Talk:Cathy Come Home

A question about Shelter
Was Shelter really set up by coincidence around the time that Cathy Come Home was broadcast, or was it set up as a result of the programme?


 * As far as I'm aware it was a coincidence. I used to think it was set up as a direct result &mdash; indeed I believe this article originally said that when I first wrote it &mdash; but as far as I can ascertain this is actually something of a popular myth. Angmering 23:28, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

I believe that the impact of the programme led to ealry support for Shelter as a fledgling charity, giving it prominence that it otherwise would not have had. ScMeGr 23:39, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

"I have read in several places" that the film inspired the setting up of Shelter.

Possibly a case of synchronicity - the "aspects of society" which gave rise to the organisation also contributed to the basis of the film - and there may have been general talk about the setting up of the body. Jackiespeel (talk) 16:45, 11 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Yeah I thought Shelter was set up because of it, not as a coincidence. I subscribe to Shelter, I will check with them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by SimonTrew (talk • contribs) 06:11, 16 February 2009 (UTC)


 * This is my writing style and I would pretty much guess it was me who wrote that. Sorry I forgot to sign. Si Trew (talk) 14:31, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

Shelter wasn't set up because of Cathy come home. However, it started at around the same time, and the fact that 12 million people watched a tv programme showing the horrors of homelessness and being vulnerably housed meant that Shelter took off as a national charity in a way that it would not otherwise have done. Shelter's website acknowledges this.--Confusedmiked (talk) 14:22, 26 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I thought also that Shelter was set up because of it. For the encylopaedia, I am quite happy to believe that it was not but that it existed at around the same time. That is important and should be said. Certainly as the previous editor said, it is often quoted as being the impetus to set up Shelter. If that is not quite right, but that it brought it to prominence or something, that is all to the good.


 * My best wishes Si Trew (talk) 14:29, 26 December 2009 (UTC)


 * The fact that the claimed link between CCH and Shelter is widespread makes it an urban myth, not a fact. Shelter was launched on 1 December 1966, which was indeed a mere fourteen days after the broadcast, but it's clear from contemporary press coverage that far more preparatory work had been done before the official launch on that date than could have been achieved in just two weeks. In any case, Shelter was a natural progression from the local housing charity set up by Bruce Kenrick. In the latter's piece for The Times on 2 December, he makes no mention of CCH at all. The mistaken direct linkage may be down to confusion with the pre-existing "Lend a Hand" organisation, which lauched an appeal to raise £2 million specifically in response to ''CCH'. Nick Cooper (talk) 15:00, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

Anon edit to main article, October 25 2006
The entry says Cathy Come Home was first shown on the 16th of December 1966, and later states it helped raised the profile of the Charity Shelter, which was lanuched on Dec 1st 1966. In actual fact Cathy Come home first aired on the 16th of November and was shown a second time a few weeks later (after public outcry). The BBC website contains two references on for December and one for November, the Shelter site indicates CCH was a November transmission.


 * OK we better change that then —Preceding unsigned comment added by SimonTrew (talk • contribs) 06:13, 16 February 2009 (UTC)