Good Organisation, the people behind York’s Invisible Tours have created a new project that aims to enhance the effective voice and representation of homeless people.
Named ‘Outside Influence’, the project aims to adopt creative approaches that challenge misconceptions of homelessness, rather than simply focussing on established partnership boards or multi agency forums to promote self advocacy.
They want to directly influence public opinion to effect positive outcomes through different creative streams including street art, social marketing and design.
With the intention to actively change the way lived experience is viewed and valued, they are building upon the success of their recent innovative #SeeThingsDifferently campaign launched to promote the ‘Invisible York’ walking tours.
The clever positioning of those marketing materials captured the public imagination, attracting international attention, celebrity endorsements and appearing in national publications and on television, with a poster campaign that went viral.
Homelessness is a situation, not a personal characteristic that defines you.
Each participant of Outside Influence will be provided with individual coaching and mentoring support, allowing them the space to identify a specific area of work that they can develop as a project with local artists. This will then act as vehicle for applying their own creative skills and to articulate key messages based on their personal priorities and experiences.
Homeless people are rarely provided with opportunities to represent themselves, and traditional messages surrounding homelessness can often act as a barrier in attempts to build public support.
Attempts to correct these misunderstandings with evidence or statistics, frequently fail to have the same impact as self advocacy, which can clearly communicate homelessness to be a situation rather than a characteristic that ultimately defines a person.
This project is open to anyone who has been affected by homelessness. Refer people directly mail@goodorganisation.co.uk
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