As part of the audience development programme for the new Leeds City Museum due to open in Autumn 2008, the Leeds Museums' Discovery Centre embarked on a project in partnership with a homeless hostel in Leeds run by St. Anne’s Community Services.
The project was facilitated by Stretch, an independent charity that has produced some excellent work in partnership with the Heritage Sector and the Prison Service, engaging with people from disadvantaged backgrounds to make museum collections more relevant and accessible.
Follow the stories of three of the homeless men from Leeds on MyYorkshire.
Listen to Michael’s Story.
Listen to Alexis’ Story.
Listen to Tony’s Story.
The aims of the project were two-fold:
1) To record the personal testimony of 3 hostel residents and their experiences of being homeless in the city. This involved giving each of them a camera to record their own images of people and locations that had a personal resonance for them-in either a positive or negative way, followed by 1 to 1 interviews and discussions on the issues affecting their lives.
2) To enable a previously disengaged group to feel a sense of identity with and ownership of the museum service. The DVD will be showcased in the new museum and used as an educational tool on websites like ‘My Learning’. The three ‘core’ residents were actively involved in the creative process of filming and editing the DVD, developing their own skills and self confidence through participation in the process.
The project also introduced other residents at the hostel to new learning opportunities and stimulated their creativity as workshops and tours were arranged at the Discovery Centre, following consultation with them, based on their interests, hobbies and cultural identity-music, astrology, natural science, hieroglyphics –and these led to other community groups from the Homeless Sector accessing the Discovery Centre.
The project has produced a permanent record held by the museum service as a legacy for future audiences as well as developing a meaningful and sustainable partnership with a large community organisation in the social care sector. Future projects are currently under discussion with the hostel and other services within St. Anne’s in anticipation of the museum opening later this year.