Young people and homelessness

Through Centrepoint, young people were invited to share their messages to raise awareness of youth homelessness alongside Joshua Coombes’ ‘Do something for nothing’ campaign as part of an internationally touring event.

A graphical approach to sharing stories and messages, was purposely selected in recognition of the transitionary chaotic lives of young people experiencing homelessness- it allowed for quick accessible engagements in short bursts. 

By creating a flexible, multi-layered framework for the sessions, young people with multiple and complex needs had the freedom to decide what they wanted to do and how they wanted to work.  Some young people: used stencils to create powerful messages; helped colour the work of others; shared their stories in text, cartoon and through pen profiles. Other young people focussed on drawing their name – seeming to be a declaration of identity in circumstances which can often be seen to remove any sense of individuality.

Some young people returned each week (3 weeks), whilst others joined us for a few hours.

Working together created a nurturing space for young people to chat, eat and share ideas as they worked.  There was a lot of peer-to-peer encouragement, and regular participants were encouraged to take responsibility for introducing new young people to the work we were doing- offering words of wisdom and support to help build confidence. 

Regular participants also helped plan, set up our exhibition space, and attended the event night, enjoying the attention their work received and growing in confidence as they talked about the project to visitors.