A lived experience-led project, kickstarting major change towards better healthcare access and life expectancy for people facing homelessness.
Aims
Working in partnership with On Our Radar our aims are:
- Increase key decision makers’ awareness of the barriers to healthcare faced by people experiencing homelessness across the country
- Create a movement of people with experience of homelessness, influencing decision makers and holding them to account for changes in practice and policy.
How will we achieve our aims?
Themed insights and webinars
to share insights with decision makers. Read our insights here.
Interviews and focus groups
with people with experience of homelessness.
Citizen journalists
reporting their stories through a dedicated microsite: the Listen Up! hub.
Self-advocacy training
for people with experience of homelessness; so they know their rights.
Project elements
1. Better evidence and insight
We’re planning to conduct qualitative interviews and focus groups with hundreds of people with experience of homelessness annually, to ensure a multitude of voices and experiences are heard.
We’re also planning to use an innovative ‘community journalism’ approach, similar to that successfully used for our COVID-19 stories project.
Drawing on the expertise of our partners On Our Radar, who specialise in surfacing stories from unheard groups worldwide, volunteers with experience of homelessness will receive journalism training to use media such as writing, voice recording and filmmaking.
Their important stories about healthcare access will be posted and amplified online creating a unique platform of raw, on-the-ground reports.
2. Involving decision makers
The stories and insights we gather will be used to highlight issues to key decision makers through briefings, webinars, meetings and working groups.
An action hub on the Groundswell website will make a record of insights, actions, progress and responsibilities.
3. Ensuring people know their rights
Listen Up! will ensure that people experiencing homelessness are aware of their rights by delivering self-advocacy training across the country.
The training will also ensure they have the confidence, knowledge, skills and connections to hold key decision makers to account for change.
Additionally, as always Groundswell’s unique progression programme will provide support and opportunities for volunteers to work towards their goals and overcome the barriers that may be preventing them from being achieved.
The project is funded by a Comic Relief ‘Change Makers’ grant.
Live reports!
The Listen Up! hub! colleates raw reports on the experiences, concerns and feedback of a network of trained community reporters with experience of homelessness.
Living all around the UK, the reporters are using their mobile phones to document their stories.
Through the hub, we want to elevate their voices, challenge stereotypes, and ultimately help decision makers end harmful health inequalities.
How you can support us
Listen Up! is a movement of people, united in the belief that elevating the voices and raw insights of our reporters will challenge stereotypes and help decision makers end homeless health inequalities.
Here are some ways you can support us and get involved:
1. Join our mailing list for regular hub reports, research findings and event info straight to your inbox.
2. Read and share our series of insights. We will add more throughout the project.
3. SHARE! Please tell people about us through social media and your networks! We’ll be posting regularly from Groundswell’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.