Dr Grace Tidmarsh, Post Doctoral Research Fellow in the SPRINT Project, will soon be launching a new poetry e-book, which she has created as part of her ESRC funded Post Doctoral Research Fellowship.
Image description: Photo of the front cover of the new poetry e-book, ‘What Makes Home?’
Launching on the SPRINT Project website on the 24th of June 2024, the poetry e-book explores experiences of homelessness as well as perceptions of homelessness from individuals with and without lived, or current, experiences of homelessness.
Read on to find out about the work which led to the creation of the e-book, and the team of people involved in its dissemination!
Having an experience of home outside the norms created and expected by society is a reality for many individuals and families across the world. Homelessness is one such case and is when an individual or family does not have a house that is stable, safe and in a functional condition. This UK-based project focussed on a community health and wellbeing approach to the UK [youth] homelessness crisis. Across 2022-23 136,000 young people (16-25 years old) were reported to have accessed their local council for support for homelessness, a 12% increase from 2021-2022. Sadly, however, in reality this number is likely to be greater given that not everyone will seek support for the risk of, or experience of homelessness.
Stigma and harmful stereotypes associated with homelessness that exist within public, and policy domains, as well as systems, act to exclude those experiencing homelessness from society and its associated support systems, and further reduces the likelihood of help-seeking behaviours. The “What Makes Home” poetry collection aims to provide a platform for voices to be heard and experiences to be shared aiming to enhance understanding of homelessness on a personal level and reduce harmful stereotypes and associated stigma.
In order to achieve this Grace has led an interdisciplinary team from across sport and exercise psychology, geography and literature as part of this ESRC funded project. Dr Dorothy Butchard and Research Associate James Rodker from the department of Literature have conducted a literary analysis of the poems in the collection to further our knowledge and understanding of experiences and stigma associated with homelessness. We look forward to sharing these insights with you at our free webinar in July, further details below.
Do you want to find out more and get involved? You can attend a free online webinar entitled ‘A Platform for Change for the UK Youth Homelessness Crisis’ hosted by Grace on the 9th July from 1 – 3pm GMT. Book your place here!
Image credit: Dr Grace Tidmarsh, University of Birmingham Communications Team & Canva.
Written by Dr Sally Reynard, Post Doctoral Researcher in the SPRINT Project, Dr Grace Tidmarsh, Post Doctoral Research Fellow in the SPRINT Project.
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