Episode 8 The Estate

This programme contains some strong language.

This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

Ballysally, Coleraine.

A community of close on 3,000 people has,

like the rest of the country,

been weathering the economic storm over the last year.

This is the end of our time on the estate.

Emma has set herself a challenge.

Five, four, three, two... Five...

Am I the same colour yet?

We're doing this for six weeks to try and train about how to box.

Her boxing debut is part of a fund-raiser for charity.

I think it's one and a half minutes, three rounds.

And then, whoever has the most face punches

wins that fight.

Face punches. Yeah, you heard right.

I just seem to be, like, getting addicted to the adrenalin rush

and setting myself these crazy challenges.

It makes life a wee bit more exciting.

I'm not a "sit at home and watch TV" kind of person.

I'm going to get fit to...

I'm thinking like, you know what,

when you're sitting there with all those people around you,

I think adrenaline will kick in.

And hopefully, I'll remember to keep my guard up

and just keep going.

Because if you stop, like, it's not going to be a good scene, is it?

I definitely am nervous. I am nervous now.

-Is that it there?

-Aye, there.

-How'll we get across?

-Have to cross at the lights.

Louise and her 11-year-old son are out shopping for a uniform.

Jordan's just about to start secondary school.

Hi, we're just looking for a wee Coleraine College blazer.

-Yes, are we needing a jumper at all?

-A jumper.

-Grand.

-I'll get a wee jumper to put on him first.

-All right.

Could you take this wee top off for me a wee second?

It's just nice on you son.

It's scary watching him

in a big uniform rather than

the wee primary school one.

Do you need PE kit or anything at all?

-I'll leave that for another week.

-No, you're grand.

The uniform takes a large slice out of Louise's benefits.

For the jumper and the blazer and everything could roughly be just under £100.

But then adding the PE kit into it could make it round £150 to £180 or so.

You get a grant but it doesn't cover everything, like.

You get £78, that's supposed to buy PE kits, blazers, everything but it doesn't.

You just have to take it out of your money every week.

Work it that way, you know. It's hard. But you get there.

-HE WHISPERS

-Shut up, you!

Hey! Take them ones off.

-Is that all you need then?

-Aye, that's it for now.

Give me that in. All right?

-Comes to 71.

-That's grand.

My God.

Scary money.

I was about 15 when I met Noel.

-So I was.

-I was 13.

Maybe 14, maybe I was younger actually.

After 21 years of marriage, Noel and Mandy

are still trying to work out the secret to domestic bliss.

Ups and downs just.

You know, up and down.

SHE LAUGHS

Sometimes, it pisses me off living with a joiner and you can't get him to do anything,

but then I just stop complaining and then he does it in his own time.

He decided he was putting a shower in two years ago,

so we got the enclosure and the shower and everything else.

It's sitting there for two years but he just hasn't got it in yet.

It'll be in before Christmas.

What year, I don't know yet, haven't picked the year yet!

It was pure nerve wracking.

I done it in the living room and she wouldn't sit in the bloody seat.

It was cracking me up, I wasn't going to do it at all then.

23-year-old Kyle has just asked his 16-year-old girlfriend Annie to marry him.

I didn't think it would happen so soon, so I didn't...

And she said yes.

I was watching TV one night and he got up with a big smile on his face

and I was like, "Where are you going?"

And I followed him in

and he lost the head and said, "Go into the living room."

I went into the living room

and he came in and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

I didn't know what to say.

I asked him about ten hundred times, was he taking he piss out of me.

They're not rushing into tying the knot just yet.

It'll happen in another 20 years.

20, 25 years.

I don't think we're just ready for marriage yet, like.

But I'll give that a few years.

It'll take a few years to save for it.

-Hiya.

-Hi.

Alcohol support worker Emma is back at work.

She had to take some time off

after one of her clients threatened to kill her.

I think, you know, we dealt with it really well.

But at the end of the day I had to say to myself,

look, the project must go on, I suppose the show must go on.

And you can't just stop.

I've a job to do and you know, I'm not going to let other people suffer

just because of the actions of one person.

And I suppose everything got sorted out quite quickly, you know,

the bail conditions were set in place,

restraining orders put in place and I felt safe enough.

But, at the time, when I got the messages,

I was very frightened, of course.

You know, I think it'd be inhuman of me to say I wasn't.

The threat to her life jeopardised another life.

Around that time, I was about 10, 12 weeks pregnant,

coming up to 12 weeks pregnant and I kind of thought,

"Well, it's not just me I have to worry about now," you know.

At the end of the day I'm not capable as I would have before

if something was just to happen to... I don't know, I suppose, I just...

It did make you feel more vulnerable because you were in a totally different situation.

Mandy's on her way to see daughter Tanya,

who's just moved into her own council house on the estate.

Just trying to get her settled in. She hasn't been well enough all week.

Tanya!

-What?

-Are you up?

Aaron, are you getting up?

Her unemployed son Aaron sometimes stays over in Tanya's.

It's five past now, or ten past, so it is.

-I had a beer last night.

-Oh, that's why he's lying in.

A beer last night, so he's lying on a wee while.

You go down in front of me.

Tanya has severe diabetes and epilepsy.

She needs daily visits from a health worker.

But Mum and Dad check up on her every day too.

Have you took any insulin this morning?

-I've took them.

-Right.

-That's good this morning.

-It is.

The whole family worry about Tanya coping on her own.

It's down, still...

I'd lost my voice for a full year from last July.

The stress maybe is calming itself down a wee bit

since she's been a lot better.

Noel, he calls up... just keep an eye,

you know, when I'm not there.

He's very good too.

Well, Aaron, what are you for doing the day?

He needs to be doing something, I think.

If he'd a wee job, even a wee part-time job or something,

it would give him something to do.

It's disheartening sometimes when you've no work and...

You know, you get fed up, just.

But then, there's no jobs really out there for young ones now.

Near enough everybody I know is out of work.

There's hundreds in for interviews and things.

It's hard to get a job.

It's the same thing every day, you're doing the same thing.

The same stuff's on the TV as well.

Jeremy Kyle, flat to the mat.

Hi. I was just wanting to talk to someone

about a decision made on my housing benefit claim.

Single mum Emma has just discovered

the government has stopped paying her rent.

I got a form last week to put in my last five pay stubs,

which I did, and I got a letter back saying that I owe £200.

How is that changed so much when I just got a letter saying

that I was eligible less than, like, a few months ago?

She's received a pay rise at her part-time job in a local cafe.

But because she's earning an extra 30p an hour,

she's no longer entitled to housing benefit.

OK.

All right, thanks. Bye.

He was such a nice man though too.

I didn't want to be like, "Yous are a bunch of idiots."

And he's like, "No, sorry we don't appear to have that letter on file."

And it's like, but I just sent it and yous just adjusted my claim.

How do yous not have that letter?

It's so annoying.

I am contributing to, you know, society and my community and things

I'm not just sitting at home saying, you know,

give me free rent, give me a free house, you know,

you'll pay my food and lodgings for me, or anything like that.

I'm not saying that, like, I do want to work.

And if they'd just stop putting up these friggin' barriers

and frustrating me to make me want to just quit my job, like.

Get off!

Now that he's engaged, Kyle's keener than ever to get a job.

But there's not that many about.

I'm constantly doing things about the house.

Just boredom really, sometimes.

I've paint lying there, so I done the living room orange

so now I have to change this orange to a different colour.

Purple this time.

I'll do that wall first, I think, see what it's like.

I've just started to change my life a wee bit.

I've definitely settled down a bit, like, compared to what I used to be.

I think I was about 19 or 20

er...

through depression and a personality disorder and stuff,

I basically just wasn't happy with my life and I wanted it to end.

And then, on more than one occasion I was near dead, like.

The very first time, I tried to hang myself.

I tried to kick the step ladder away from me.

But instead of the step ladder kicking away from me,

it just kind of slid along the ground.

And then, I sort of was able to get it again, and then...

I think, "Fuck that, that's too hard."

There's no easy way out, like, so...

The most frightening thing was whenever I self-harmed.

And I hit an artery

and I lost so many pints of blood, like.

It was quite scary too.

After I done it, I used to get my dad to take me to the hospital

to get stitched up.

It was kind of stupid, like, what I put them through.

But there's always light at the end of the tunnel, so there is.

There's always help there, you just have to want it.

I don't do any stupid things anymore. I've too much to lose.

I don't even know if I can cope.

I've that much to do, I don't know what I'm doing.

As she's about to go off on maternity leave,

Emma has to deal with some shattering news.

I'm just ringing kind of to fill you in on what's going on.

I was already finishing on Friday for maternity,

but I won't be coming back.

They kind of let me know last week that, unfortunately,

they're going to have to make me redundant.

So, really, when I finish this week, that's it.

SHE SIGHS

The charity she works for has been forced to close the entire project

and Emma will be out of a job.

There's no money in the funding package

around kind of sick leave, maternity leave...

to, you know, even for money

to pay somebody else to come in and cover me.

So Threshold, being a charity,

they're obviously not profiting, they don't make a profit.

So they don't have any kind of spare money about

that they could use to cover those things.

You know, it'll be scary to think that

I'm telling people this this week.

And I don't know what kind of effects

that's going to have on them for next week

and I won't know because I'll not be here.

Once Friday comes, my phone literally will be off and that's it.

You have to break them bits.

-What bits?

-Them bits.

-Are you sure you have to?

-Uh-huh.

15-year-old Kelly-Ann isn't thrilled

by brother Jordan's new school uniform.

Now it's all right.

Now I've got to take it off me.

It's a harsh reminder of a new school year.

I just know it's coming soon and I really can't be bothered.

I don't want to see that.

Hold on!

-HE GIGGLES

-Ah!

Kelly-Ann is dreading another year in her own school uniform.

I know I have to, so...

I'm just going to have to.

But I don't want to.

Cos I'll have to get up early again.

I wasn't up till 12 today, but that was different.

No, you don't. No, you don't...

Noel and Mandy have hit on a way of helping their two grown-up children.

Aaron has become Tanya's official carer.

-When I know Aaron's here, I'm at peace.

-And I'm the same.

Tanya would rather have somebody she knows, her family.

I'm excited coming off the dole, go down there and say to them, like.

He'll have steady money every month.

At least if I get through the week, if I get another job or something,

if somebody wants something done,

I can go and do it and make some money.

Aaron's going to look after her 16 hours a week

and come off the dole and get paid.

He's going to get paid for it, as a job for caring for her.

-So it gets off the...

-..the brew.

The diabetes, everything's all right.

It's the epilepsy and the walking and shaking.

- Oh, I think it'll be good for Aaron because, as I say,

he's been looking after Tanya, he's been helping us anyway.

So he might as well do the caring as bring a stranger in.

And it's going to be a job to him,

and he's only going to be doing it two nights a week.

So the rest of the week is his own.

There's probably other folk in similar...similar situations.

You just never see it.

Aye.

We just batter away. Is there another biscuit in this house?

Any chance of getting one?

He's been peeing over that floor anyway, I see.

They're just staying here.

If anything ever happened to Noel, I don't know how I would cope,

trying to keep everything together.

And him the same. I don't think he could do without me.

He said he could, but I don't think so, you know.

Emma has to break her redundancy news to Martin,

one of her neediest clients.

I'm going off on Friday for maternity.

-Mm.

-But then I got some bad news at the end of last week

to say that I'll not be coming back.

-So that's you finished then?

-So that'll be me finished on Friday.

I'll miss you but... You're a good girl, you know.

But I'm not going to get all emotional.

THEY LAUGH

You've helped me a wild, wild lot over the years.

I thought I knew everything, but I didn't. You know...

-I don't know everything either.

-You're very smart...

-You taught me stuff as well, Martin.

-A wee bit, but not much.

My head isn't as heavy as it was. I felt like I'd the weight of the world on my shoulders.

Cos we've got through a lot since then.

Aye. One step at a time. I don't go down them streets any more

-doing what I used to do.

-Yeah.

-You know, and...

The place is nice and relaxing, but the problem is it might get too relaxed.

I have to get out on that bike and all that and keep myself going.

Things are looking good, aren't they?

-They're getting there.

-Yeah.

-It all takes time.

She's helped a lot of people

and now it's time for her just to look after herself, you know.

-And the bump!

-Aye, the wee baby.

I think if I was leaving him and if things weren't going well,

it would be heartbreaking, you know, having to go.

But because he's so well settled now,

he's come on so much from we started,

he's a lot more support there than he did before.

And things are definitely on the way up.

I don't feel so bad, I suppose, about leaving.

I'm probably more emotional than I thought I would be.

I think it's just cos I'm finishing

and, like, for the last two years this has been my life, really.

Do you want to break, or I'll break?

Rab and his son Kyle are on a rare night out together.

It's been years and years.

A long time, like.

We've never really been out, you know what I mean, together.

They're at the local church hall.

This is the only time, really, on a Tuesday night

I've started to get the two of us together, know what I mean?

So, a bit of a change. At least I know where he is.

Did you pocket anything?

It gets me out of the house, in here, like.

It gets you socialising with other people too.

You get my friends here as well, like.

You can practice at your darts or practice at your pool as well.

It's good craic.

He must have been doing a lot of praying there, to get that shot.

You want to have seen the shots he was pulling earlier on,

-I was saying God must...

-Oh, yes, good shot!

-God must...

That's what I'm saying, God must be on his side when he's pulling shots like that.

Kyle's even started going to church on a Sunday.

Definitely, I'm glad to see him going here.

And Kyle's still here at ten, half ten at night. He's enjoying it.

I never thought I'd have seen Kyle going to church on a Sunday

or being at a meeting like this here

on a Tuesday night in the church hall.

Cos Kyle never appealed to me of doing that.

But he has now changed.

Hopefully it's for the good and he'll keep at it.

He has proved me wrong.

Ladies and gentlemen!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Let's get ready to rumble!

After weeks of training, Emma is ready to test her boxing skills.

I just want to prove to people, you know,

I'm not a waste of space. I'm not.

And I'm trying to do something better with my life.

I guess I am a bit of a fighter.

Hopefully, in a positive way.

-In a controlled environment!

-SHE LAUGHS

Emma's managed to raise £500 for charity.

I guess I don't know anyone personally with disabilities

cos that's who we're doing it for, we're doing it for Mencap.

And I said, I guess if my...if my first daughter was still alive,

that's who I'd be fighting for.

So, to me, I'll be thinking about her and I'll be fighting for her.

You know, because she wouldn't be able to fight for herself.

Sadly, she couldn't.

So at least I'm going to go out there and do it for her,

at the back of my mind.

I'll do it in a positive way, you know, and not be sad about it.

At least, you know, it's good... It's good to keep...

I like to keep talking about her cos then you don't forget about her.

Number four.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome into the ring...

Emma Wilson!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

That's it! Keep it going, Emma!

SHOUTING AND CHEERING

After two rounds, the winner was decided on points.

And the judges were unanimous.

And the winner in blue...

Emma Wilson!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Fight number five.

I can't believe it! Oh, my God!

It's been the toughest of places to be

in the teeth of an economic storm.

By the end of our year on the estate...

Jimmy and Denise have been forced to drop the price of their house AGAIN

for the sake of daughter Lauren.

Martin continues to battle the booze

without Emma.

And Kyle remains on the lookout for a job.

But the spirit of Ballysally has shone brightly throughout.

Look at that, isn't that a lovely view? That's so nice!

Emma's started university

and passed her first assignment with flying colours.

Noel's on a DYI roll.

He's finally putting in that shower.

Bath out, shower room.

So that's two projects on the job -

kitchen and bathroom. Come on.

Bye-bye.

Oh, God!

It's a new chapter for Jordan.

Move!

Two seconds... It's only for my tie.

And Kelly-Ann has made a decision.

When I said to people, "I'll start school on Monday," they went, "Aye, are you going?"

I totally couldn't get to sleep, till like after one o'clock.

Cos my stomach was in knots, like.

And I know, as soon as I go, they'll be like,

"You've too much make up on! Take that eyebrow bar out!" Wait till you see.

-The bus is coming at twenty to.

-Oh! I need a lighter!

-See yous after.

-Bye!

SHE LAUGHS

Thank God. Relieved.

They're all away.

A bit of peace.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd