Museum of Homelessness

Last updated

Museum of Homelessness
Established2014
Location London, United Kingdom
TypeSocial History Museum
Website www.museumofhomelessness.org

The Museum of Homelessness (abbreviated to MoH) is a museum, based in London, created and run by people with direct experience of homelessness. [1]

Contents

The museum was established in 2014 by husband and wife team Matt and Jess Turtle. [2] MoH operates broadly across four main areas: building a national collection of homelessness for the UK; [3] direct and practical action in support of its community (including operating a Severe Weather Emergency Shelter); [4] [5] independent research and campaigning (including the Dying Homeless Project [6] and Severe Weather Emergency publication [7] ); and public eduction through exhibitions and events. [8]

History

MoH has and maintains close links with the Simon Community, a London-based homelessness charity that influenced the emergence of many large homelessness charities today such as St Mungo's, Centrepoint, and Crisis. [9] MoH collaborates with the Simon Community's historical archive and cooperates on frontline work with people affected by homelessness in London. [10] [11] This and the rising homelessness of the last decade provided the early momentum for setting up the museum. As well as securing agreement from the Community to use the archive in its programme in London, Matt and Jess Turtle formed a core group of volunteers who had experience of homelessness to meet to review and plan the museum's work. Early impetus for the project was supported by a research grant from King's Cultural Institute [12] and a joint effort with the homelessness charity Groundswell, with the project becoming a charity in October 2015.

One of MoH's co-founders, Jess Turtle, was born into a grassroots community of homeless people set up by her parents Fred Josef and Jane Josef (now Rothery) in 1978. [13] The community they lived in was named The Wallich-Clifford community, now The Wallich, after Anton Wallich-Clifford, the Simon Community founder. [14] Wallich-Clifford and Fred Josef had come to know each other well in London in the 1960s when Josef was rough sleeping and Wallich-Clifford was his probation officer. Josef played an important role in the early days of the Simon Community and went on to set up his own project in Cardiff. [15] This upbringing has informed the founding of MoH and the way that the museum sets out to work with people based on community principles. [16] In addition, Jane Rothery, co-founder of The Wallich was the founding Chair of Trustees for MoH.

Launch Years (2017–2018)

After their first early projects, the core group were offered the opportunity to participate in a programme run by Tate called ‘Tate Exchange’. The group launched State of the Nation as a launch weekender in April 2017. State of the Nation involved many contributing organisations and people, and was designed to provide a snapshot of the homelessness crisis in 2017. [17] Important collaborations included teaming up with formerly homeless artist David Tovey to stage Man on Bench, a performance fashion show at Tate Modern. MoH also developed a long-standing collaboration with artist Anthony Luvera to stage his and Gerald McLaverty's project Frequently Asked Questions. [18] [19]

A tour of London's hostels followed in partnership with Cardboard Citizens as the State of the Nation programme continued throughout 2017 and was taken on the road to Liverpool in early 2018. MoH was strengthened in this period by the appointment of Sharon Heal, Director of the Museums Association as chair.

During this time MoH began to collect objects and interview testimony from different around the UK to reflect a range of opinions and experiences about homelessness. MoH works to tackle[ clarification needed ] damaging representations of homelessness and does not use fundraising imagery depicting homelessness. The testimony used in these interviews is shared with people through the form of a ‘verbatim’ performance in different settings. MoH's last major staging of object stories took place in late 2018 with the Objectified project, a collaborative project exploring neuroscience, health and homelessness that was staged in Manchester that also became the subject of the docudrama made by Dorothy Allen-Pickard and hosted by The Guardian newspaper. [20]

Campaigning and social justice work (2018–2019)

MoH is independent and does not take government contracts, developing close links with grassroots homelessness and housing groups such as the Outside Project and Streets Kitchen. [21] In early 2019, the charity announced its intention to find a permanent museum space and since spring 2019 has been based at the Outside Project's community centre and shelter at Clerkenwell Fire Station. MoH teamed up with groups at the Fire Station to launch Truths of the Last 10 Years in late 2019, reflecting on a decade of rising homelessness. [22]

The charity is outspoken about social issues related to homelessness and has campaigned on the matter. In 2019, it inherited the Dying Homeless Project, an 18-month investigation launched by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. MoH worked with lead journalist Maeve McClenaghan in 2019 on the handover. Today, MoH holds a national memorial page for people who have died homeless in the UK [23] and has continued to campaign around the deaths of homeless people. [24] The charity was named as a 2020 Big Issue change-maker in recognition of its work. [25]

Before this, MoH also launched Catalyst, a creative campaigning project funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation [26] that brought many new people with experience of homelessness into the organisation. MoH has since worked with high-profile campaigners and artists such as Paul Atherton, gobscure, [27] and Bekki Perriman. In October 2017, the MoM and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism launched Dying Homeless project, a project for data collection regards to homeless deaths promoted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Homelessness and managed in collaboration with the Office for National Statistics. [28]

COVID-19 response (2020–present)

As lockdown in the UK began, MoH teamed up with Streets Kitchen, the Outside Project, Simon Community, and the Union Chapel to launch the COVID-19 Homeless Taskforce. Working with Islington Council, the taskforce borrowed the Popham and Cumming community centre, dispatching 8956 meals and care packs across Islington and Camden over a 3-month period. Working with Streets Kitchen, MoH also launched a plan to enable people who are homeless to self-isolate during this period, providing much of the early impetus for the later ‘Everyone In’ programme that saw the Government house thousands of homeless people during the pandemic. [29] [30] As a result of this work, MoH was shortlisted for the Award for Civic Arts Organisations by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. [31]

After the taskforce was asked to hand the Centre back to Islington Council, it continued to operate in North London through its weekly Streetmuseum showcase on Highbury Corner. MoH also teamed up with the Simon Community in late October 2020 to support their street work in Westminster after a second national lockdown was announced. [32] As of 2021, MoH is based at 52 Lant Street, London, but is also looking for a new base for its operations. [33]

Research and academic work

MoH's social justice approach has been featured in debates and academic work[ among whom? ] that explores[ clarification needed ] the role of museums in the 21st century. This includes citations in Richard Sandell and Robert R. Janes Museum Activism reader published by Routledge in 2019. [34] Co-founders Matt and Jess Turtle have also contributed to a more recent Routledge volume on museums Museums and Social Change: Challenging the Unhelpful Museum.' [35] They also contributed to 2019 proceedings of the Network of European Museums organisational conference in the same year. Most recently, their work was selected as a case study in the Museums Association manifesto for learning and engagement. [36]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William, Prince of Wales</span> Heir apparent to the British throne (born 1982)

William, Prince of Wales, is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelter (charity)</span> Homelessness charity in England and Scotland

Shelter is a registered charity that campaigns for housing justice in England and Scotland. It gives advice, information, and advocacy to people and campaigns, and lobbies government and local authorities for new laws and policies. It works in partnership with Shelter Cymru in Wales and the Housing Rights Service in Northern Ireland. The charity was founded in 1966 and raised 75.2 million pounds in 2022/23.

Together TV is a British free-to-air television channel owned by The Community Channel, a community benefit society. The channel targets a women's audience aged 40 to 60, with programming related to health and wellness, hobbies, and creativity.

Centrepoint is a charity in the United Kingdom which provides accommodation and support to homeless people aged 16–25. The Prince of Wales has been a patron of the organisation since 2005; his first patronage. His mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was patron of the organisation before she died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crisis (charity)</span>

Crisis is the UK national charity for people experiencing homelessness. The charity offers year-round education, employment, housing and well-being services from centres in East London, Newcastle, Oxford, Edinburgh, South Wales, Croydon, Brent and Merseyside, called Crisis Skylight Centres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelessness in Australia</span> Overview of homelessness in Australia

Homelessness in Australia is a social issue concerning the number of people in Australia that are considered to be homeless. There are no internationally agreed upon definitions of homelessness, making it difficult to compare levels of homelessness across countries. A majority of people experiencing homelessness long-term in Australia are found in the large cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. It is estimated that on any given night approximately 116,000 people will be homeless and many more are living in insecure housing, "one step away from being homeless". A person who does not obtain any shelter is often described as sleeping 'rough'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelessness in England</span> Overview of homelessness in England

In England, local authorities have duties to homeless people under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002. There are five hurdles which a homeless person must overcome in order to qualify as statutory homeless. If an applicant only meets the first three of these tests Councils still have a duty to provide interim accommodation. However an applicant must satisfy all five for a Council to have to give an applicant "reasonable preference" on the social housing register. Even if a person passes these five tests councils have the ability to use the private rented sector to end their duty to a homeless person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Chapel, Islington</span> Church in London, England

Union Chapel is a working Congregational church, live-entertainment venue and charity drop-in centre for the homeless in Islington, London, England. Built in the late 19th century in the Gothic revival style, the church is a Grade I-listed building. It is at the north end of Upper Street, near Highbury Fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FareShare</span> Charity aimed at relieving food poverty and reducing food waste in the United Kingdom

FareShare is a British charity network established in 1994 that aims to relieve food poverty and reduce food waste  in the United Kingdom. It does this by obtaining good-quality surplus food from the food industry that would otherwise have gone to waste and sending it to frontline charities and community groups across the UK.

Possible is a charity that enables people to take practical action on climate change, and combines these local actions to inspire a more ambitious approach to the issue at every level of society.

Single Homeless Project is a registered charity working to help single Londoners by preventing homelessness, providing support and accommodation, promoting wellbeing, enhancing opportunity and being a voice for change.

Revolving Doors is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which works across England and Wales. Through research, policy and campaigning work, the organisation aims to improve services for people with multiple needs who are in repeat contact with the criminal justice system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Casey, Baroness Casey of Blackstock</span> British public official (born 1965)

Louise Casey, Baroness Casey of Blackstock,, is a Crossbench peer and current British government official, where she serves as Lead Non-Executive Director.

Community Links is a multipurpose charity operating in the East London borough of Newham. It was established by David Robinson OBE and Kevin Jenkins OBE in 1977, and has grown to become one of the UK's largest local charities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Foundation</span> Independent United Kingdom-based charity

The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales is an independent United Kingdom-based charity which supports the non-profit work of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Their projects revolve around conservation, environmental issues, early childhood development, mental health, emergency services, and homelessness.

Qatar Charity is a humanitarian and development non-governmental organization in the Middle East. It was founded in 1992 in response to the thousands of children who were made orphans by the Afghanistan war and while orphans still remain a priority cause in the organization's work with more than 150,000 sponsored orphans, it has now expanded its fields of action to include six humanitarian fields and seven development fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Community</span> Charity for homeless people

The Simon Community is a charity which helps homeless people, taking its name from Simon of Cyrene. It was founded in 1963 by Anton Wallich-Clifford, who had encountered many homeless people while working for the Probation Service at Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London. Wallich-Clifford was influenced by the work of Dorothy Day and her Catholic Worker Movement in the US, and his original vision was to establish a farm and community in Sussex. However, local protests prevented this and the organisation developed as a chain of houses and night shelters run by local volunteers. The Simon Community was co-founded by political activist Eddie Linden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mungo's (charity)</span> Homelessness charity

St Mungo Community Housing Association, trading as St Mungo's, is a charity registered in England to help homeless people.

Gerry Georgatos is a university researcher and social justice and human rights campaigner based in Western Australia. He has campaigned for prison reform, as well as championing the rights of the impoverished and marginalised and the homeless.

References

  1. ↑ McCarthy, James (1 April 2017). "Jess Turtle grew up surrounded by hundreds of homeless people". Wales Online. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  2. ↑ Chynoweth, Adele; Lynch, Bernadette; Petersen, Klaus; Smed, Sarah (2020). Museums and social change – challenging the unhelpful museum. New York: Rutledge. p. 48. ISBN   978-0-429-27690-3. OCLC   1135089472.
  3. ↑ Causes, National Lottery Good. "Museum of Homelessness". National Lottery Good Causes. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "A visit to the world's first Museum of Homelessness". Inside Housing. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  5. ↑ Dempsey, Isabel (17 January 2025). "Museum of Homelessness pilots emergency shelter during severe cold weather". Museums Association. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "Deaths of people sleeping rough up 42% as nearly 1,500 homeless people die in 2023". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Extreme weather support for rough sleepers 'inadequate'". openDemocracy. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "Museum of Homelessness opens in Finsbury Park". BBC News. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Doward, Jamie (30 July 2023). "'Champion of the invisible': blue plaque campaign for pioneer on homelessness". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  10. ↑ "Homelessness: a history". Inside Housing. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  11. ↑ Hanc, John (15 March 2017). "Museums With Ideas, Goals and Sometimes Art. But Walls? No. (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  12. ↑ "King's College London - Building the Museum of Homelessness". www.kcl.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  13. ↑ McCarthy, James (1 April 2017). "Jess Turtle grew up surrounded by hundreds of homeless people". WalesOnline. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  14. ↑ "The Wallich | Welsh Homelessness and rough sleeping Charity". The Wallich. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  15. ↑ Wallich-Clifford, Anton. (1974). No fixed abode. London: Macmillan. ISBN   0-333-17359-7. OCLC   1875021.
  16. ↑ Chynoweth, Adele; Lynch, Bernadette; Petersen, Klaus; Smed, Sarah (2020). Museums and social change – challenging the unhelpful museum. New York: Rutledge. p. 52. ISBN   978-0-429-27690-3. OCLC   1135089472.
  17. ↑ "State of the Nation: Exchanges on Homelessness With Museum of Homelessness". Tate. 8 April 2017.
  18. ↑ "Man on a Bench Fairytale". Universal Live. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  19. ↑ "Exhibition shows a reaction to a homeless person's Frequently Asked Questions". The Big Issue. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  20. ↑ Allen-Pickard, Dorothy; Payne-Frank, Noah; Gormley, Jess; Guardian, Source: The (2 January 2019). "The Bystander Effect: Neuroscientist shows how our brains dehumanise homeless people - video". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  21. ↑ Turtle, Jessica. "Our campaigning around COVID-19 and Homelessness". Museum of Homelessness. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  22. ↑ "Former fire station in Clerkenwell gets new life as LGBTIQ+ homeless centre". Islington Tribune . Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  23. ↑ "Dying Homeless: Counting the deaths of homeless people across the UK". The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  24. ↑ "One homeless person dies every 19 hours in modern Britain". Metro. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  25. ↑ "Top 100 Changemakers 2020: Housing and homelessness". The Big Issue. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  26. ↑ "Catalyst". Museum of Homelessness. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  27. ↑ "welcome". Provoked. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  28. ↑ "The Bureau of Investigative Journalism Dying Homeless project" . Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  29. ↑ "Coronavirus: 'Safe spaces' needed for homeless to self-isolate". BBC News. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  30. ↑ "Campaigners demand urgent action for rough sleepers with COVID-19 in London". The Big Issue. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  31. ↑ "Shortlist announced: Award for Civic Arts Organisations". Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation — UK Branch. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  32. ↑ Cumiskey, Lucas (8 June 2020). "Islington Covid-19 homeless taskforce says 'massive community effort' has keep vulnerable people safe during pandemic". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  33. ↑ "Contact Us". Museum of Homelessness. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  34. ↑ Museum activism. Janes, Robert R., 1948-, Sandell, Richard, 1967-. Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN   978-1-351-25104-4. OCLC   1060184662.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  35. ↑ Museums Association. "Learning and Engagement Campaign."
  36. ↑ "Learning-and-engagement - Campaigns". Museums Association. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.