This Christmas, thousands of people seeking refuge in the UK are at risk of homelessness.
We partnered with the Boaz Trust on their 2023 Christmas appeal to help give people who’ve fled conflict and persecution somewhere warm and safe to sleep this winter.

I sometimes (/often) despair at the words and policies coming from the UK government and certain politicians. Earlier this year, the Illegal Migration Act was passed, making it nearly impossible for most people who’ve experienced conflict, persecution or human rights abuses to claim asylum here in the UK. And then earlier this month (the now former Home Secretary) Suella Braverman announced her plans to ban tents for people living on the streets (‘many of them from abroad’) as a ‘lifestyle choice’.

With this backdrop, Stone Barrell feels privileged to have partnered with the Boaz Trust, an organisation helping people who are being left homeless and destitute by the UK’s asylum system. As doors seem to be slamming shut for people seeking refuge in the UK, Boaz’s ‘Open the Doors’ Christmas appeal is all about doing the opposite – choosing to give a warm welcome and hope to people who’ve been forced to flee their home countries. People like Noah*. 

And it feels like there couldn’t be a more important time to tell this story.

Please do take 3 minutes to watch Noah’s Story (at the top of this blog) and hear from someone who knows what it’s like to be homeless and destitute in the UK – not as a ‘lifestyle choice’ but as the only choice.

We absolutely loved working on this video with Boaz, and are excited to announce that Noah's Story is a finalist in the 2024 Smiley Charity Film Awards.

The Making of Noah’s Story 

Noah is amazing and we think his story is so powerful – giving us a real glimpse into what life is like for people seeking safety in the UK, and showing the literally life-changing impact nonprofits like Boaz have for people who have nowhere left to turn. We loved spending 24 hours with him and the Boaz team in Manchester filming for the video. But, as you can imagine, the process of creating Noah’s Story took much longer (and we loved that part too).

Boaz originally got in touch with us about collaborating with them back in May 2023, which was great, as it gave us loads of time to work together on an approach and a plan for the appeal. Once the Boaz team had asked Noah if he’d be part of the project, we had a video call with him to hear his story, chat through ideas, and make sure he had given informed consent and was totally happy to be involved. We then storyboarded based on what Noah had told us, location scouted and roped in some of the Boaz team and Noah’s friends as extras (thanks to Boaz’s Rich for doing a lot of that legwork!). All this pre-planning essentially meant the shoot went really smoothly, and there was lots of time left for post-production.

As well as filming and editing the video, we also provided the Boaz Trust with photographs to use online and in supporting materials, and helped them write their direct mail Christmas appeal, going out to current supporters and churches in Manchester.