A MAJOR homeless charity has released its heartbreaking Christmas advert that’s bound to leave viewers in tears.
Shelter has released a gut-wrenching Christmas advert to highlight the issues of homelessness this year.
The advert is named “Brave Face” and sees viewers watch a young boy on a typical day at school.
The boy receives bad grades, misses out on pudding at lunchtime and misses a goal at football practice.
And no matter how bad his day got, the little boy keeps smiling.
But once the school day ends, the youngster heads home and itâs only then we realise that he and his mother don’t have a family home.
Instead, viewers learn that the pair will be spending their Christmas in a dingy and noisy bedsit.
The advert then finished with the quote: “No child should have to put on a brave face.
“But without a home, over 119,500 children do.”
One viewer posted on Twitter and said: “This is such a good illustration of what thousands of kids go through in the UK.
“Children are worryingly good at adapting to homelessness for the sake of their parents. They shouldn’t have to.”
A spokesperson for Shelter said: “This year, hundreds of thousands of children will be spending Christmas in damp storage containers, badly converted office blocks and cramped B&Bs.
“Families will be sleeping on sofas, staying with friends and relations, with no permanent place to call home.
“People will be sleeping in freezing cars, damp tents and dirty doorways. This is not a home. We must act now.”
The advert arrived in the same week that a whole host of other retailers launched theirs.
Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Lidl, M&S Food, TK Maxx, Disney, Very and Dobbies all released their 2022 Christmas adverts this week.
