Episode 4 Paul O'Grady: The Sally Army and Me

I've always got on with the Salvation Army in the past.

They build bridges.

So, they built a bridge with me between the saints and the sinner...

and we've met in the middle and we're doing quite well, actually.

'At many different times throughout my life, our paths have crossed.

'So, now, on the 150th anniversary...'

Oh, here we go.

'..I've been working with the officers and volunteers...'

Vegetable soup.

That was fantastic. Did you enjoy that?

Oh, it was wonderful.

'..on my very own Salvation Army training course.'

You know you're putting me off old age with all this.

'I've been travelling up and down the country...'

If it hadn't worked out for me, I could be in your position now.

You're welcome.

Look at the size of him.

'..and even overseas.'

Too much.

'Tonight, I learn how the Salvation Army are helping

'hard-working people who struggle to feed their kids.'

Do you skip meals so the kids eat?

Yeah.

You can't do that.

'I put some tough questions to the big boss...'

I know so many men and women who are gay and lesbian,

they'd be the most wonderful officers.

'..and travel right across Europe to witness

'the refugee crisis first-hand.'

Just go, just go! Leave these people alone.

That all right?

'And if I make it through that, I'll be a step closer to leading

'the Sally Army band down London's Oxford street.'

It's fabulous.

The world of television and theatre is all make believe.

It's not real.

But this is real, the Salvation Army.

These are real people that I'm going to be dealing with.

'I've spent the last six weeks in training across the UK with

'the Sally Ann and my mentor, Captain Jo, so far, seems happy.'

I think the way that you've handled the people that you've met,

I have to commend you for that.

'It's been a real eye-opener...'

Thank you. Come on, baby-face.

'..from dealing with dementia...'

All good stories start with "Once upon a time..."

'..to taking a Bible class,

'the challenges have been constantly changing...'

# And some day...

'..and they're helping me change too.

'Meeting people like this, how could you not?'

I just want us to keep on loving them.

Yeah. Show them we care.

'I reckon I'm really getting closer to what the Salvation Army

'is all about...

'and what it truly takes to be a soldier of God.'

The whole aim of the game is to help people, not to save their souls,

but to provide them with a better life.

'It's back to training HQ for my next mission.

'Jo's got a task for me that other cadets and volunteers

'have to go through.'

People reach out to us for help in lots of different ways.

Some people walk in through the door, others are referred

by organisations and charities and some people still write us letters.

We get about 10,000 letters every year.

Hello again, how are you? Hello, Paul.

Major Martin Hill is in charge of answering all the letters.

So I want Paul to go pick a letter

and whatever help the writer needs, go and provide.

Surely you can't deal with every single letter that comes in?

Cos you're getting so many.

Well, we'd respond to every letter. Yeah.

Even if it's a case where we can't actually help. Yeah.

You're going to have an opportunity this afternoon to help us

with this particular enquiry.

'The letter that I've picked out is not actually from someone who

'needs help herself.

'It's a mum who's desperately worried about her daughter.'

"Dear Salvation Army, this is not easy for me. My daughter lives

"in New Addington, she has three sons living at home

"from ages 7-17. She works hard as a teacher's assistant."

Now, they're not well-paid.

"There is no money after bills are paid."

See, this so annoys me, that somebody's out working

and they can't feed their children. That is so wrong.

"I'm a pensioner and I have no savings to help her

"and it is breaking my heart to hear her so near breaking point."

I mean, that's so sad, isn't it, to get a letter like that?

Better go and get my wings and my wand.

'It's surprising to me that the Sally Army are still receiving

'letters like this in the 21st century.'

It shows what desperate times we're living in.

So we have to go and help her.

You know, you've got to.

You can't ignore stuff like this.

'I'm being sent to a foodbank in Croydon.

'There are 1,000 across the country that rely on

'emergency donations of food, which is then given to people

'struggling to feed their families.

'I know that Sarah, whose mum wrote that letter, uses this one.

'It's overseen by Captains Emma and Matthew.'

Are you Matt? Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Matt. Hiya, Matt.

'Lots of the donations come from the local schools.'

Look at all this food. In you come.

Do you collect all this in your school? Yes.

And this is all people's donations. Yes. Aren't people good?

I mean, look at it. You know, it's great.

'The Salvation Army have been feeding people in need

'since they started back in the 19th century.

'They handed out food parcels during both world wars

'and have always fed the homeless.

'Foodbanks are a more recent phenomenon.

'The first one in the UK was opened in 2000.

'Now, 700 Sally Ann locations provide emergency food that

'all the community churches donate to.'

If you were asking people to donate stuff to a foodbank,

what would you say?

No baked beans. Oh, have you got loads of baked beans?

Have a look at the baked beans.

What is it with baked beans?

Everybody likes a baked bean. No baked beans.

We don't want none of those.

That's something we get a lot of.

Well, you see, that could, if you had two kids...

You know, on toast.

Things that we lack are often, like, long-life milk.

Yeah. That's quite important, isn't it?

I should imagine for a lot of people it's a big step to

walk down the path and come in here and say,

"I've no money. Can you feed me and my children?"

Absolutely. Yeah.

A lot of the people that would come to a foodbank,

certainly to OUR food bank, we're finding they're working people.

I just think people need to know there's no shame. Absolutely.

None at all. Well, hopefully, we can give them that message.

Exactly, yeah.

'It's 3pm and Sarah's coming to receive a food parcel

'for herself and her family.

'Without this, they wouldn't be able to eat properly this month.'

Thank you. Hiya, Sarah. Hello, nice to meet you.

Come here, lovely to meet you. And you. Give us a hug.

You all right? Yes, thank you. Do you want a cup of tea?

I'd love one, Paul, please.

I'll put the kettle on for you. Thank you.

So you're working every day?

I try and make ends meet by doing a part-time job.

I work in a school.

As a teaching assistant? A teaching assistant.

Now, that's a stressful job.

But I enjoy it.

Do you get any help at all from the social?

Yeah, I get help from the social.

But it's still not enough.

No, no, definitely not.

I've been on my own eight years now with them.

I separated from the boys' dad

then I got in rent arrears.

I then got a notice of eviction, so I had to leave.

Sarah, how hard did it get?

I lived in bed and breakfasts...

Now, that's grim.

Yeah, six months.

Is that one room with the boys?

The first place was.

My youngest was three months old at the time.

You can't have that. No, they then put me back into accommodation

and I had a bit of a meltdown one evening.

At this particular time, I needed money for maybe

some milk and bread. Yeah.

And they're basics. Yeah.

We're not talking about going to get your hair done, and all this,

or nails. No.

This is, like, basic, you know... We all need it. Yeah.

Do you skip meals so the kids eat?

Yeah. You can't do that.

In fact, my children now pick up.

"Mum, you've not eaten today, why aren't you eating?"

So I make the excuse, "I'm not feeling too well,

"my tummy's playing up. You have it, you can have Mummy's today."

How do you feel about coming to a foodbank?

Were you embarrassed at first? Yeah.

I thought you would be.

I was too proud. Yeah.

Not just because I was too proud,

I felt that there was other people out there that were in need of it

more than me.

I'm working, I'm getting benefits. Yeah.

I don't deserve to come to somewhere like this.

But you do. You've got your boys. Yeah, yeah.

If your kids are hungry, or you're hungry...

You've got to eat. ..you've got to eat.

Don't sit there, get yourself to a foodbank.

You know, you've got to look after yourself and your family.

'The parcel of provisions would have only cost around ?40.

'It doesn't seem much to feed a family of four.'

Let's get all this packed up.

'But Sarah's discovered some tricks to make it last.'

Hot chocolate. Hot chocolate suppresses your appetite as well.

Oh, does it? Oh, yeah. I suppose you have learnt all this, haven't you?

Things that suppress appetites and... Yeah.

Porridge, cups of tea, hot chocolate. Yeah, yeah.

The odd biscuit, if it's still left in the cupboard.

But you need food to stoke the furnace, keep you warm. Yeah.

Oh wonderful, thank you so much.

Oh, no, it's a pleasure.

You look after yourself, do you hear? Yes, Paul.

Thank you. Come here, give us a hug.

Thank you very much. And take care. Ta-ra. Bye.

Remarkable woman, really. How brave is she?

'That was quite shocking.

'We think living in Britain that hunger doesn't happen here.'

We're living in a country where malnutrition is on the increase.

We've got TB, we've got all these hideous Victorian diseases

coming back. So, we're going right full circle

back to the early days of the Salvation Army.

Many people who go to foodbanks tell us that they

sometimes feel ashamed that they need that kind of help.

It's really important to us that we treat those people with respect

and above all dignity, and Captains Matthew and Emma

told us that Paul did a really great job of that.

'I'm about halfway through my training now,

'but there's one question that's been niggling me from the start.

'I'm openly gay and it's my understanding, for that reason,

'I could never become a fully fledged

'officer of the Salvation Army.

'If that's true, I'm going to find it hard to accept.'

Paul's been asking some really important questions that go

a little bit beyond my authority, so I'm going to send him

to meet the Commissioner to get some answers.

'There is one man in charge of the 40,000 Salvation Army officers

'and soldiers here in the UK, Commissioner Clive Adams.

'Before I go any further, I want to know from him -

'would they really have me?'

Well, I've passed this place so many times.

It's about time you came in, then. About time I came it.

Well, listen, what would you say if I said to you right now,

"Commissioner, "I don't think I've had the calling,

"but I'd like to be involved with the Salvation Army"?

I'd say, "Take off that suit and get going."

Why do I have to take my suit off?

Because you need to roll up your sleeves,

you are going to get messed up.

Don't worry about that, I'll roll my sleeves up in a suit.

But, Paul, that's a serious question.

No, really, what would you do? You see, you've got a heart

for other people. It sounds like your heart's not turned inwards,

it sounds like your heart's turned outward.

From the age of 17, when other boys in Liverpool

were playing football, you were going to the place

where people were in need.

You've got this heart turned out.

We would welcome you to get stuck in with us.

But say somebody liked to drink or they smoked.

Would they be allowed in?

They would be allowed in, but we've got parameters for our members

and if you want to become a soldier in the Salvation Army,

you have to commit to what we believe,

you have to commit to a lifestyle.

Yeah. That means that you say, in sympathy with the people

that we serve, "We will not drink."

Say you were a same-sex couple? What would you happen then?

You could volunteer for us, you could come to our church services,

but because of the parameters we put around membership,

you wouldn't be allowed to be a member.

It comes from his heart, it's stuff he genuinely means and believes.

You know, he's the captain of the ship.

He's got extremely strong beliefs about Christianity.

I mean, they're things probably we don't share.

See, that's upsetting, really,

because I know so many men and women who are gay and lesbian,

who are so spiritual. They'd be the most wonderful officers.

The point is that when you make that commitment,

a heterosexual woman who is not married

would have to abstain from a sexual life...

Yeah. ..if they're going to become a Salvation Army soldier.

My feeling is this - that in the Salvation Army,

we are upfront about our expectations.

Now, with a gay person, you can come on a Sunday to worship,

but membership, because we choose to have this lifestyle which is

connected to our faith, we say

if you're going to be a member here as opposed to just belonging

to our... These are the rules.

These are the rules. Yeah.

'I have to be honest, for me, it's the first real negative thing

'that I've discovered about the Army.

'But, for now, we're just going to have to agree to disagree.

'Clive has a major task for me.'

I think perhaps you should see what it's like

for our people even internationally.

Go to the front line in terms of our refugee work.

We're just starting out getting involved in Greece.

Is it particularly bad over there?

You see, they're coming in there and the apparatus to handle it

is not good enough. No.

So, yes, I think you should see those kind of things.

I also want to say this to you, Paul.

You can't be seeing this kind of thing,

experience these kinds of things, without it affecting you.

You're not normal if it doesn't affect you personally.

I think it subconsciously affects you, because I've noticed now,

over a period of a few weeks, I'm slowly changing.

I don't mean I'm getting depressed or anything, I'm not.

It's just I've withdrawn slightly.

Yes.

But I want to make available to you Captain Jo.

Oh, she's wonderful.

She's lovely. Oh, I'm mad for her.

I want you to be able to talk to her about what's going on inside.

All right, then, well, definitely.

Anything you throw at me, Commissioner,

I'm quite prepared to take on.

It's lovely to meet you, Paul. And you as well.

Let's give each other a spiritual high-five.

Hallelujah, brother. Hallelujah!

Why do I love saying hallelujah!

'And just like everyone in the Sally Army,

'if the big boss tells you to go somewhere, you have to go!

'And Clive's sending me into one of the

'biggest humanitarian disasters in the world.

'We've all see shocking stuff about the refugee crisis -

'men, women and children risking their lives to

'escape their war-ravaged homes, seeking safety in Europe.

'In Greece, a country that is already near to crumbling

'with its own financial crisis, up to 5,000 homeless refugees a day

'are landing on its shores with nothing more

'than what little they can carry.

'We're going to see first-hand what the Salvation Army

'and other charities are doing on the ground.'

Oh, here she is.

Hello, are you all right? Are you OK?

'And on this occasion, Jo is coming with me.'

You all set?

Yeah, expect the worst, really, that's what I think.

You see it on television, we read about it in the papers,

but we're seeing it first-hand then.

It's going to be a defining moment of our training, I think.

I think it's going to be important.

Well, I'm up for it.

Come on, then, lets do it. Yeah, come on, then. Let's do it.

'This is a big deal. It's some of the toughest work

'that the Sallies do.

'I'm not quite sure what to expect.

'We're heading to Athens.

'The Greek capital has become a stopping point for

'up to 3,000 refugees a day on their journey into Europe.

'Victoria Square is now a temporary home to

'hundreds of desperate families.

'They've escaped countries like Syria and Afghanistan

'all hoping to rest before they continue their journey.

'Within an hour of landing, I'm at their Athens HQ with the team

'of Sally volunteers led by Major Maria Galinou.

'We're knocking up food parcels for the families in the square.'

You want to go early in the morning before everybody wake up

because after, there is no trouble.

They're grabbing, they... You know, they are desperate, they are hungry.

'This lot prepare nearly 1,000 sandwiches a day.'

You're slacking there, Jo.

I'm just waiting for bread.

I mean, really? You've only been on the job for ten minutes.

I've lost count now with cheese.

Some people are going to have, like, Desperate Dan sarnies.

They're going to go like this, with a cheese mountain.

The O'Grady. This has got 19 slices of cheese cos I was talking.

'Maria and her team have been assisting refugees

'here for six months now.'

Where are they going? Where are they heading for, Maria?

Most of them, they say Germany, they say Sweden.

I don't hear a lot about UK.

It's interesting that you say so few want to go to the UK

because, meanwhile in the UK, that's all we get.

Any minute now, England's going to be taken over.

So you heard that from the horses mouth,

they don't want to come to the UK.

So, shut it now, OK? Leave it.

I tell you what's going through my head.

I keep putting myself in these situations, which is what

I do a lot of the times in grim situations.

I think, "How would I cope at the mercy of traffickers?"

And all sorts.

And being split up from my friends and your family and it's shocking.

But I think we're going to see a little bit of

what desperation looks like.

I remember Maria sent me a message and it just said,

"Be prepared."

Yeah.

'Maria's leading us to the square.

'I'm wondering what the conditions are like down there.'

This is a daft question, cos I bet they haven't.

Have they got Portaloos in there?

There's two toilets... Oh, for God's sake.

..and one place with running water.

Is that your secret, to smile?

My secret is the Lord.

'I have a feeling we're going to need more than just faith.'

We can start giving the sandwiches out. OK.

'The atmosphere is very tense.

'It feels like everyone has their guard up.'

Yeah, I think we can just hand them out.

Do you want a sandwich? There you go.

Do you want one?

'I don't think they're used to the kindness we're trying to show them.

'These families are sleeping here, eating here

'and going to the toilet here.

'It's 72 degrees heat and they've nowhere else to go.'

Do you want a sandwich? There you go.

Another one? Oh, she wants baby wipes.

Oh, look at the little baby.

I mean, that's a two-month-old baby lying on a park bench in this heat.

'What would make a family with a baby end up here?

'This family is from Afghanistan.'

And what are conditions like there, Maria?

What is the conditions there?

HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

There was bombing and kamikaze.

THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE

They necked the people.

They got beheaded?

Basically, her family was decapitated.

You know, they've travelled all this way,

they've watched their family be hacked to pieces.

I don't know where they're getting the strength from to do this.

'For this family and for so many others, the journey goes on.'

Good luck. Have a safe journey.

What's going to happen to them now?

God, it's unbearable, isn't it?

How are you? Nice to meet you.

'This man has five hungry children to feed. They arrived last night.'

When did they last eat?

HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

We haven't eaten for two nights.

This is the food that's the first food we are getting.

In two nights, this is the first thing they've had is a sandwich?

That is what he is telling me.

Shocking.

Thank you for talking to us. No, seriously, good luck.

Aah, my friend, it's...

Too much.

Here you go, kidda.

It's dreadful.

OK, let's move quickly.

'As soon we get the milk out, we get rushed at

'by a lot of the younger men.'

OK, don't push! Look, look, look, look.

Line, line, line.

Here you go.

Baby, baby.

Don't push, line. Here you go, kidda.

I'm out already.

Line and babies.

'We can't feed everyone, so we're going to give what

'we have left to those with babies and children.'

'But the Sally Army tries especially hard to help give them

'back a bit of their childhood.'

Look at that, some people in England, they prepare for us.

Right, then.

Ready, backpacks ready.

and we serve these people of the square.

'Doing this day in, day out must be wearing,

'but, as ever, it's their faith that gets them through.'

In the name of Jesus Christ, our saviour, we pray.

Amen. ALL: Amen.

Hallelujah, sister!

HE LAUGHS

This is heartbreaking because these have obviously been

packed by children with the help of their parents

and there's little notes inside saying,

"Good luck, take care and we're thinking of you"

and things like that.

It's pitiful.

There's little socks and there's pencils and mugs and just things

we take for granted, or our children take for granted.

I don't feel like Father Christmas, put it that way. No.

Here you go, little fella.

Do you want that one?

Do you want that one? Good boy.

You want one of these, sweetie?

There you go. Hang on now.

Hold on a minute. No, no, no, no.

You want some of these? Look, what's that?

Oh! What have you got? Have you got a dolly?

Oh, is she pretty? She's like you, isn't she?

I tell you what I've got for you.

There you go, kidda. Good boy.

Handing out crayons and toothbrushes.

Like a pebble in the ocean. It's just...

You do, that's how I feel, hopeless.

'It's strange. You forget that you're in Athens.'

Here you go.

'All around the square, people are going to work normally,

they're going home, eating their dinners in restaurants...

'and not all them welcome the refugees.'

Any more children?

There's a baby.

Go home, go home!

I am against these people!

Oh, shut up.

Go home, go home, all these people! Go home, go home!

Every village has one.

Oh, this woman.

I've going to have to shut her up.

Why don't I shut her up?

Do me a favour, why don't you go home?

Never mind these people and shut your mouth, eh?

Give your... Eh?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm saying zip it, shut it.

You're getting on everybody's nerves.

Go home and you! Go home, out of Greece!

All the strangers, out of Greece!

Out of Greece! Just go, just go, leave these people alone.

It's my country!

Give her a good...

'I can't believe what I'm hearing, it just makes me so angry.'

You all right?

'Jo and I are exhausted. I don't think either of us

'were quite prepared for the scale of the misery

'these people are going through.'

They're having a terrible time and they're going

through a shocking ordeal.

I don't know where they're all going to go,

but they've got to go somewhere.

So we've got to show compassion.

It was just overwhelming to see how very basic their needs are.

The children were the thing that really...

Yeah, gets you here.

And we've got to stop all this nonsense about "migrants, migrants",

as if they're a cockroach, a rat invasion.

They're not, they're human beings. They have lives.

They don't want to be here.

War's forced them out.

I think I put myself in their shoes a little bit.

What if there had been a tragedy in the United Kingdom

and we all had to leave, where would we go?

Would people take us in?

Would we have people screaming at us in our square

saying, "Go home, go home"?

Would our children not have food to eat?

For once, the chatterbox has no words.

'The mood is sombre, but these are churchgoing people

'and I know one way to lift their spirits -

'in song.'

# Please let the light that shines on me

# Shine on... #

Paul was typical Paul.

He immersed himself in everything we were doing.

# Over the mountain, over the sea. #

Even when faced with conflict and difficult situations,

he continued to show that love and compassion to people.

And I came away from it having a lot of respect for him.

# Shine on the one I love. #

CHEERING

But for me seeing him, actually in the square,

with real people in a very raw situation

at their point of need,

that was extraordinary to me.

I don't actually know many people that would be able to do that

in the way that he did it.

Next time...

We try to give them hope that there is a future for them.

'I meet a woman whose addiction has ruined her life...'

I lost all my family.

I still couldn't stop.

'..I deal with a few of my rhythm issues...

'..and I use my stand-up comedy experiences

'to help a man who hit rock bottom.'

I've opened up, I've started talking

but now everyone's trying to get me to stop talking.

I wouldn't have changed it for the world.