Professor Green pays a visit to youth homelessness charity for Red Nose Day

Read all about it! Professor Green has paid a surprise visit to youth homelessness charity Depaul UK to make a film for this year’s Comic Relief appeal.

The rapper, real name Stephen Manderson, spoke to young people in Greenwich who have been affected by homelessness and received help from Depaul’s Get Up And Go programme, which is funded via a grant from Comic Relief. The programme supports young people on their path to independent living, training and employment via a range of creative and physical activities.

“Meeting the young people today was really eye-opening. There’s a million reasons why someone can end up homeless and places like Depaul UK make all the difference to these young people,” he said.

As well as talking to the young people Green observed a fitness session led by Claude Umuhire from The Running Charity.

“From offering sports and fitness, like the session I saw, to helping the young people with their finances and college applications, the staff here are with them every step of the way to ensure that they can get their lives back on track,” continued Green.

Interview – The Big Issue sat down with chart-topper and social commentator @professorgreenhttps://t.co/D5XHWyVklvpic.twitter.com/emkAt18sdg

— Big Issue (@BigIssue) February 15, 2016

“There are so many life-changing projects like this one right here in the UK that Comic Relief helps to fund and the money you donate for Red Nose Day really does make a difference.”

Professor Green also spoke to The Big Issue last year when he fronted a BBC3 documentary charting youth homelessness. At the time, he told us: “Looking at what will happen with the benefit cuts to under 25 year olds, so many young people are going to lose their homes. And what happens then? The [government] are looking at a spreadsheet, ‘here’s how we save some money’. But it is a real short term fix. Prevention is always better than cure.

“The bits of hope I saw were in the organisations picking up all the slack for the authorities.”

On the work being done by DePaul and many others, Green said: “It is changing lives that matters. The youth are the foundation of our country…”

Professor Green’s film airs on Comic Relief night, Friday 24 March on BBC1