A campaign to show how your donations to homeless charities can help change lives has been launched.

Watford Borough Council has worked with New Hope and Think About It Films two create two short films which explain how donating to charities rather than people on the street can have a bigger impact.

Donations to homelessness charities can help provide the basics such as food, clean clothes, and shelter. But crucially, they provide an opportunity for trained professionals to work with homeless people and offer support as they begin a new journey.

An actress is used in the films but she is portraying a real-life story of someone who has been recently helped by New Hope.

Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: "“Watford is a town for everyone and this project really shows that. We all want to live in a town where there are no rough sleepers and people have homes. The council has launched this initiative to encourage people to donate money directly to one of Watford’s local charities, such as New Hope.

"We work very closely with New Hope, funding their outreach services. Working together we can help to turn lives around so that people are able to move into permanent accommodation.”

Visit watford.gov.uk/sparechange for more information.