NARRATOR:'In the midst of an economic recession we're all in it together but some are in it deeper than others. With one in five young people struggling to find work and many dependent on benefits, Britain's youth is being hit hard.'
NARRATOR:'In Birmingham, 19 year old Wes, is having a hard time at home.'
WES:'Me and my mum have good and bad days. 'We can be alright for one minute 'and the next minute we can be completely different.' 'I just wanna get my own place innit, 'because there's no space in my house any more, 'it's just overcrowding and there's no income coming in.' So I've shared the room with my brother for…
WES:19 years, in this cramped room.
NARRATOR:'Wes has decided his only option is to try and get a place in a young person's hostel.'
WES:I just wanna do things for myself now. I've done college, school and I ain't got a job, so getting a hostel is the first step of me really… doing anything.
NARRATOR:'Wes has arranged a meeting about getting a hostel place.'
WES:'It's one step of being a child innit? Going into the adulthood, getting my own place. I'm just sick of being stuck in other people's houses and not have a place of my own.'
NARRATOR:'The meeting didn't go well and without a secure home or a job, Wes is often on the move. One thing is making him think about his future- a year ago, Wes became a dad, and he's determined to be there for his son but on £53 a week, Jobseeker's Allowance it's hard to contribute.'
WES:Financially… yeah it was hard 'cause there's stuff that you just can't do all the time. I've been doing a bit of volunteer work but… I dunno, I don't want to be doing voluntary work. Who wants to work for free? I've got to step up now, got to be a dad, I've got to grow up. I need to be there for him, you know what I'm saying?
NARRATOR:'Wes may be a dad, but he and Rowan's mum are not in a relationship.'
LAURA:When he's here with Rowan, he is good, I'm not going to fault him on that. But-- he does do the proper dad job but he's still a young boy inside. So…
WES:I don't know, I didn't expect it to be as hard as it is.
LAURA:It's their child as well, they helped make it so they should pay the way as well. 'Cause it's not easy, a tin of milk's like near enough £12 now, that don't get you nowhere. 'If he got a job, it'd be so much easier.'
NARRATOR:'Wes isn't the only teen dad on the estate. Almost all his mates are dads and out of work. His close mate Aaron has asked him to come round. With no money and a hungry baby, he's desperate.'
WES:You know what you need to do Aaron? Ask someone to lend you some money, simple as. Simple.
AARON:I went to my dad before yesterday to borrow money innit. I can't do that now. Oh you've been sick. Oh, bless. There's not many people out there that'll borrow me things.
NARRATOR:'They both know what the options for making money on an estate can involve.'
AARON:If I got a bit of change in my pocket I can go out there, grab a little bit of something and go flip it and make a little bit of money innit.
WES:Well no you don't even wanna be getting yourself sucked into all this stupidness
AARON:Yeah I know but, you can ask to borrow money but it's not like I need to borrow like a little bit you know, he needs stuff brother
WES:Can I use your phone a second?
AARON:Yeah, brother.
WES:"Hi, this is job center (!)"
AARON:"Plus please press 1(!)"
WES:SIGHSI hate this.
NARRATOR:'Wes has decided to try and lend Aaron the money himself but his JSA payment hasn't come through and the job centre isn't much help.'
WES:OK then, thanks.
WES:Thanks, bye. She said "get a crisis loan for now." She said "it ain't been processed." Then the last time they offered me a crisis loan, £14 brother. Take the piss but that's-- I'm not even gonna get mad about it because-- Now I'll just have to see what else I can do still.
NARRATOR:'For now, he's as skint as Aaron. For Wes, one of the problems of being a teen dad is that his £53 a week JSA makes no allowance for his son. As the mum, the extra benefits go to Laura. Today she's going to the market with her mate Sophie.'
LAURA:'With my benefits, my money's every fortnight so, on my good week, I go and do my proper shopping so I'll go to Asda get whatever there and then on the weekend, I go to the market.'
LAURA:These 60p?
SHOPKEEP:Those are 60p.
LAURA:'When you're on benefits and you're a young parent, it's absolutely rubbish, you can't do what you want, you can't buy what you want.' Spend my other shopping in Asda with my milk tokens, which I get £3.10 on each milk token and then down here I get my fruit and veg. I just got three mixed bowls of veg, for £2.
LAURA:'Young girls think, yeah I'm gonna have a baby, I'll get this money. 'I don't have to work and whatever. 'It's not like that, it's way harder.
SOPHIE:I mean I think the boys around us need to grow up and they need to
SOPHIE:understand that becoming the father isn't just being a sperm donor or… being the guy that comes around every weekend and spends a few hours with its child.
WES:-I'm saying if you're there for your son and you see him a lot you ain't got to worry about financial stuff until you can afford it. That's how I see it.
AARON:As long as you're there right?
LAURA:'Doesn't take a baby to grow up, does it? Which we've learned that. But I think with boys it takes longer to mature doesn't it?'
SOPHIE:They've not had to go out and fend for them self. I don't think they understand how good it feels to achieve something and that's what they need to feel.
LAURA:That's the good thing about Wes, he's-- He does more than what the other lads do.
NARRATOR:'And it turns out that one job application has been successful.'
COACH:So we're gonna be doing the kick-up competition.
NARRATOR:'Wes has landed his dream job of coaching football. It may be only for three weeks but it's paid work.'
WES:'I signed off job centre, so no more debt.' What one you doing? 'Get paid and then hopefully, go out and find a permanent job. Turn into a teacher. That's how I feel, I feel like a teacher.' You pretend to go one way, then you drop and go that way.
WES:'When I was sitting at my house, ain't had a job, bored out of my face, I just felt like smoking a spliff but now that I'm actually doing something, I don't want to smoke. I want to do something that I enjoy and I'm getting paid for it.' £6 something an hour. Which is alright for kicking round a football, teaching kids innit?
WES:I wouldn't mind getting into academies and coaching academies 'cause I know I've got the level to-- I got-- I know I can do that so that's what I'm going to push for.
CAMERAMAN:It's a new start for you.
WES:Hopefully. I'd say so actually. I can't say hopefully, there's no going back now.
Due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter, teacher viewing is recommended before watching with your students.
Wes is 19, unemployed and living with his mum with whom he has a difficult relationship.
Wes wants to move on, leave home and find a job as he has a one year old son that he wants to support.
On Wes’s estate, most teenage boys his age are fathers but are unemployed and have no money.
We meet Laura, the mother of Wes’s son, who reflects on the challenges of having a child alone and the inability of young fathers to support their offspring because of high unemployment and their immaturity.
Wes and his friend discuss the temptation of crime.
We see Wes get a temporary job which boosts his self-esteem and focuses his aspirations, but the job comes to an end.
This clip is from the series Growing Up Poor.
Teacher Notes
Pupils could be asked to mind-map the skills and qualities that Wesley would need in order to make him more employable.
Pupils could then write a letter to Wesley from the point of view of a careers advisor, offering him guidance and advice as to how he could improve his current situation.
Curriculum Notes
This clip will be relevant for teaching PSHE/Modern Studies at GCSE Level. This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC KS4/GCSE in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4/5 in Scotland.
More from Growing Up Poor:
Teenage pregnancy and poverty - Amber's story. video
This clip explores teenage pregnancy whilst living in poverty. 16 year-old Amber is pregnant, without a partner and on benefits. Amber reflects on the circumstances that led to her current situation.
Teenage poverty, education and finding a job in the UK - Frankie's story. video
Frankie is 19 and living in an overcrowded flat in London with his family who are dependent on benefits. He describes the appeal of life on the streets.
Teenage poverty in the UK - Shelby's story. video
This clip explores teenage poverty and unemployment. We see 17 year-old Shelby describing how she tries to budget but often runs out of money and is constantly hungry.
