SIGHS
0:04:42 > 0:04:44- Simone?- Yeah?
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Will you make me a cuppa?
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Amber is 16 and pregnant.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52She's never been at her best in the morning,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56but the last few months have especially tough.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01I'm in here because my bedroom's getting redecorated for ready
0:05:01 > 0:05:05for when my baby comes, so, and I don't have no carpet
0:05:05 > 0:05:08at the moment cos we haven't been able to get a carpet, so
0:05:08 > 0:05:12I can't move back until my carpet's done so I've got to sleep on couch.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20You made a right mess. Can tell you don't make cup of teas.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Can tell you don't have a morning person.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27I'm sure you can make your own.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30'It's hard you know, I'm still a teenager.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36'Like I'm scared inside, so being pregnant's a new beginning.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39'I've got to grow up.'
0:05:39 > 0:05:42- See you later.- Bye.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52D'you want to go to shop?
0:05:59 > 0:06:02 Thanks.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Love you.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Turning water on.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Do you turn it on and off all the time?
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Yeah, cos it wastes gas, if you leave it on,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20then it just eats
0:06:20 > 0:06:22your gas like I don't know what...
0:06:22 > 0:06:25so, and we can't afford that, so...
0:06:30 > 0:06:33Despite being 20 weeks pregnant,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Amber has started an introductory hair and make-up course.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40But she's also having to get used to being seen as a teenage mum.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44When I go to hospital, I just feel awkward sometimes.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49You know you look dead young compared to all these...women.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53And sometimes you get a few stares as well.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57It still feels like...you've done summat wrong,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01even though you haven't, but you have, it's weird.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05And a lot of them are with their partners as well,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08and I'm just like, walking, toddling on my own.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14I've got to take in a notepad today, and I don't even have one.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41When I was younger I wanted to be, like, famous.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Like, I wanted to be an actress.
0:07:45 > 0:07:51But acting lessons and stuff, it cost money.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54I just expected, like, I would go to school ... and then as soon
0:07:54 > 0:07:58as I left school, somebody would just discover me and I would be this
0:07:58 > 0:08:03big, famous actress within a week, but it's just not how it works.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Like you don't...
0:08:10 > 0:08:14you don't know anything about, like, life, like how hard stuff is.
0:08:19 > 0:08:2317-year-old Shelby spent 12 months on benefits...
0:08:23 > 0:08:29but she's now working five days a week and getting used to her new routine.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Cos I don't have any experience, I've never had a job before.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35I messed up in school and all that, so, like,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39most people won't take me for a job so this is my one chance
0:08:39 > 0:08:41to just...get there, so...
0:08:41 > 0:08:44For a year there, I was like sleeping
0:08:44 > 0:08:49all day, like, constantly just lying in my bed all the time, just lazy,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53cos I didn't have any reason to get up out of my bed, like,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58so I was just lying there and just, don't know, like a beached whale.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Thanks.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Morning!
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Shelby's job is actually a six-month work placement
0:09:21 > 0:09:24arranged by a local charity.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27£55 a week is not really that great,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30but it's only like stacking shelves and stuff,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33but I'm happy to be doing that cos at least I'm working.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Going out and I'm doing something.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40Despite working 30 hours a week, Shelby's financially no better off.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45The £55 she gets from the placement is the same as she would have got on Jobseeker's Allowance.
0:09:45 > 0:09:51I hope it'll be worth the work and I'll get a real job at some point.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Obviously I'm still going to make mistakes,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56but I'm going down the right path.
0:10:01 > 0:10:07In Rotherham, after a night in the cells, Bridie's due in court.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Billie and some of other friends have come to hear the verdict.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Because she has previous, there's a chance Bridie could go down.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16I hate this court.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18HE LAUGHS Why?
0:10:18 > 0:10:20- I like Sheffield court.- Do ya?
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Yeah, better than Rotherham, I don't like Rotherham.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27I reckon she'll get remanded today...what do you think?
0:10:27 > 0:10:33Basically if you're in Court 10, it's game over, Rover, I reckon.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37She's just a little girl in a big world, trying to be a big girl.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41We thought you were getting remanded, us.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45- Did they pass that message onto you? - Tell me to keep me mouth shut?
0:10:45 > 0:10:48The court has renewed Bridie's bail.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50She'll be back for sentencing in a few weeks,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53but for now she's not going to prison.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Oh, they give me some porridge this morning.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59- Did you enjoy it, love?- It were nice, actually.- It is, isn't it?
0:10:59 > 0:11:01That's why I said, eat everything they offer you.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04The night before, I'd been up all night drinking,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07so as soon as I got in cell, I just fell straight to sleep
0:11:07 > 0:11:09We need to be going McDonald's.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Let me just go to cash machine over there, I'll be back in two seconds.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15That's if me card works.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- It will, man.- It better do.- Here.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24That's if it works, it didn't work yesterday.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Me, if my card don't work...
0:11:28 > 0:11:30If you want some money, yeah.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- "Today, you may withdraw nil." - Uh, why?
0:11:35 > 0:11:38- See?- That don't make sense, why? - Don't know.
0:11:43 > 0:11:44 Off my mum?
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I don't know. If not, come on.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49That's dodgy, that.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Can't you lend her a fiver? Yeah, she'll lend you a fiver, there you go.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Feeling the fresh air, mate?
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Need it back, though, cos I'm fucking stony broke.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02- Are we going?- Who's pulling me up? - You can get your self up.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07With a fiver from Billie's mum, they're off to McDonalds.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Donna, they made me sleep in a cell with a...
0:12:09 > 0:12:12You should've said, "I want me solicitor here! Now!"
0:12:12 > 0:12:15I used to be naughty but I stopped being naughty and growed up.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17It's not like you did owt wrong.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31For Amber, a lot has happened in the last year.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33After falling out with her mum, and dropping out of college,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35she went to live with her dad.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37But when she became pregnant,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41she had to decide what was best for her and her baby.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45My dad didn't have no carpets and didn't really have much food
0:12:45 > 0:12:48and stuff like that. I knew it wouldn't be stable,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50so I chose to come back to my mum.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58Amber's return has put an added financial strain on the family.
0:12:58 > 0:12:59Hello?
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Her mum, Mandy, and her new partner, Scott, are having to support
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Amber out of their existing benefits.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Why have you took the floor up?
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Cos it's horrible...mouldy.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11I don't have no bedroom.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Not quite.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- God, I can smell the damp over here. - Oh.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19With the house already full,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Amber and the baby are going to be living downstairs.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Can you get rid of that black stuff on the wall?
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Fingers crossed.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Obviously I feel a lot better now she's back.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36She's had to get used to the idea that there's rules
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and regulations again and getting back into the routine
0:13:39 > 0:13:42that there's a bedtime and we eat at a certain time.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45If we're not on top of it and everyone don't
0:13:45 > 0:13:49pull their weight, before you know it, the whole place has crumbled.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Went through a bad part in my life where I went through a lot of...
0:13:52 > 0:13:56I met a lot of boys, did a lot of bad things, you know.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01I've been that so-called slapper what you meet.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Every now and then she has a little blast-out.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Especially her hormones and teenage years mixed together.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Erm...
0:14:09 > 0:14:13but, yeah, she still does try to get away with murder, if she can!
0:14:15 > 0:14:19She's been quite aggressive - swearing, back-chatting,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23erm, not much regard for other people, at some points.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26She's such a lovely girl, though, really, you know,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29probably part of this is the stress at her age.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31I've had a lucky escape to be pregnant
0:14:31 > 0:14:34because it's made me change the way I were.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38I'm going to try my best to make sure he has the right way of life,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40you know, he might come off o' track.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43I hope he's not like most of the boys I know.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45I don't mean, like, my close mate boys
0:14:45 > 0:14:50but, like, the more, like, the nasty attitude, the hurting women,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53you know, being a complete arse.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55And if he got someone pregnant
0:14:55 > 0:14:59and he did what my baby's dad done to me I'd be so ashamed.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02I was 19 when I had Amber.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07Erm, obviously I were a bit more grown up than her,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10erm, but I still were in a bit of a similar situation,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12where I weren't prepared to have a baby.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14I didn't have the things that I needed.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19Erm, it weren't an ideal...situation either.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22'She's got the same kind of thoughts as me.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25'it's not, not who puts you there, it's who raises you.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26'It's who brings you up.'
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Shelby spent her teenage years moving between her dad's,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53her aunt's and her friends.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Currently she has little contact with her dad.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00'I'd go and, like, stay somewhere, and I'd just, like, be like,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02' "Oh, I wont stay here for long,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05' "I'll be somewhere else in a couple of months."
0:16:05 > 0:16:06'At the time I was like,
0:16:06 > 0:16:08' "Oh, they don't want me, they don't care about me,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10"they don't love me."
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Obviously, they couldn't handle me.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Shelby ended up in a hostel
0:16:18 > 0:16:20before getting her own flat on the south side of Glasgow.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24When she moved here she had nothing.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27But I would just, like, I had two quilts
0:16:27 > 0:16:29and my teddy, and pillows, and that,
0:16:29 > 0:16:34and I would just lie them there, and...sleep there.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36And then cos it was quite cold then,
0:16:36 > 0:16:37cos this would've been, like, November,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41I was, like, sleeping on the floor and the cold hurts your back.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Ugh.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48It was quite straight to start with but...
0:16:48 > 0:16:49No.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52'The social worker got this, like, charity
0:16:52 > 0:16:53'to give me all this second hand stuff -
0:16:53 > 0:16:59'the couch, that unit the telly's on, the table, that chair.'
0:16:59 > 0:17:01To start with I was lying on the floor,
0:17:01 > 0:17:05and then, like, I upgraded to this but this wasn't much better.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08As soon as you sit on it, it's like...
0:17:08 > 0:17:10way down here!
0:17:15 > 0:17:17For first couple of days I was like,
0:17:17 > 0:17:18"Oh, I don't care, this is my house."
0:17:22 > 0:17:24Cos I just thought that everything would just be sorted
0:17:24 > 0:17:28and I'd have a nice house in nae time, but...I don't.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41After leaving her grandparents,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Bridie moved around Rotherham living with various family and friends...
0:17:46 > 0:17:49..but a few weeks ago she moved into a two-bed shared house,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52after being referred to a youth housing charity.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Although part of her rent is paid for by the housing benefit,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00she has to manage on her income support of eight pounds a day.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Sometimes I'll buy some cloths and stuff
0:18:04 > 0:18:07but mostly just, like, shopping...
0:18:07 > 0:18:09like, rent and stuff.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12'How much does it cost to live here?'
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Er, well, housing actually pay me rent
0:18:14 > 0:18:17but I have to pay, erm...
0:18:17 > 0:18:20I think it's 13 pound for, like, me gas and electric, and stuff.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27Bridie never knew her dad, and she's never lived with her mum.
0:18:27 > 0:18:28'Me mum were a drug user.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32'Crack and smack, and deep stuff like that.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34'I can't say she's ever looked after me
0:18:34 > 0:18:37'but she knew in her own head that she weren't here, though, so.'
0:18:37 > 0:18:41She never properly mothered me or owt like that cos me nan did it.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46It was her nan who encouraged her to join the army cadets.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47'I just think that in't army'
0:18:47 > 0:18:49you've got, like, a lot of work to do and that,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53but it's, like, you can tour t'world and stuff like that,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57and meet different people, and see how other people live,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59and stuff like that.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01I think, if I get done again,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I think this time it will go on me record,
0:19:04 > 0:19:05which means I can't go in't army.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Bridie's not yet applied for the army...
0:19:15 > 0:19:19instead she got on a training course to improve her qualifications
0:19:19 > 0:19:22but it didn't work out.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24So now, she has little to fill her days.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29I chose to be a knobhead and go out with all me mates,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- and do what- I- wanted to do, and look where it got me...
0:19:34 > 0:19:36..nowhere.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42I don't want discipline but I need it to...
0:19:42 > 0:19:44to be able to carry on living.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Without discipline I'm going to be a bit fucked, really.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52I don't want to sit and have this lifestyle for't rest of me life.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Quite sad, like, I spend a lot of time up here,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08just looking at everything.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Dunno, it's sad that I'm 17
0:20:25 > 0:20:28and, like, just looking out the window and...
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Do you know what I mean? I don't think there's anybody else my age
0:20:31 > 0:20:33sitting doing this all the time...
0:20:37 > 0:20:41..bored and there's always people fighting, and stuff, like,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44cos you'll get people that are drunk and then...
0:20:44 > 0:20:45they'll be down there
0:20:45 > 0:20:47and they'll just be making a pure fool of theirsel'
0:20:47 > 0:20:49and it's quite funny but...
0:20:50 > 0:20:51..dunno.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Yeah, you want some more?
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Amber's also got more time on her hands...
0:21:06 > 0:21:08He'll push it t'back o't spoon and then he can't reach it!
0:21:08 > 0:21:12..she's decided that continuing with the beauty course is too difficult.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Um!
0:21:14 > 0:21:19Her friend Sammy became a mum six months ago and relies on benefits.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22This too will be Amber's only option as well,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24so she's made an application for income support...
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Open your mouth then.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27Is that nice?
0:21:27 > 0:21:31..for both, pregnancy has meant completely rethinking their futures.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33I didn't think you were going to have kids.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38I didn't plan for it to happen but I wouldn't change it
0:21:38 > 0:21:41cos obviously I was expecting it to be a lot later
0:21:41 > 0:21:44- when I was having children.- Talked about babies sometimes...- Yeah...
0:21:44 > 0:21:48- ..but we'd rather just chill. - Listen to music and...
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Yeah, listen to music and be proper teenagers, really,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54and then that's... I think that's why it's a shocker that we're both...
0:21:54 > 0:21:57- Yeah.- But then, to be quite honest, I didn't want a kid,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59I was so dead set on wanting my career at college and stuff.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Even though I'll be in the shit at home I wanted my career.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05That what... I wanted to, like, get a job and everything,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08- and then have children when I found someone.- Mm.
0:22:08 > 0:22:09But then it just...
0:22:09 > 0:22:13We said if we ever had a baby I wouldn't get rid of it cos it's well tight.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15Yeah, I wouldn't have got rid of him.
0:22:15 > 0:22:16There's no way I'd have done that.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18I thought, "I'm not going to be able to cope."
0:22:18 > 0:22:20I didn't know about the money schemes and stuff,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23I thought, "I'm not going to have no money, what am I going to do?"
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Obviously, at the beginning I'm on't dole but what am I supposed to do?
0:22:27 > 0:22:28I need to provide for my baby
0:22:28 > 0:22:30so I ain't got much of a choice at the moment.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34You know it's going to be way harder if we were on us own.
0:22:38 > 0:22:4055 is what I get.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42That's all I've got to live on.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46And then bread's a pound and milk's a pound.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54I've got bread, milk, a fish finger thing, erm...
0:22:54 > 0:22:59cereal, chips, crisps, juice, cold meat and cheese.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03That comes to 14.50, so it leave me £40.50.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Before I done the budgeting I'd just go in a shop
0:23:07 > 0:23:09and then I'd be, "Oh, I want this, I want this,"
0:23:09 > 0:23:10and then I'd spend like £20.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14I need new socks...
0:23:14 > 0:23:17probably be about two pound...
0:23:21 > 0:23:25..12.50, I've left myself, for fags.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27I probably could get more food with that and stuff
0:23:27 > 0:23:30but fags is about the only luxury I get.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Well, this week I'm getting myself socks.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35cos once I've got everything
0:23:35 > 0:23:40I've only got, like, a couple of pound left, so...
0:23:40 > 0:23:41Toilet roll, I need toilet roll.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50I always imagined, when I was younger I would just live normally,
0:23:50 > 0:23:54and it'd be easy just to have things and buy everything you need.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00Obviously everybody gets skint but, like, I'm like always skint,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03like, even when I get paid I'm skint.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09I run out of money, usually, a day or two after I get paid.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27I wouldn't dare fetch my kids up in Ferham, no way.
0:24:32 > 0:24:33It's horrible.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35There's no hope for nobody, there's no...
0:24:35 > 0:24:37There's no future for anyone.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Can't wait to just get a bit of money behind me
0:24:43 > 0:24:46and then just that's it, straight out of Rotherham.
0:24:46 > 0:24:47Never mind just Ferham.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Bridie's been sentenced for the incident at Billie's house.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09She wasn't sent down but has been hit with a £170 fine.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Hi, you!
0:25:11 > 0:25:16Today, she's come to see Tina, who lives with Billie's mum.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Pussy!
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Tina has got to know Bridie well and wants her to stay out of trouble.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24'Now, now, don't hurt him!
0:25:24 > 0:25:27'You don't realise how serious jail is, Bridie.'
0:25:27 > 0:25:31No, freedom whatsoever - that's when you have got to do as your told.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Like it or lump it.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Keep thee gob shut!
0:25:35 > 0:25:37It's not that I don't listen to people,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39it does genuinely go in me head.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43It doesn't stay there, it goes in there and straight out of there.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44Because, two minutes later,
0:25:44 > 0:25:48you've done exactly what you said you weren't going to do.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Cos she always comes back to her, to her roots, which is here in Ferham,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54right, and it's not good.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56It's not good because her roots here, of course,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58do nothing but trouble all her life, you know?
0:25:58 > 0:26:01It's, it's not been good for her, so she's...
0:26:01 > 0:26:02I know me nan used to say to me,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05"What's thou want to go up fucking Ferham for, eh?
0:26:05 > 0:26:06"Eh? With all them lot, eh?"
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Like that. And then I used to say, "No, cos I've got me mates up here."
0:26:09 > 0:26:12I love her to pieces and if I could wish for a daughter
0:26:12 > 0:26:14I would wish for it to be Bridie
0:26:14 > 0:26:18but she's just got to learn to keep her mouth shut.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Give me some of that pop.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30- Oi-oi-oi...- It's 35p drink!
0:26:33 > 0:26:36- Me boyfriend's away and I ain't got no money.- How much have you got?
0:26:36 > 0:26:39- A tenner.- That's all right.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44- Oh and what am I going to live on for the next three days?- Water.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Fuck off, I ain't, I'm living on no fucking heating, as it is.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51Why fetch us in this earth, like, just to be plonked here
0:26:51 > 0:26:55and then not give us enough money to explore, if you get what I mean.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57When I get paid 100 quid I have to get me shopping,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00then me, like, me rent thing,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02and then by the time I've done
0:27:02 > 0:27:04it's like, "Right, make sure I've got enough shopping
0:27:04 > 0:27:06"to last me two week..."
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Look, regardless of what we think of the government
0:27:09 > 0:27:11they do give us money
0:27:11 > 0:27:14and they do give us enough to live on, only just...
0:27:14 > 0:27:17No offence but I think they should give younger ones an extra bit.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20We can't afford to go swimming, or fucking skating, or to t'cinema
0:27:20 > 0:27:23- and shit like that...- Tough. - ..only eight quid...
0:27:23 > 0:27:24- What do you mean "Tough"?- Tough.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Right, get up off your arse, go and get a paper round, yeah?
0:27:27 > 0:27:29Thy get up and get a fucking job!
0:27:29 > 0:27:33Listen, I'm fucking 50 years old, I've done my bit!
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Right? And if I could get up and go out there
0:27:36 > 0:27:37and get a job tomorrow I would.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39You'll never have nowt in this life
0:27:39 > 0:27:41if thou not prepared to get up off thee arse...
0:27:41 > 0:27:43No, I am prepared to get up off me arse
0:27:43 > 0:27:46but not for a fucking paper round to save about 15 quid at end of week.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Cos your brain's ticking for something to do
0:27:48 > 0:27:53and if it's not doing owt you're bored, so you want, you're asleep,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56yeah, or on the street.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Bridie, this 17 years has not been brilliant
0:27:58 > 0:28:01but the next 17 years can be fantastic
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and 17 years after that, and 17 years after that
0:28:04 > 0:28:08but it's only you can make it any better.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11- Tina, ain't I stopped sniffing? - Have you fuck.- She has.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14I've stopped sniffing, stopped drinking, smoking next.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Amber's finally heard about her income support claim...
0:28:43 > 0:28:45it's not good.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47- You all right?- Yeah.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50She's only eligible when 29 weeks pregnant
0:28:50 > 0:28:53and mistakenly she had applied too early.
0:28:53 > 0:28:54Right, so what we have to do
0:28:54 > 0:28:57is take another look at how we do us shopping.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01We both smoke, so we'll have to both stop smoking
0:29:01 > 0:29:05and what were the other thing we use too much of?
0:29:06 > 0:29:08- A bit of milk.- Mm.- Yeah?
0:29:08 > 0:29:11But you're going to have to do without the clothes.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13It's making the best of a situation now
0:29:13 > 0:29:18but you're going to eat, you're going to be warm, OK?
0:29:18 > 0:29:20Mm.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22I just don't want to be one of them shit mums
0:29:22 > 0:29:23that baby doesn't have nothing.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28Shouldn't have put myself in this position in't first place
0:29:28 > 0:29:31but it's happened and at least I'm trying to make it work.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37It's like Amber's following the same path
0:29:37 > 0:29:41and obviously I've tried to do everything possible.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46You were... You are a good mum.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Oi.
0:30:04 > 0:30:05Come here.
0:30:11 > 0:30:12Sh.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16Everything's going to be fine.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20Amber will have to wait and reapply.
0:30:40 > 0:30:41Under budget.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46I spent...10.25, so I've got, like, four pound left to play with,
0:30:46 > 0:30:48so I got all this for a tenner.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57To furnish her empty flat, Shelby applied for a Community Care Grant.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59She was initially refused
0:30:59 > 0:31:04but eventually given just enough to buy a bed, fridge and microwave.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08But for the last ten months, she's had no cooker.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10I got this, this is quite nice and it's only a pound,
0:31:10 > 0:31:12and it goes in the microwave.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14It's just, like, fish fingers on, like, a wee bun thing,
0:31:14 > 0:31:15that's quite nice.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Cos it's more expensive, this stuff for the microwave.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22Like these chips, like, it's two for 2.50,
0:31:22 > 0:31:24whereas if I was to get chips that you can make in the oven,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27you get, like, two big giant bags for 2.50
0:31:27 > 0:31:29and it's, like, do you know what I mean?
0:31:29 > 0:31:31So, it'd be save me money and there'd be more chips,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34and...it'd be better.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39My auntie's got a cooker for me but I just need to get, like, the money
0:31:39 > 0:31:42to like get it, and a van up.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45I'd be a lot better off if I was to be able to, like,
0:31:45 > 0:31:50just cook proper meals, like, the way real people do.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53I know I've got a big appetite.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56I'm always hungry, like, even if I've ate I'm still hungry.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59Like, so I'm just like, "Right, you're just greedy,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02"you don't need more than that, you don't need more than that," so.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05If you drink too much coffee you get, like, this sicky feeling
0:32:05 > 0:32:10and you just don't want to eat, so, if I drink that then...it helps.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19MUSIC: "Rescue Song" by Mr Little Jeans
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Will you shut up?
0:32:21 > 0:32:22Ignore her.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27Getting a feel of it now.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29It's all right, I've got a fiver.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35Oi, look at him, he's a crackhead!
0:32:35 > 0:32:38He can't afford a normal haircut! THEY ALL LAUGH
0:32:38 > 0:32:41MUSIC: "Rescue Song" by Mr Little Jeans
0:32:58 > 0:33:01We'll get the potatoes when we go out.
0:33:01 > 0:33:02Which eggs?
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Is it a pigeon? I think it is.
0:33:33 > 0:33:34Are we going to fetch it up
0:33:34 > 0:33:37- and then it'll come back to us when it's older?- Shut up!- It will.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39You feel like a kid again when you get these, don't you?
0:33:39 > 0:33:44Julie's got you a syringe to feed it. It's got half a needle in it.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46WOMEN SHOUTING
0:33:47 > 0:33:50No, I'm not using that, that's been in a smackhead, that.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53He don't want water, he wants a worm, he wants a worm.
0:33:53 > 0:33:54What about Ready Brek?
0:33:57 > 0:33:59Right, so we've got a bum there, today.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02You've got a little dark line running up from your pubic line,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05here, it's going to meet your belly.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08Amber's now six months into her pregnancy.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Healthy babies wriggle around that much
0:34:10 > 0:34:11so it's a really, really good sign.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15Right, chick, are you feeling all right in yourself, yeah?
0:34:15 > 0:34:16- Yeah.- Yeah?
0:34:17 > 0:34:19How are you doing wi' smoking?
0:34:19 > 0:34:21Well, I went off a day cos we didn't have no money for no cigs at all,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24so I went all the day without having a cig, until right,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26right late at night, from not having none for all day.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28- Er, you know already...- Yeah.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30Single biggest preventable cause of babies dying,
0:34:30 > 0:34:32so if we can knock those ciggies on the head.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Erm, have you had one of these?
0:34:34 > 0:34:37- I don't know.- Right.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40Don't get horribly confused about it, all right?
0:34:40 > 0:34:41If it don't make any sense to you
0:34:41 > 0:34:43just sling it at your mum, all right?
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Cos, erm, it's got some, some information about, you know,
0:34:46 > 0:34:48your claim for child benefit and that kind of stuff
0:34:48 > 0:34:50cos you're over 29 weeks now, so, you know.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54- Yeah, my first payment should be day before my birthday.- Excellent.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56So I can finally get him something!
0:34:56 > 0:34:58- SHE EXHALES - At last.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00My uncle Mark's girlfriend,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03- she has given me a Moses basket and stuff, so...- Excellent.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05So all you need, really, is nappies, isn't it?
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Yeah, and I need a carpet in my bedroom
0:35:07 > 0:35:09- so that's what I'm going to get out of Maternity Grant.- Fair dos.
0:35:09 > 0:35:10I was just going to say,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13rather than spending your money from your Maternity Grant
0:35:13 > 0:35:15you could apply for a Social Fund loan
0:35:15 > 0:35:18and then they'll take it directly out of your benefit, you know,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21before it comes through, cos that's meant for emergency bits of kit,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24cos you can't be without, for example, a cooker or a bed, can you?
0:35:24 > 0:35:27You, kind of, need those things, they're absolutely essential.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30I need to remember everything, I always forget everything.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32- Do you not put alerts in your phone? I save...- Don't have a phone.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36Oh, do you not? Well, it's not end of world.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40Right, sweetheart, I think we're all sorted and done, and dusted.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53Dealing with realities of adulthood has become even harder for Bridie.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57Her debts have caught up with her and now, her home is at risk.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03Housing sent me a letter saying that I've gotta pay me arrears off
0:36:03 > 0:36:05otherwise I've got, like, three week to get out.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10'How much is the rent arrears?'
0:36:10 > 0:36:14I think it's about 180, something like that.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16'And what's your weekly rent?'
0:36:18 > 0:36:19I ain't even got a clue.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26'Do you mind me asking why you haven't been able to pay it?'
0:36:26 > 0:36:29I don't know, I just didn't pay it.
0:36:29 > 0:36:30I just let it build up.
0:36:36 > 0:36:37'Have you been worried?'
0:36:37 > 0:36:41A bit yeah cos I got me fine to pay off as well.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45So there's nowt much I can do.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54But for Shelby, things are looking up.
0:36:54 > 0:36:55Up to the right, Shelby, aye?
0:36:55 > 0:36:57Er, no, left.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01A colleague at work, with a van,
0:37:01 > 0:37:05is helping her collect her aunt's old cooker.
0:37:05 > 0:37:06At the front.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09- Be lying here for long, Shelby?- Aye.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15And there's an added bonus -
0:37:15 > 0:37:18thanks to her aunt's neighbour.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22I've got two nice couches...a cooker, so...
0:37:22 > 0:37:24I'm happy.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29- Oh, thanks a lot, man. - All right, straight through?
0:37:29 > 0:37:30Er, you can go that way.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35And Mandy's managed to find £78 from the family's budget
0:37:35 > 0:37:38to do up Amber and the baby's new room.
0:37:38 > 0:37:39It ties it in, don't it?
0:37:40 > 0:37:43- Not really!- That's artwork!
0:37:43 > 0:37:46- They look cool together. - No, it don't, it looks shit.
0:37:46 > 0:37:51Flower that you've cut out not even look good either!
0:37:51 > 0:37:53I'm going to buy a blue one, though.
0:37:53 > 0:37:54A blue what?
0:37:54 > 0:37:55Sheet and quilt.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58- Yeah, well you can do that with your own money, can't you?- Yeah.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05Being on me own I don't mind, it's just the house, I don't like it,
0:38:05 > 0:38:07it's horrible, I can't do nowt here.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09I can't decorate, I can't do nothing.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13Everything just does your head in.
0:38:18 > 0:38:19It's horrible.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22I just don't like it.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24I'm going to move in with one of me mates.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31There's no point worrying about t'future, that's ages away, innit?
0:38:36 > 0:38:37Thanks.
0:38:43 > 0:38:44Teddies on that one.
0:38:49 > 0:38:50Watch!
0:38:55 > 0:38:56There you go, girl.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59I had to climb up top o't cupboard to get them.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11I'm going to get my baby's footprints and handprints put on the wall.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16- Now, you take care, right?- Thanks.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31So, you'll just have to wait a couple of weeks, now, to get your carpet.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34Yup, and then my wardrobe is my next thing.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36It's all on you from now on.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40It's down to you to change and make things better for yourself.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48Shelby has just discovered that the cooker has no power cable.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52Ugh, just a bit...
0:39:53 > 0:39:56I don't know, because I want... I wanted to go make a soup but...
0:39:58 > 0:40:00..I need to wait until, I don't know.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Oh, there's just, there's always something,
0:40:05 > 0:40:08there's always, always something.
0:40:14 > 0:40:15Never mind.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24I've had to grow into an adult, I've had to change a lot of my ways.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Obviously, at the beginning of my pregnancy,
0:40:26 > 0:40:28I weren't going to do it straight away
0:40:28 > 0:40:31because it were a big jump from being a one certain person
0:40:31 > 0:40:32to another certain person.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35From being a child, really, to an adult.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39So, and obviously it's had to build in time to become an adult.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41It weren't going to just happen like that.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45So, but yeah, I think you have to, though, you have to mature.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49You can't just... You can't be a kid looking after a kid, like...
0:40:51 > 0:40:54You can't act like a child and be looking after a child.
0:41:01 > 0:41:08Can I get the hang of being an adult before I could, like...
0:41:08 > 0:41:09have a baby, like?
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Like, there's so much, like, I think it...
0:41:12 > 0:41:15Responsibility, like...
0:41:15 > 0:41:19having a house, like, can you imagine having a house and a baby?
0:41:19 > 0:41:22I just... There's no way I could do it right now.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25Don't start pissing me off now.
0:41:28 > 0:41:29Well, I've got a headache!
0:41:29 > 0:41:32I need to go Donna's, pay me nan the fucking money back!
0:41:32 > 0:41:35Bridie's boyfriend isn't able to help with the pressure she's under.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38- SHOUTS:- I've just said fucking stay then, don't start mouthing at me!
0:41:38 > 0:41:40When you come here I'm not going to be here, I swear now.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44- I've had enough, man, I swear now. - Ah, get out!
0:41:44 > 0:41:45- When you come back... - No, get out now.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48- It's not your fucking house, is it? - That's it, I swear now.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52- So we done?- Yeah, we're done. - Well, get out of me house now then!
0:41:52 > 0:41:55- SCREAMS:- You're doing me head in, just get OUT!
0:42:08 > 0:42:10Just comes from everywhere...
0:42:13 > 0:42:19..house, me fine, arguing with everyone, it's everything.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24And then I just start screaming and just let it all out at once.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47For Shelby, who rarely has any spare cash,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50the options to save or borrow money are limited.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54Doorstep lenders would gladly help but at a cost.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57While the chances of getting a loan from a High Street bank
0:42:57 > 0:42:59are almost nil.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01But she's heard of a possible alternative.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07Hi, erm, I'm looking to start, like, a Credit Union account.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09No problem. Any family members who are members,
0:43:09 > 0:43:12- who've directed you here or what was your...?- Erm...
0:43:12 > 0:43:16- ..your initial reason for coming in? - Well, it was a friend who told me...
0:43:16 > 0:43:19The main purpose of our Credit Union is the benefit of its members.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22People who are on low incomes or people who are financially excluded.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25- Are you living yourself or with parents or...? - Myself.- Yourself?- Yeah.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28So I can imagine it'd be quite... Like, financial...
0:43:28 > 0:43:32- Like, finances are quite an important part of day to day...- Aye.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34Have you ever had any, like, any problems with, like,
0:43:34 > 0:43:36money management or anything?
0:43:36 > 0:43:37Erm, yeah.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40So that you can save up and make a commitment to the Credit Union
0:43:40 > 0:43:42you need to deposit at least one pound
0:43:42 > 0:43:44into your shares account, to start it up.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47You can deposit more if you wish but it's a five-pound joining fee
0:43:47 > 0:43:49and a one pound into your shares account.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52So in your first loan you can borrow twice what you've saved up.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55So if you save up £150, it'll be £300.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57- What age are you just now?- 17.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00You can join the Credit Union when you're 16, but you can't borrow money.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03Legally you can't borrow money until you're 18 years old.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05Er, you'll need two forms of identification,
0:44:05 > 0:44:07so do you have a passport or a driving licence?
0:44:07 > 0:44:08I don't have any photographic ID.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11- Have you got anything with your photograph, a student card...?- No.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14If you want to stand here by this door... Yep, just here.
0:44:14 > 0:44:15Then we'll take your photo...
0:44:15 > 0:44:19The Credit Union are used to helping out people in Shelby's position.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Like saving them the cost of an ID photo.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25Yeah, that's fine, we'll get that printed off for you just now.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32It's dead adult-y, going to a Credit Union.
0:44:32 > 0:44:33Definitely want to make an account.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36- There's your photographs there, Shelby.- Thanks.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Even so, it will be a challenge for Shelby
0:44:42 > 0:44:44to find the six pound needed to open the account.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52Today is Amber's 17th birthday.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56With the £78 budget for her new room all spent,
0:44:56 > 0:44:59she can ill afford setbacks like a broken bed.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02I didn't think it was going to be like this.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04So, now I've got to get my bed removed
0:45:04 > 0:45:07and I've just got to stay on mattress but I'm getting another bed.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09So that's another thing I've got to pay out for.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11So...
0:45:11 > 0:45:14Cos obviously you're happy to wake up on your birthday,
0:45:14 > 0:45:18be able to open presents but, like, I don't think it's really...
0:45:18 > 0:45:20I'm not really bothered.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23It's just, I don't know...
0:45:23 > 0:45:25You get that birthday feeling when you're opening presents and stuff,
0:45:25 > 0:45:29it's like, you know, it's your birthday then but, like...
0:45:32 > 0:45:34..it don't bother me if I'm not doing it.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37It's still my birthday!
0:45:50 > 0:45:52I want to save up and get a carpet.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55I think I could squeeze, like, a fiver a week.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00"Are you currently employed?"
0:46:00 > 0:46:02Mm.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07I put, "currently employed."
0:46:07 > 0:46:08Oh, no, I put, "Unem..."
0:46:08 > 0:46:12Oh, I thought that said, "unemployed". Shit.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14I-I don't know, like, where it would come under.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17And then it asks you're your number of hours worked per week.
0:46:17 > 0:46:23I'm doing... Six, two, 18, 24, 30 hours a week.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25Er, that's...
0:46:26 > 0:46:31Thir... That's 1.83 an hour.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35Is minimum wage no, like, four pound an hour or something?
0:46:36 > 0:46:38Like, five pound an hour, something?
0:46:40 > 0:46:42That's quite bad!
0:46:42 > 0:46:45I never thought about it like that.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Mm.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52Feels like I'm getting ripped off a bit!
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Mm.
0:46:54 > 0:46:55Mmm.
0:46:57 > 0:46:58Is it them?
0:46:58 > 0:47:00CHATTERING
0:47:02 > 0:47:03Who is it? Who is it?
0:47:03 > 0:47:06Basically, my sister's phone's got pinched
0:47:06 > 0:47:09and now we're just trying to figure out who's got t'phone.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11Oi, listen...
0:47:11 > 0:47:14Bridie, too, has got used to living without family support.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18I just don't like asking for help.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20'Like, especially people you don't know.'
0:47:20 > 0:47:23- He knows who it is, him.- Who? - Him.- Show me where he is.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25'I knew I had to be independent
0:47:25 > 0:47:28'but I didn't think it would be this hard.'
0:47:30 > 0:47:34But, then again, it is an experience to stand on your own two feet
0:47:34 > 0:47:39and be able to not rely on everybody all t'time, and just be independent.
0:47:39 > 0:47:40No, would I go police? No!
0:47:40 > 0:47:42Cos then you gotta deal with it police way,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44you want to deal with it your own way, don't ya?
0:47:44 > 0:47:45If police get involved you gotta do it legally
0:47:45 > 0:47:47and you can't do what you want to do.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50'But I miss being at home, I miss being at me nan's.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53'I miss it now, because there is nobody there to say,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56"Oh, well, you're doing this wrong. Oh, you can do this, this way." '
0:48:04 > 0:48:07If you waste all your money then you're going to end up with nowt.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Your baby's going to come, you'll still have no carpet,
0:48:09 > 0:48:11you're still going to have not what you need.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13At least doing this, it gets it out of the way
0:48:13 > 0:48:15and then when you get some more money
0:48:15 > 0:48:18you can go buy some bloody clothes and stop nicking your sister's.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21You're funny, you are, aren't ya?
0:48:21 > 0:48:24Amber's income support claim has finally been accepted.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30- Did you get your receipt? - I didn't ask for a receipt.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34I'm richer than you, Mum.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38'It's free money but, then, we wouldn't be able to live
0:48:38 > 0:48:40'if we didn't have it.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43'No-one would be able to live if we didn't have it.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47'Cos there's so many people on't dole, so many people.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49Are you happy that you're getting a carpet?
0:48:49 > 0:48:52- Are you that down because you want other stuff?- No...
0:48:52 > 0:48:55Cos I'd be, I'd be so... I'd be happy if I were getting a carpet!
0:48:55 > 0:48:58- Trying to say I'm ungrateful, or something?- Yeah, you are sometimes.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04Just look at the cheaper ones for now.
0:49:04 > 0:49:09Is that all right for baby, don't pull 'em out but £69 that size.
0:49:09 > 0:49:103.99, Amber.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13You can't just use your living expenses on it.
0:49:13 > 0:49:14Do you like them?
0:49:14 > 0:49:16They'd look nice in your room, them, actually.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21- £96, including fitting. - Is that with underlay?
0:49:21 > 0:49:24- No, you don't need underlay... - You don't need underlay, that one.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27- I can pay it all today.- Can you? - I've got enough.- All right.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29- Yeah.- Thank you.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33'Everybody struggles, everybody finds it hard to pay for things,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36'and I know some people have it a lot worse off than me
0:49:36 > 0:49:40'but my mum, she is the one that's been there every step,
0:49:40 > 0:49:41'every single day.'
0:49:41 > 0:49:42Well done, love.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53'I think my life could've been a lot easier...
0:49:53 > 0:49:54'if I would've just behaved myself
0:49:54 > 0:49:58'and, like, I wasnae always cheeky to my dad
0:49:58 > 0:50:00'so then I wouldnae have got kicked out.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02'I'd have probably been at, like, college
0:50:02 > 0:50:04'or going on holidays and stuff
0:50:04 > 0:50:07'cos I would've had the financial support.'
0:50:11 > 0:50:14After not seeing each other for six months,
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Shelby decided to make contact with her dad.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20She wanted to show him how much she's changed.
0:50:20 > 0:50:21I don't like carrots!
0:50:23 > 0:50:28'Erm, my dad come up and fitted my cooker in for me.'
0:50:29 > 0:50:34It was good to, like, just, I don't know, like...
0:50:34 > 0:50:36doing the cooker with him and, like, wiring it up.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39It was good, like...doing something with him.
0:50:40 > 0:50:45With her dad's help, Shelby is able to have a proper meal at last.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48Cos me auntie makes soup and stuff, and so does my granny, so.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55'After making this, how much money will you have left?'
0:50:55 > 0:50:56Nothing.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00I've got no more money for the, like, the rest of the week,
0:51:00 > 0:51:01I've only got 90-odd pence.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05Like, David Cameron is supposedly
0:51:05 > 0:51:13supposed to be stopping housing benefit for people...under 25,
0:51:13 > 0:51:17which I don't think's fair because...like...
0:51:18 > 0:51:20..I don't know, like,
0:51:20 > 0:51:23I'm getting housing benefit but I'm still working.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25So, like, if he done that right now
0:51:25 > 0:51:28then I wouldnae know what to do, like...
0:51:29 > 0:51:32..there'd be nae way I could stay in this hoose.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34They'd probably be like...I don't know...
0:51:40 > 0:51:45Everybody's got problems, obviously...
0:51:45 > 0:51:47Like people with money, they still have problems,
0:51:47 > 0:51:49just no' money problems.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54It's ready. I like that.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03I have just made my first pot of soup!
0:52:09 > 0:52:14For Shelby, Amber and Bridie, the summer is drawing to a close.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21Still unable to pay her rent arrears,
0:52:21 > 0:52:24Bridie has been staying away from home.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26Instead she's been living with Tina.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33Tonight her mate Rachel is having a house party across the road.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Beers, drugs, it's all you need.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37I've gone in Donna's cupboard,
0:52:37 > 0:52:40there were a glass of vodka and coke, weren't there?
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Bridie is now thinking she may move in with Rachel.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50Well, I don't know if it'll be a good home but, basically,
0:52:50 > 0:52:53like, cos I don't like being on me own and she's on her own,
0:52:53 > 0:52:55she's got a two bedroomed house and I said to her,
0:52:55 > 0:52:57"I've got all front decorations and stuff like that,
0:52:57 > 0:52:59"so might as well give it a go."
0:52:59 > 0:53:01This will be my room.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08I've even got a little wardrobe like me other house.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10I think that's Rachel's family.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18I'm going to decorate but I don't know what colour yet.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21I'm hoping, like, a pinky purple or...
0:53:21 > 0:53:25A pinky purple and a black, or a blue and a black, really.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31If they offer you painkillers, just have them,
0:53:31 > 0:53:33don't be too brave, kid, yeah?
0:53:39 > 0:53:41Go in through these doors.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43- You need to let them know. - Good timing!
0:53:43 > 0:53:44Thank you.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53- I'll show you into the room and then I'll admit you, all right?- Yeah.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58You're doing fantastic, you are.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03Oh, my God.
0:54:05 > 0:54:06I got you.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15I think when I was, like, a wee, wee girl...
0:54:15 > 0:54:20like, kind of, like seven, eight...when everything was so easy.
0:54:20 > 0:54:26Like...I don't know, everything just happens the way it happens, like...
0:54:26 > 0:54:31you're only, like, a child for so long and then...
0:54:31 > 0:54:33like it's up to you.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35You make what you want to make of your life, really.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42BABY CRYING
0:54:42 > 0:54:45How perfect is he? He's gorgeous, isn't he?
0:54:47 > 0:54:52I can't believe I'm a mum. Doesn't seem real at all.
0:54:52 > 0:54:53(Let's have a look at him.)
0:54:55 > 0:54:56I'm so happy.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05I don't feel, like, bad about where my life is.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09It's no' ideal but I'm still only 17,
0:55:09 > 0:55:11I've got a lot of time to...
0:55:13 > 0:55:18..make what I want to make of my life so...
0:55:18 > 0:55:23Dunno it's just, like, a kind of temporary position - hopefully!
0:55:23 > 0:55:27Well, it's not been easy and I kinda want him to know that as well
0:55:27 > 0:55:32because, obviously, a lot of children copy their mums and dads.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36He'll make it up to me sometime, for putting me through all this pain.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46You weren't born on this earth to have an easy life...
0:55:46 > 0:55:48but I'm only 17...
0:55:49 > 0:55:51..I've not seen life yet.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56I've got all them years ahead of me.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd