Cerys Matthews presents our BBC Lifeline Appeal

Cerys and the choir

If you missed it on the telly, our BBC Lifeline Appeal is available to watch on iPlayer for a whole month. 

Donating to the Appeal is easy.

Just call 0800 011 011

Or text DONATE to 70121 to donate £10.

You can also donate online.

Our 9-minute film features two people who have been turning their lives around with the help of the Choir with No Name:

SHANE'S STORY

38 year old Shane from London became addicted to heroin in his late teens and eventually become homeless.

After years of substance abuse and sleeping rough, the pressure eventually became too much to bear. He said, “I got a point where I just thought ‘no, I can’t go on like this, I can’t deal with the pain’. I attempted to take my life. I didn’t want to be here anymore”.

But then Shane found community through joining a Choir With No Name - and thanks to the uplifting power of music, he has managed to turn his life around.

He said, “If I hadn’t been with the Choir With No Name, I don’t think I’d be as confident as I am today without singing and nurturing music”.

Shane is now a singer-songwriter, recording his first album. 

SUZANNE'S STORY

After suffering sexual abuse as a teenager, Suzanne found it difficult to cope and turned to drink. She said, “The bottle was my mate. Nobody else was my mate, but the bottle was my mate. And without the bottle, I didn’t exist”.

Eventually Suzanne become homeless and lived on the streets for three years.

A friend told Suzanne about the Choir With No Name, and having now attended for 5 months, she’s beginning to feel hopeful about the future.

She said, “the more I think about going there, and concentrating and doing what I’ve got to do, the better I feel. So the best thing I ever did is join the choir”.

We're incredibly grateful to Shane and Suzanne for being willing to share their experiences. Thank you both very, very much.