Des Wilson: Charities Are Not Enough

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.