0:00:00 > 0:00:03I've been on the streets so long now, I've given up.
0:00:03 > 0:00:05I'm going to be on the streets for the rest of my life, I think.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09Cardiff is facing a housing crisis.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12In just two years, the number of people sleeping rough on the streets
0:00:12 > 0:00:14has more than doubled.
0:00:14 > 0:00:15Here, I'm sleeping here.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20I'm film-maker Chris Rushton and, together with Angharad Arnold,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24we spent six months following the plight of Cardiff's homeless.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29We want to understand why the numbers are on the increase.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32I don't know what the council are going to do with my particular case.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36I've just got to sit there, bear it and grin, and just keep on going.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40The risks they take sleeping rough.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43'It's dangerous. I've been beat up.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46'Men's offered me money for sex.'
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Find out how the homeless survive and the prejudices they face.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Get a life and get a proper grip.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54There's loads of work.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55And stop begging!
0:00:55 > 0:00:57I don't like being like that. That's what I mean.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59We need to get me off the streets. I don't like doing this.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Following the lives of those with nowhere to go
0:01:02 > 0:01:05would prove to be an upsetting story.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08I don't want to live like this no more.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11HE SOBS
0:01:11 > 0:01:13HE WHIMPERS Mama.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17This is the reality of living on Cardiff's streets.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30Four months into our filming on the streets, and winter is upon us,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34and now Cardiff is transformed with Christmas attractions.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39For most of us, the run-up to Christmas is when we look forward
0:01:39 > 0:01:41to spending time with friends and family.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45but it's the most difficult time of the year for those who are homeless.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50I wanted to find out how they coped at Christmas,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53especially those who have been rejected by their families
0:01:53 > 0:01:56and have nowhere to go.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Despite the colder weather,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10new faces were appearing on Cardiff's streets.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18They include young people who've run away from home.
0:02:19 > 0:02:2322-year-old Sam told us that, after a fallout with his mother,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25he ended up on the streets.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Now, he's in unfamiliar territory.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34I know I'm in Cardiff. Where in Cardiff am I?
0:02:34 > 0:02:37St Mary's Street this is. St Mary's Street, is it? Yeah.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39OK.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42It's Sam's third night on the streets.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Um. Where can I go?
0:02:46 > 0:02:48See, the problem is, I haven't got a clue, you know?
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Here looks good, doesn't it?
0:02:54 > 0:02:56I'll sleep here then.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58Yeah.
0:03:00 > 0:03:01Oh.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03It's just so hard, guys.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07You know, I'm a Valley boy,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10and I just haven't got a clue about the city.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28Sam told us he'd been attacked the night before.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31He was vulnerable and, with just a damp sleeping bag,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35he was ill-prepared for sleeping rough.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39The Christmas lights make me so depressed.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41HE SOBS
0:03:43 > 0:03:46I don't want to live like this no more.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50HE WHIMPERS Mama.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Please, God.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01HE SPLUTTERS AND COUGHS HEAVILY
0:04:17 > 0:04:19For the last seven years,
0:04:19 > 0:04:2426-year-old Danielle has been in and out of Cardiff's homeless shelters
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and slept rough in all weathers.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29SHE COUGHS Freezing cold.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Sad, depressing.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34Makes you mentally ill.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39You end up being full up with the flu, chest infections.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I've been ill for weeks and weeks now.
0:04:42 > 0:04:43Oh, my bum.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46It's dangerous.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48I can't sleep properly at nights.
0:04:48 > 0:04:49You've just got to be alert.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55She told us how her life spiralled out of control
0:04:55 > 0:04:57after she lost her father.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02I found him dead in bed, and then just become homeless since then.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04I couldn't stay in the house because he died in the house
0:05:04 > 0:05:08and there were too many weird memories and things.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11And then my mother got institutionalised
0:05:11 > 0:05:14into a mental hospital.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17And then I've just been in this game since.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19On the streets since 2009.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25These traumatic events left Danielle struggling to cope,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27and with no-one to turn to.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33I'm 26 now. I've never had family, really.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36I have family but they're not there when I need them, like.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Just get on with it.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43She's trying to get help and, as Christmas approaches,
0:05:43 > 0:05:47she's becoming more desperate to get off the streets.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Just before Christmas now, a week before Christmas,
0:05:49 > 0:05:50they open churches.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52I know it's only the floor in the church
0:05:52 > 0:05:55but it's a roof over my head, you know, out of the cold and the rain.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57So, hopefully, I get a Christmas dinner.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05In one year, a homeless charity reported
0:06:05 > 0:06:11that, in Wales, 140,000 16- to 24-year-olds
0:06:11 > 0:06:15spent at least one night sofa-surfing or sleeping rough.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Some, though, find themselves homeless for much longer.
0:06:21 > 0:06:2420-year-old Ethan told me
0:06:24 > 0:06:27difficulties at home led to his mother asking him to leave.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31And, for the last year, he's been of no fixed abode.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35So, do you know actually where you're going to sleep tonight?
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Not tonight, no. I have places I can go.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43But I've got my stuff with me so I'm good, you know?
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Over the 12 months, he's slept rough in Cardiff,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49had a spell in a homeless hostel,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52sofa-surfed, dossed in an industrial unit where he worked,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54and camped out in the woods.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Ethan's an acrobatic free-runner.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Some of it came from, like, just sitting with myself, thinking,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06what is the thing I'm most afraid to do?
0:07:06 > 0:07:08And then just like forcing myself to do that stuff.
0:07:10 > 0:07:11He's super-fit,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14and taking risks seemed to be part of a bigger life journey.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19I find, if I don't do it, then my brain just gets stagnant
0:07:19 > 0:07:20and I get all stiff and rigid.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Ethan's a free spirit.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28Tonight, he's decided to set up home deep in the woods outside Cardiff.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38This is my roof and this is my hammock.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40It's a really nice place to sleep.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46The first time I used it was when my mum first kicked me out.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49That was last year.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52His relationship with his mum improved after he left.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55What I like about hammocks is, because it's wet now,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58so I could... Basically, I can turn up wherever I want.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01It could be swamp, water this deep, it could be snow.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04As long as I have two trees, I'm good to go.
0:08:12 > 0:08:18For a homeless person, Ethan's outlook was exceptionally positive.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21It's really nice waking up,
0:08:21 > 0:08:23just looking up at the tree tops like this.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Beats sleeping on the streets.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37He discovered this shelter in the woods six months ago.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43A man with a bunch of sticks ready to get a fire going is very happy.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49It wasn't the first time I'd met Ethan.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51He was one of my son's school friends,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55so I'd known him throughout his schooldays.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58But Ethan found the rigid structure of school
0:08:58 > 0:09:00very difficult to cope with.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03He had the reputation of being unmanageable
0:09:03 > 0:09:06and disruptive in the classroom.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11It goes some way to explain why he's ended up becoming homeless.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15As you're growing up, like, I'm not thinking,
0:09:15 > 0:09:17let me be loud so I disrupt the whole classroom
0:09:17 > 0:09:20and just, like, ruin everyone's day.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24But, after a while, when it's just years and years of it,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27it starts to, like, eat away.
0:09:27 > 0:09:34In school, I wasn't really given the space to explore, be myself,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36so I just like to put myself in environments
0:09:36 > 0:09:38where I can do it peacefully.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41His problems didn't end there.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44When he was 16, his father died.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49For a while, he managed to hold down a job,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52but found it stressful fitting in to workplace life.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55I need to, like, make the system work for me,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57instead of working for the system all my life.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Ethan was trying to sort out his problems,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06but I wondered how long he could carry on living like this,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09with night-time temperatures dropping down to minus four.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Over the winter months,
0:10:21 > 0:10:26the hostels and churches offer an additional 52 emergency spaces
0:10:26 > 0:10:28for people with nowhere to go.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Most end up on what's known as floor space.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35The lucky ones might get a little more privacy in a pod.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Which is where Danielle has ended up.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41If she sticks with the pod,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43it could lead to her getting a room in a hostel.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46They said they might be able to get us somewhere.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48It's just a waiting game.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53But... It just makes me stronger
0:10:53 > 0:10:55and just never give up hope.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Whilst we were making this film,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05the Huggard Centre, who support those wanting to get off drugs,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08saw a rise in the number of homeless people
0:11:08 > 0:11:11registering as heroin addicts.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Alcohol was once the biggest addiction amongst homeless people.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Now, it's heroin.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Any spare change, please?
0:11:25 > 0:11:26Thank you.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34After her father's death, Danielle became addicted to heroin.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39She's trying to get help for it but it's a battle
0:11:39 > 0:11:42and the drug controls her everyday life.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47I'm feeling ill.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Ill. I hate the word.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51It feels rough.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56It's when users go without heroin that they feel ill.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00And long-term addicts no longer get any pleasure from the drug.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08People think people take it for a buzz. It's not.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10It's just to get yourself normal.
0:12:11 > 0:12:17At least twice every 24 hours, Danielle is in excruciating pain.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20It feels like you're dying if you ain't got it.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Your legs are aching, your back's aching,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24you're spewing, you can't move, you're stuck.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27The only way to stop the pain of withdrawal from the drug
0:12:27 > 0:12:30is to get more heroin
0:12:30 > 0:12:33and the only way she can do that is to make more money.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Any spare change, please, sir?
0:12:38 > 0:12:40I wish I'd never started it.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42I never had no choice, though.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46I thought I was smoking cannabis but I wasn't,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49I was smoking heroin mixed in with cannabis and, the next thing I knew,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52within two weeks, I had a full-blown habit.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Each of her days blurs into one.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Driven by the power of her addiction,
0:13:02 > 0:13:06she is left with little time to do anything about her situation.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12I regret it. Biggest regret of my life
0:13:12 > 0:13:15because, once you've got a habit, that's it. Your life's ruined.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20Danielle eventually got the room she was hoping for in a hostel.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27The increase in numbers of homeless drug users hasn't gone unnoticed
0:13:27 > 0:13:31by the Huggard Centre's substance misuse team.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33They told us they're struggling to cope
0:13:33 > 0:13:36with the demand from users wanting help.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Another illegal drug that is verging on becoming
0:13:41 > 0:13:45an epidemic among Cardiff's homeless is known as spice.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51It's a synthetic cannabis that's cheap and highly addictive.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57But its effects are much more dangerous than cannabis.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01We'd seen this many times before,
0:14:01 > 0:14:06uncontrollable fitting which can be life-threatening.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10The Huggard Centre staff administer vital first aid
0:14:10 > 0:14:13to the victim of a spice attack.
0:14:13 > 0:14:18Over the last year, they attended over 100 serious incidents
0:14:18 > 0:14:21related to drug-taking and those who'd overdosed.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30If you've got some space,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32I'll give you an actual pillow later, all right?
0:14:32 > 0:14:36We'll have to wait to see if anyone else comes in. OK. OK.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Sam ended up homeless in Cardiff after a family fallout.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43Tonight, he's off the streets
0:14:43 > 0:14:47and he's got into emergency accommodation at the Huggard.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50I don't really know how to make a bed, you know?
0:14:50 > 0:14:52I don't know how they do it.
0:14:52 > 0:14:58It's unlikely he'll get moved into a hostel or get help from the council.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01They told me to go to housing options,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04so I'm going to go there tomorrow,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08But I know what they're going to say to me.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13"You've got no local connections, we can't...
0:15:13 > 0:15:14"We can't help you."
0:15:17 > 0:15:20He told us he'd become addicted to spice.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Now, he's one of the many who has developed
0:15:23 > 0:15:28a serious mental health problem, a drug-induced psychosis.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33It makes him anxious and can cause him to hallucinate.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I had the psychosis and all that, innit?
0:15:37 > 0:15:39And the police took me up to the hospital
0:15:39 > 0:15:42and they sectioned me.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45I was there for a month.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Because of what he's been through,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Sam wants others to know the truth about spice.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54When you take it, you're like, at first, I done so much.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57And you keep on smoking and smoking it, you know.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00It was so addictive. I was on it for two years
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and I was actually peeing blood.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Do not ever take it. Don't.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12This was the last time we saw Sam.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Because of his vulnerability,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17he got referred to the council's rough sleepers team,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20who helped him get back to his family.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Whenever he can, Ethan heads to this industrial estate in Cardiff.
0:16:37 > 0:16:4111 months ago, he had a brief spell in a YMCA hostel
0:16:41 > 0:16:45where everything was laid on, but he handed in the keys.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Since then, he's stopped claiming benefits
0:16:48 > 0:16:51and he's been living outside the system
0:16:51 > 0:16:54and going to his jujitsu class.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58He has no money,
0:16:58 > 0:17:02so he's convinced jujitsu master Rob Taylor to coach him for free.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06It's a Japanese martial art,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09a form of unarmed combat and physical training,
0:17:09 > 0:17:14and I was soon to find out it was a step toward a far bigger ambition.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Just found myself training just all the time.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21What's the plan?
0:17:22 > 0:17:25The first Welsh champion of the world, I guess.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30With Ethan devoting more and more time to training,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32I couldn't help but think that this could be
0:17:32 > 0:17:35the impetus he needs to sort his life out.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46With two weeks to go until Christmas,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50people's thoughts are turning to those with nowhere to go.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Meirion is originally from Carmarthen
0:17:57 > 0:18:01and he's overwhelmed by the presents given by passers-by.
0:18:01 > 0:18:02Well, I've had loads of stuff.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07I've had sandwiches, crisps,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11toiletries, wet wipes, a scarf.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13I've even got candles.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Meirion ended up homeless after serving a sentence for robbery.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27He was recently released from Cardiff Prison
0:18:27 > 0:18:31but didn't want to go back to his family.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36I wanted to understand why he chose to stay on the streets of Cardiff.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Five years ago, his life was turned upside down
0:18:42 > 0:18:45after his baby daughter died unexpectedly.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51My daughter was six-and-a-half months when she passed away.
0:18:51 > 0:18:52She died of cot death.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58I'll never forget the girl.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03It's always in there. She will always be there.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08At that time, Meirion was a recovering drug addict.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15The coroner found that neither parent was at fault.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Because I was the one to give her resuscitation,
0:19:18 > 0:19:23and I took two fingers and I blew over her mouth for about 45 minutes.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28And that's always going to stay in my head.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34I don't know what to say.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Devastated by what had happened,
0:19:38 > 0:19:44Meirion fell back into drug-taking and crime to feed his habit.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46But I didn't even have counselling, nothing,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48I had to do it all myself like that.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52He came out of jail drug-free
0:19:52 > 0:19:56and doesn't want to slip back into a life of addictions.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Just get my life back, just to be normal.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Just not being on the street, just being myself again,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07instead of feeling like a loser.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10It's what I feel like, a loser, I'm worthless.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Can't do nothing.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18He told us he didn't get any help when he was released from prison,
0:20:18 > 0:20:23and now he wants nothing to do with the agencies that could help him.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Each night, Meirion has to find somewhere to sleep.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35The abandoned quilt is a bonus.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Oh, and it's dry.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43It's cold.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45It's going to be cold.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47On the streets now for over a month,
0:20:47 > 0:20:53he's struggling to make the fresh start he so desperately needs.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Do my bed.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Cor, stinks of piss here.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Clean all the piss up.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06And this is where I've got to sleep for the rest of my life.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11I used to work. I used to do loads of things.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15But I've got no family, nothing, so I've got no-one to turn to.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24In the weeks that followed, Meirion slipped deeper into depression.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28I wondered if he would ever find a way
0:21:28 > 0:21:31to solve his deep-rooted problems.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43When we caught up next with Ethan,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46he was on his way to the Huggard Centre.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50It's cold and I don't want to be that cold.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57I'm tired as well, so it's going to be a good night's sleep.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01He's decided that being homeless
0:22:01 > 0:22:05is making it difficult to focus on his martial arts training.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Now he wants to have another go at getting a place of his own.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17The first step is to get back in the system and on to floor space.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23It's not the first time he's stayed here.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Hi, Ethan. Thank you, Mike. Thank you, man.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33The emergency accommodation is in a complex that also has hostel rooms.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Cool. Thanks.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38I've got it. Cheers, man.
0:22:38 > 0:22:44Ethan tries to focus on his training, which includes yoga.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50It just helps remind my body it's time to go to sleep.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52But, in here, that's not always easy.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55RAISED VOICES ARGUING
0:22:58 > 0:23:02I think someone wants to go to someone's room with a visitor.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07there's five or ten minutes left before
0:23:07 > 0:23:10you have to leave as a visitor.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15Um. Yeah, it happens every now and then.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20Either this, or someone smoking too much spice, or drinking too much.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25At least now Ethan is back in the system.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Lights off.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Goodnight, guys. Goodnight, Mike. Night.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36It wasn't unusual for homeless people to make
0:23:36 > 0:23:38several attempts over many months
0:23:38 > 0:23:41before they could make any real changes to their lives.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48When we began filming in summer,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51the first person we encountered was Raymond.
0:23:53 > 0:23:54Surrounded by his kit,
0:23:54 > 0:23:58he's still in the same spot as when we met him six months ago.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02I actually didn't think it was that long.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09Time has just, you know, it just gets away from you,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13especially being out here where every day is the same.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18I'm still on a waiting list for the council and the housing.
0:24:20 > 0:24:26Um. They're still telling me I've got a long time to wait.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31Living on the streets was taking its toll.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34But it had become a normal routine for Raymond.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38Desperately, he's clinging on to the idea that, one day,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41he would get a roof over his head.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46With Christmas around the corner,
0:24:46 > 0:24:50most of Cardiff's street homeless have found a place indoors,
0:24:50 > 0:24:54either sofa-surfing, or in the winter night shelters.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00Another week on floor space has paid off for Ethan.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03With help from the Huggard Centre,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06he's got the chance of a room in one of their shared houses.
0:25:07 > 0:25:14I still thought I'd be on floor space for a couple of weeks, months.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Didn't really have any idea what would happen after that.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20I'm going to take you to view the property Wednesday afternoon.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21OK. And hopefully you like it.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24If you do, I will move you in on Friday.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31Support worker Lorraine Blucher has been working on Ethan's case.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33He was identified months ago by the Huggard Centre
0:25:33 > 0:25:37as a young person facing difficulties.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41I'll be Ethan's support worker
0:25:41 > 0:25:45and I'll help him with whatever support needs he has, you know?
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Nice big kitchen. That's your garden.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Yeah, cool, it's really nice.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06I'll show you your room.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Awesome.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10The room's big enough to do all my yoga, my training.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Everything I need.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17I'm probably going to sleep on the floor still,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19because I'm pretty tall.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23It's better than floor space, it's better than Huggard,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27it's better than the night shelter, and it's better than the YMCA.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30For many young people,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33managing a home and paying their bills can be challenging.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35But with support on hand,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39Ethan has a better chance of making a go of it.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52It's 7.30am, and finally, it's Christmas morning.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59We'd promised to meet the one person we knew
0:26:59 > 0:27:01would still be on the streets.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Hemmed in by Christmas gifts, Meirion is fast asleep.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Struggling to come to terms with the loss of his baby daughter,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28and with no family to turn to,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32Meirion has resigned himself to spend Christmas Day alone.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36At the end of the day, it's just another day.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Everybody's having family dinners and all that.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42They're all happy with their families,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and I think, I'm on my own.
0:27:45 > 0:27:46I've got no-one at all.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Come on.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57Come on, boy.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58Move you.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Don't need people. I've got friends, my buddies.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09I'll sit here all day, I will.
0:28:11 > 0:28:12Become a recluse.
0:28:14 > 0:28:15BIRDS CAWING
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Our six months of filming with Cardiff's homeless people
0:28:23 > 0:28:25was at its end.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30And we had a better understanding of why people ended up on the streets,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33often detached from society,
0:28:33 > 0:28:38trapped by addictions and suffering mental health problems.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42Yet some end up trying to cope with these deep-rooted problems
0:28:42 > 0:28:46out in the cold, alone and with nowhere to call home.