It's 40 years since Cathy Come Home, the drama about homelessness, first hit our screens, and 40 years since the charity Shelter was founded. Women's Editor Sarah Foster visits a North-East homelessness project and finds out whether things hae changed since the 1960s.

THE story struck a powerful chord, propelling homelessness - a then invisible issue - to pole position as a national concern. The 1960s drama, Cathy Come Home, told of young lovers Cathy and Reg. Their married life began auspiciously enough, then Reg's accident at work began a downturn in their luck. There was eviction and separation, then what remains a defining moment in TV - a hysterical Cathy having her children forcibly taken from her.

The play aroused the nation's conscience, gave rise to outrage that such horrors could take place, and the same year, the charity Shelter, which offers help to those like Cathy, was set up.

Things surely should have since moved on - through different networks of support, and with the Big Issue's introduction, there should be no one on the streets. Yet clearly this is not the case, and on its 40th anniversary, Shelter amplified the point. I've come to the Emma Project, which tackles homelessness in Darlington, to find out what this means today.

The scheme is managed by Carol Shreeve, who's based at Grange Road Baptist Church. As she explains, it has its origins in a hostel. "In 1997, Hope House opened, which is a hostel on Grange Road," she says. "This was a result of a group of people living in Darlington being concerned about the homelessness problem. It was called the 700 Club because they worked out that if 700 people gave £50 they would be able to start work on a hostel.

"As part of that they realised that, when people were ready to leave the hostel, they weren't ready to live independently and needed some sort of 'move-on' accommodation, so the Emma Project began."

As Carol suggests, the project acts as a halfway house, a further step to independence. Since it began three years ago it's grown voraciously. "It started with Mary House and now we have 11," she says. "We hope by the end of the financial year to have 14. The way we work is that landlords who are sympathetic to the charity rent us properties and we then take over the maintenance and running of these properties. We manage them and we lease them to people in need of accommodation."

Do many fall into this category? In this day and age, it seems unlikely that they do, yet Carol knows better. "We have a long waiting list for our accommodation," she says. "There may not appear to be a need but we still turn people away. I think you could say the type of homelessness has changed, or that it's more of a hidden problem, with people sleeping on people's floors or in tents. One of the problems we find now is people with children moving from location to location.

"People who are homeless now won't be in a sleeping bag on High Row, so if you just took a quick look you could think that the problem didn't exist. It's only because we deal with it every day that we know it does.

"There's also the idea that people claim they are homeless when they do have accommodation but that's not true. We have people who come to us in terrible states. No one would choose to be homeless."

What Carol encounters every day is not just homelessness as such but overcrowding, which is a natural result. "You maybe get a woman with a young child sleeping on the floor of a friend's house, and the friend has two children as well, so you have five people living in a house that's one lounge, one bedroom and a kitchen," she says. "Everybody should have the right to live in decent, even suitable accommodation."

And that's where the Emma Project comes in. It offers different types of housing - communal homes with shared facilities along with bedsits and private flats - to meet its clients' varied needs. A key concern is keeping standards high throughout. "We believe that it's important to people's self-worth to give them somewhere nice to live," says Carol. At this point Angela Clement, the housing management officer, interjects: "When we set up a room we do it to a standard that we would move into. I think a lot of bedsits have horrible, dirty carpets, horrible, dirty bedding and smoky rooms, and if you put somebody in there they're not going to respect it, they're not going to look after it."

The project offers people homes for up to two years, after which the aim is that they've learned to live alone. Yet even then they can be helped by floating support. They have their problems, and Carol won't deny this fact, but she says most just want to live a normal life.

"People have the view that those who come into our project are very damaged and have major, complex problems, and some have," she concedes. "Some have done something in their lives which has made them deserve to be homeless, but I have met some of the nicest people I have known through this project. I think homeless people get tarred with the same brush when a lot of them are just trying to live their lives the best they can."

What Carol has learned is that, despite what people think, there isn't a 'type' in this position. Drugs and alcohol can be involved, but so can debt or marriage breakdown, mental illness or abuse. She'd like to see more understanding where the homeless are concerned. "I think there's a lot that our residents can and do do to contribute to the community in which they live, and with support and encouragement, they can live very positive lives," she says. "It's very sad that in this day and age, there are still people who live on the streets or in overcrowded, inadequate accommodation."

* The Emma Project is currently looking for volunteers, and is always grateful for donations. It also welcomes self-referrals. Call 01325-489604 or visit www.700club.org.uk

'I lost everything when my husband left',p> Roxanne Saunders, 18, has lived in an Emma Project house for almost a year. "I HADN'T been getting on with my mam because I'd had a previous problem with drugs and alcohol. I just totally went off the rails. I'd been in hospital and my drugs nurse from the substance misuse team thought it would be better for me to have my own space because being around people just wasn't an option, so she got in touch with the Emma Project. "At the beginning, because I'd just turned 17, I was a bit wild - I was sort of taking advantage of it. I'd never lived on my own and I didn't know what rules and responsibilities were, but the project has helped me so much. If I needed support, all I needed to do was ask and I would get it, and I was just made welcome. I'm doing really well. I've just applied to the council to get a flat and I get on with my mam better than I ever have done. I've come a long way."

Kay (not her real name), is 47 and originally from Cumbria. She came to the project in October. "I WAS married to a soldier for 22 years and we were living in Germany, and he left me in July 2005. The Army actually evicts the wife from the property so I was evicted. I lost my job as a welfare clerk for the Royal Military Police and I lost my right to medical treatment. I also lost my right to drive a car - I lost everything. Because of the marriage breakdown, even my own family didn't bother with me and I had a nervous breakdown. "Now at least I have support. I didn't really have that until I came into the Emma Project. The only way is up."