GYPSIES and travellers living in Dorset are being encouraged to share their stories and break down social barriers in a new charity project.

Positive Stories: Different Lives is a joint initiative run by the Development Education in Dorset (DEED) in partnership with the charity Kushti bok, which serves as a voice for the local Gypsy and Traveller community.

Local writer Louisa Adjoa Parker joined filmmaker Sara Whistance and DEED project co-ordinator Louise Boston-Mammah at Hilfield Friary, Dorchester, for the launch which provided Gypsy and Traveller families with interview training the chance to interview one another and share their experiences on film.

In sharing these films on social media and within the wider community, the team hope to counter-balance the negative image many people have of Gypsies and Travellers.

Chairman of Kushti Bok, Romany Gypsy Betty-Smith Billington said: "It is something very close to my heart. A lot of people don’t realise that Romany’s were persecuted in the Holocaust alongside many others.

"People think Gypsies are dirty. They think they leave rubbish, can’t be trusted and are always causing anti-social behaviour which is so ridiculous, there is good and bad in all people."

Romany Gypsies, Irish and Scottish Travellers are legally recognised as an ethnic minority who have long been subject to social exclusion.

National statistics show that education performance, life expectancy and general health is lower than the average for settled communities, in part caused by lack of access to schools and health facilities.

Betty said: "There are many, many Gypsies living in the Dorset area who are hardworking, trustworthy people who are afraid to say who they are. I have worked in admin all my life and never, ever let it be known. I always said I lived two lives.

"As I’ve got older, I realised we need to be proud of who we are and not have people look down on us. This is what I would like to see the youngsters think like."

Since the UK census does not identify Gypsies and Travellers as a separate racial group there is no exact data available on the size of the population.

With the number of legalised traveller sites declining in local authorities it is estimated that over two-thirds of the community now live in permanent housing.

Deed project co-ordinator Louise Boston-Mammah said: "We hope this project will enable people from local Gypsy and Traveller communities to tell their own stories and let others know that their lifestyles may be different but their hopes, dreams and concerns for the future are the same as those of the wider community."

Currently in its pilot stage thanks to a grant from Comic Relief, the team hope to expand by securing more substantial funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

To get involved in the or for more information on training sessions email info.kushtibok@gmail.com.