0:00:10 > 0:00:12'I want to show you
0:00:12 > 0:00:15'how music can transform the lives of people who've lost their way.
0:00:15 > 0:00:21'People like the 173,000 of us who ended up homeless last year.'
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Everyone's experienced tough times in their lives, myself included.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29I've always found music has helped pull me through.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31But I've always had a warm place to sleep
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and people who cared about me and money for food.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Not everyone's always so fortunate.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Shane Nolan's descent into homelessness
0:00:41 > 0:00:44began innocently enough in his teenaged years.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46I was a really active person with friends,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48going out partying and stuff like that.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52So, you know, pretty much the soul and life of most parties.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Um, then it got to a point where it got quite dark
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and the party scene sort of gave up.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59I got involved with heroin at the age of 18.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Before long, Shane was in the grip of heroin addiction.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10I didn't really give a damn about anyone besides myself.
0:01:10 > 0:01:11It just took me to a place
0:01:11 > 0:01:14where I just didn't really care about anyone else
0:01:14 > 0:01:18besides getting what I wanted, using, getting high.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25In the chaos of addiction, Shane ended up sleeping rough.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27Freezing cold sometimes,
0:01:27 > 0:01:32you know, not having enough clothes, not having enough food.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34I was living, I was present,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36but I was literally dead inside, you know,
0:01:36 > 0:01:40so I had to fuel that with drinking and using drugs.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Shane was just about surviving as a homeless drug addict,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46but when his mother died, everything changed.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50I got to a point where I just thought, "No,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53"I can't go on like this, I can't deal with the pain."
0:01:54 > 0:01:57I had attempted to take my life.
0:01:57 > 0:01:58I didn't want to be here any more.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04At his lowest point, Shane needed to find something
0:02:04 > 0:02:07that would start to give his life a new meaning.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Homelessness is not just about lacking a roof over your head.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12People can often feel
0:02:12 > 0:02:15as though they've lost their sense of identity and belonging,
0:02:15 > 0:02:17and that's why I'm asking you to help this charity
0:02:17 > 0:02:22that gives people hope and invites homeless people in from the cold
0:02:22 > 0:02:25to experience the transcendental power of music
0:02:25 > 0:02:27by singing together as one.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29This is The Choir With No Name.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33# Ooh-ooh-ooh, snowman
0:02:33 > 0:02:37# Until the other kiddies knock him down
0:02:37 > 0:02:41# When it snows, ain't it thrilling!
0:02:41 > 0:02:45# Though your nose gets a chilling
0:02:45 > 0:02:49# We'll frolic and play the Inuit way
0:02:49 > 0:02:56# Walking in a winter wonderland! #
0:02:58 > 0:03:00Yay!
0:03:00 > 0:03:03That was absolutely tremendous, thank you so much.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07'The choir provides a place of refuge for people like Suzanne,
0:03:07 > 0:03:09'who, like many that end up on the streets,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12'experienced appalling abuse in her past.'
0:03:14 > 0:03:17It was a planned rape, and I was 15 and a half.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Then it happened again.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22And it changed my life...completely.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24So I tried to block it.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27And I turned to drink.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30And then it started to become addictive.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33The bottle was my mate.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Nobody else was my mate, but the bottle was my mate.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40And without the bottle, I didn't exist.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Suzanne spent years drifting in and out of work
0:03:44 > 0:03:46and ended up in prison for a short time.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50When she got out, she had nowhere to call home.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54I was homeless for three years, and I was on the streets.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56I couldn't get myself together.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00I knew that this...thing like I've become,
0:04:00 > 0:04:05like drinking and abusive and swearing and nasty,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09I thought, "That's not my character, I'm not nasty inside.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13"So this drink is taking the worst out of me."
0:04:15 > 0:04:19I didn't want to be horrible towards other people any more.
0:04:21 > 0:04:22That's why I knew I had to change.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30The reasons why people end up adrift are often very complicated,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and that's what so great about The Choir With No Name.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36No matter their background, the members are welcomed in
0:04:36 > 0:04:40to enjoy the uplifting feeling of singing together,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42experience something beautiful
0:04:42 > 0:04:45and, for a little while, set their worries aside.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49# In the meadow we can build a snowman... #
0:04:49 > 0:04:52The charity has thriving choirs, like this one in London,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54in Birmingham and Liverpool, too,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57but with your help they would be able to create more choirs
0:04:57 > 0:05:01and reach hundreds more people across the UK.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06Finding a place where you belong is a really key element to progressing
0:05:06 > 0:05:10and to kind of finding a way out of the difficulty that you've been in,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12and so that's what we provide here, basically.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15It's somewhere where people find a home
0:05:15 > 0:05:18and can really start to feel like themselves again and progress.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22After 37 years of heavy drinking,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Suzanne was desperate for something to replace the bottle,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28and a friend told her about the choir.
0:05:29 > 0:05:35As soon I saw them all, I felt that this was the place for me to be.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38This is the place for me to start to sort my life out.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43I started to feel...comfortable, because it's like a family.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Having attended rehearsals for the last five months,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Suzanne is now beginning to feel herself changing.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54It's beginning to replace alcohol.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56I never thought I'd find something that could replace it,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58not after 37 years.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01The more I think about going there and concentrating
0:06:01 > 0:06:04and doing what I've got to do, the better I feel.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07So that's the best thing I ever did
0:06:07 > 0:06:08is join the choir.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Once a week the members of this choir
0:06:10 > 0:06:13can come to a place where they are not in any way judged,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17and that regular commitment and sense of purpose
0:06:17 > 0:06:20really can form the foundations of a new life.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22# Turn around
0:06:22 > 0:06:26# Every now and then I get a little bit lonely... #
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Shane joined the choir, performed in their videos
0:06:29 > 0:06:32and has been taken aback by the powerful effect of singing.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35'It's release.'
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Being able to vocalise, maybe just that little bit of anger,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41that little bit of hurt,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43the little bit of, you know, that joyfulness.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46# And I need you now tonight... #
0:06:46 > 0:06:48'And it does actually take you out of self.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50'It's a big confidence booster.'
0:06:50 > 0:06:54# And if you'll only hold me tight... #
0:06:54 > 0:06:57After spending four years in the choir,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Shane successfully got himself through drug rehab,
0:07:00 > 0:07:05now has a roof over his head and a job helping fellow addicts.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I love what I do at the moment, I really do.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10It nurturing me, it's nurturing others.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12If I hadn't been with The Choir With No Name,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16for that amount of time, I don't think
0:07:16 > 0:07:21I'd be as confident as I am today without singing and nurturing music.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26# A total eclipse of the heart. #
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Being homeless is especially difficult this time of year,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37so it's vitally important that The Choir With No Name
0:07:37 > 0:07:40is able to continue giving people the strength
0:07:40 > 0:07:42and inspiration to rebuild their lives.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46So far the charity has been able to help hundreds of people,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48but there are many more out there
0:07:48 > 0:07:50who they want to touch with the power of song.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52With your help, they can.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Please go to the website, it's bbc.co.uk/lifeline,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58where you can donate.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02If you don't have access to the internet, then call 0800 011 011.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04If you don't get through straightaway,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06please, please try again.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09You can also donate £10 by texting.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15Texts cost £10 plus your standard network message charge,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19and the whole £10 goes to The Choir With No Name.
0:08:19 > 0:08:25Full terms and conditions can be found at bbc.co.uk/lifeline.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Telephone calls are free from most landlines.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31Some networks and mobile operators will charge for these calls.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Or if you'd like to post a donation,
0:08:33 > 0:08:37please make your cheque payable to The Choir With No Name
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and send it to Freepost, BBC Lifeline Appeal,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44writing Choir With No Name on the back of the envelope.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47And if you want the charity to claim Gift Aid on your donation,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50please include an e-mail or postal address
0:08:50 > 0:08:52so that they can send you a Gift Aid form.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Thank you.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd