Coronavirus: Homelessness

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 27 March 2021

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The coronavirus has changed almost everyone’s lives and for some losing their jobs has led to homelessness. Edward in the United States had to sleep in the New York subway and train stations before finding help from a mission, while Walter spent five months homeless in South Africa - even for a stint, on the famous Table Mountain. Host Nuala McGovern also hears how families in Rome are approaching the renewed restrictions. Nuala also considers the future workplace and how the pandemic has been good for robots.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello I'm Nula McGovern on the BBC World Service and this is BBC OS, conversations on coronavirus, homelessness.
0:09.0	We hear from two men in New York and Cape Town united through losing their job
0:17.8	during a pandemic and finding themselves homeless for the first time, including Walter who joined around 80 other men sleeping on Table Mountain.
0:28.0	I have no idea how we survived actually. We just pray to God we just need to survive. We are not an option of saying
0:34.8	that we need to do any social distance because when it rains we need to be like four people in the two
0:38.8	main stand. So we just had to sit, not sleep because you can't fit.
0:49.0	Italy is one country where COVID and social distancing restrictions in shelters has increased the issue and visibility of homelessness on the streets. The recent death... the
0:53.7	reason of homelessness on the streets. The recent death of a homeless man from the cold in Rome led Pope
0:58.4	Pope Francis to ask people to help. Italy is also affected by a new wave of the coronavirus which is spreading
1:05.7	across mainland Europe, leading several countries to reintroduce new restrictions.
1:10.9	Just over a year ago, you'll remember, Italy became the first European
1:14.9	hotspot for COVID-19, imposing one of the first national lockdowns.
1:20.7	It's now reporting more than 100,000 deaths and once again is struggling in its fight against the disease after delays hit its vaccination campaign.
1:30.0	I've been speaking to professional photographer Lorenzo Pesce who has three daughters who last year did a photographic project of
1:37.0	Portraits showing young lives on hold and he was joined in our conversation by Visual Consultant
1:44.6	Alyssa Weinstein Gervina, who's originally from New York and one of her sons
1:49.3	14-year-old Sebastian. All three of our guests live in Rome and we hear from
1:54.2	Alyssa first. The first lockdown was much sweeter. I felt so lucky to have three
1:59.1	children. I felt so lucky to have a big family. For us to be together like this was a dream because usually
2:04.8	their father travels once a week, once every two weeks to Milan. He was with us. It was lovely and
2:11.1	I know a lot of people feel that way, you know, from the
2:13.2	seeing on the balconies to the family time together when this time it really
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.