Sandra Mickiewicz

The body of work is a subjective reportage shot in Jaywick, a small seaside town in the county of Essex, north-east of London. Before World War II, the town was very popular for Londoners, who used to flock there over the summer. After the war, a lot of people permanently moved into their holiday homes in Jaywick along the beach but in 1953 the town was affected by major floods that killed over 70 people and seriously damaged many properties. As people started to move back out, less investment was put into the area and unemployment grew rapidly. Jaywick was reported as one of the most deprived regions in the UK according to several factors including education, unemployment, crime, housing and health conditions. The community of Jaywick struggles with high unemployment rates, poor health and crime.
The series is specifically about the Happy Club, created by the residents of Jaywick in 2015 with the idea of gathering together once a month to discuss their ideas for improv- ing life in their area, organising events for children and to support people with disabilities. The project focuses on the everyday life of the Jaywick community and the very difficult circumstances they face, which only they fully understand.