Is Australia the lucky country?
Poverty affects almost 3 million Australians and seeing the real faces behind the issues on SBS series, Struggle Street might make you change your mind about the tired expression.
Season two of the six-part Struggle Street series first aired on 28 November, 8.30pm on SBS, you can watch the remaining five episodes at the same time on Wednesday, Thursday this week and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday next week. If you missed the first episode you can view it on SBS catch up.
Struggle Street is an observational Australian documentary series which first hit our screens in 2015. Series one left audiences rattled, painting a raw and confronting image of the complicated and disadvantaged lives of families living under the poverty line in western Sydney’s Mt Druitt.
The creators of the series have explained it is made with the intent to remind people how severe living conditions can be for these communities and the effects they can have on entire generations.
When it aired, the first series stirred up controversy and was labelled as voyeuristic “poverty porn”, though undoubtedly opened up the eyes of many Australians.
Filmed this time in both Melbourne and Brisbane, the chaos of Struggle Street season two is bound to leave viewers just as uncomfortable as the first.
Struggle Street Season Two is here, and the reactions on social media have been huge, with many sharing the same opinion, “we can’t handle Struggle Street,” which is precisely the reason we all need to watch it.
Living in a socioeconomic bubble only makes these confronting struggles more toxic, exposure, on the other hand, starts conversations which can then lead real change and growth.
The first episode of the series featured the tragic story of Michael, who lives in Melbourne’s inner west and has faced a long battle with drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness, mental health, disability and unemployment. Michael was in tears on camera because he would miss his mother’s funeral after struggling with the public bus system.
You’ll also meet a homeless family of 6 cramming together into a garage just for a roof over their heads
These people and their struggle behind all the poverty statistics are real and while it is far from a perfect TV program, the importance Struggle Street’s message is real too.
See the Struggle Street website for more information on how you can help get involved with charities making a difference.
