50 Years, 50 Faces: Craig McDougall

50 Years, 50 Faces: Craig McDougall:

My name is Craig, I’m a filmmaker from Southampton and I own a company called Neck of the Woods Films. I first found out about the Renewal Programme when they reached out to my company about making a film for them. I hadn’t heard of them before, so I’m so glad they reached out to us.

For me, everything about the Renewal Programme connects with me as a person. Their desire to make a difference in their borough and their philosophy on the way they treat people is something that really speaks to me. Most of all though, I really respect their desire to give people opportunities. To me, what they do isn’t about carrying out single, helpful acts, it’s about giving people real opportunities to make a long-term change in their life. 

It’s hard to single out a project that I feel most connected with because so much of what the charity does is important to me personally. That being said, being able to see the difference the Supported Housing project makes was amazing. Safe homes are so central to how we build our lives, so seeing the Renewal Programme support this for so many people was special. What I saw when I went there was it’s own micro-community, where people are treated with respect, looked after and given the tools they need to make a difference in their lives long-term. More than that though, I saw a team of people that cared about the people they were working with, and were actively doing everything they could to support that. 

The people are what really make the Renewal Programme special. Every interaction with a member of the team, no matter how small, has been a joy. You really see their values come to life when you communicate with them.

To me, the Renewal Programme is a special group of people who are trying to make a genuine and positive difference in their community and are succeeding in doing so. 

Craig McDougall