FROM a former drug user, to a Queenslander recently released from prison, these are the characters that will soon appear on your TV screens for series two of Struggle Street.
Filmed in 2016 over six months in Queensland and Victoria, the controversial documentary series will follow the lives of 10 subjects around the suburbs of Inala in Brisbane, and Broadmeadows and Seddon in Melbourne.
The Struggle Street series, which aims to highlight some of the issues facing Australia’s most disadvantaged communities, copped backlash in 2015 from residents and council members in Mount Druitt, with the Mayor claiming the documentary was “poverty porn”.
But this time around, despite running into roadblocks around getting filming permits, series producer David Galloway said the rogue production tactics used in this series has added to the storytelling process.
“It was a single producer-cameraperson so there’s no sound recordist,” Mr Galloway told the Herald Sun.
“Occasionally there’d be a producer somewhere else just to offer support but essentially it was a very close relationship that was developed between the producer-cameraperson and the contributors.”
SBS’s director of TV and online content, Marshall Heald, said at a press event earlier this month that the show makes for “confronting television”.
“These are not easy stories for us to hear,” he said.
“But they’re the ones we need to listen to the most. Sometimes when facts don’t persuade, feelings do.”
SBS finally found two suburbs for the new series — and a string of colourful characters to feature in the series.
Michael:
From Victoria, Michael is featured in episode one of the new series. A former drug user and truck driver, Michael experiences mental health problems and now lives in transitional housing. Michael says his life went off the rails after years of bullying at school, which resulted in him being hooked on heroin at the age of 19.
Norma:
Norma is an indigenous mother-of-six from Inala in Brisbane. In episode one, she faces eviction from her home after her 24-year-old daughter was caught possessing a water pipe and marijuana in the house, which means Norma breached her public housing tenancy. In a bid to stay in her home, she stages a demonstration outside the housing department’s office.
Allan:
Allan is originally from the Cook Islands and is trying to get on top of debt by starting his own landscaping business to help his young family.
Sue:
Sue, also from Inala, has osteoarthritis and has been asked to leave the home she currently lives in. Sue lives in fear she will be left homeless.
Jess and her daughter Michelle:
Michelle, a single mum, is the full time carer of her daughter Jess. In the series, the pair show viewers how they live on the poverty line while on disability and carers pensions.
The first series of Struggle Street was slammed in 2015 by enraged Mt Druitt locals who said the documentary painted their suburb in a negative light.
Council members and some of the documentary subjects were so upset by how the documentary portrayed Mt Druitt, they marched on the television station’s studios on Sydney’s leafy north shore in protest — and created a garbage truck blockade.
The first season of Struggle Street showed raw footage of Mount Druitt’s Corey Kennedy dealing with ice addiction, and how that affected girlfriend Shantelle and young son Liam.
There were confronting scenes of Corey’s father Ashley and mother Peta in a rage over their son’s behaviour.
In the three-part documentary series, Struggle Street also featured Bob, a heroin addict, and his girlfriend Billie Jo, who was seen smoking pot in the late stages of pregnancy.
Other issues covered in the 2015 series included brain damage, dementia and mental illness.
The new series of Struggle Street will air on Tuesday, November 28 at 8.30pm, and comprises of six hour-long episodes.
The first episode will introduce viewers to Michael from Seddon in Victoria, and indigenous mother-of-six Norma — who lives in Inala, Brisbane.
The hour-long episode follows Michael to his mother’s funeral, after he was disowned by his family because of his former drug problems.
Despite living in poverty, Norma shows how she provides shelter for indigenous youth who need a place to stay. With her open door policy, Norma claims her home has been raided by police on several occasion while she’s lived in Inala.
Struggle Street series two premieres on Tuesday, November 28, 8.30pm on SBS
The series continues on SBS on November 29-30 November and December 5-7
ncG1vNJzZmimlazAb6%2FOpmWarV%2Bhtqex0q2wpZ1fp7KiuIyloJ%2BdX6OyuL%2BMpaCfnV%2BisqbAjK2fnmWWlrCmv4yonWarlae2pr%2BMa2Sonl2owbPBxqCjnmWjqb%2BmsdNopZ6vo2LAtbvRsmZwa2VlsHGwxZ6da2lllrF4fpVqa29rYJuzpoWPcHBpag%3D%3D