One Pair of Eyes — Season 1, Episode 50: Des Wilson: Charities Are Not Enough

Episode synopsis

Up to the beginning of this year, 30-year-old Des Wilson was the director of Shelter, the charity which has done so much to draw attention to the homeless and their needs. Now an Observer columnist, he looks back on his four years of charity work. He examines the role of charities in Britain today and asks: Are we really a charitable society? He maintains that we treat our charities as a substitute for the Welfare State. As a nation we give over £50-million a year to charity, but is financial generosity enough? In this film he talks, among others, to Richard Crossman MP, former Minister of Health and Social Security, and to James Loring, director of Britain's largest charity - the Spastics Society.

About One Pair of Eyes

A monthly series of highly personal documentary films in which individuals are given a platform to discuss issues close to their heart.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1James Cameron: Temporary Person Passing Through
• E2Dr Alex Comfort: A Traveller in the Dreamtime
• E3Anthony Howard: A City of Magnificent Intentions
• E4Nicholas Tomalin: No Worse Heresy
• E5James Cameron: The Road to Kingdom Come
• E6Jo Grimond: The Dead Hand of Democracy
• E7Peter Wilson: You've Got to Win
• E8Norman Parkinson: Stay Baby Stay
• E9Sir Tyrone Guthrie: Off to Philadelphia
• E10James Cameron: Berlin - The Haunted House
• E11Margaret Drabble: A Place Called Exile
• E12Claud Cockburn: One More River To Cross