Reframing the myths and stereotypes of homelessness

Moving to London to study Psychology at UCL two years ago was a wake-up call when it came to seeing so many people living on the streets. What now shocks me, is how quickly I have become immune to the sight of homeless people. As I rush down Tottenham Court Road to a lecture, clutching a morning coffee, I'm just like the hordes of other busy Londoners who avert their eyes from the rows of people attempting to stay warm under cardboard or sleeping bags. It's a feeble attempt not to think about another person's suffering.

The hard truth, just as my UCL professor, Lasana Harris explains, (in this very issue of The Psychologist), is that in order to survive busy city living, our brains switch off and actually tell us not to register the people we see in front of us as real humans. We fail to see them as people. We don't let ourselves consider their stories.

So how do we turn off the cognitive security guard in our brains? The answer is simple, says Harris, we just need to speak to people who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness. And visiting London's Museum of Homelessness, who Harris has worked with, to visit their latest show, 'How To Survive The Apocalypse' provides a perfect opportunity.

The Museum of Homelessness (MoH), founded in 2015, is created and run by people with direct experience of homelessness. The blurb for their current show promises 'a 90-minute show that will be a break from the traditional museum experience' so I arrived in Finsbury Park unsure of what to expect.

The exhibition began when I was greeted by a group of volunteers at the entrance to the museum and offered a hot drink; a welcome surprise on an exceptionally chilly morning. The museum building, Manor House Lodge, secured in 2023, is the museum's first permanent home since the community began in 2015, and volunteers have transformed the building, from an old police property, into not only a museum, but an active refuge for those currently experiencing homelessness.

I was in a group of eight visitors to the day's exhibition, and it began with a tour of the building's gardens which have been transformed into a nirvana of sensory plants and wildflowers - all planted by residents of the MoH. We were then led inside the building, where we heard first hand, the emotive tales of people who have lived on the streets, through the use of objects that meant something to them.

Volunteers with lived experience of homelessness acted out the stories of what these objects meant to their owners, in order to retain the anonymity of the speaker, which only heightened the full effect of the performance. The name of the exhibition, How To Survive The Apocalypse, began to make sense. All these everyday objects began to take on so much more meaning when they are items that can help you stay safe and ultimately alive.

One particular story that stood out for me was from a young man, who shared how black bin bags can be life-saving when you are homeless. The volunteers demonstrated how they can be transformed into clothing and even shelter. Seeing an item which is so mundane to many of us, being used thoughtfully and creatively, was particularly poignant.

After this, we heard stories about how the lockdown during Covid impacted homeless people. In a time when many of us complained about being confined indoors, we perhaps never considered those left locked out. Many homeless people who relied on public libraries, coffee shops, and aid from passers-by were left stranded and alone, facing an even more uncertain future.

But it was the opportunity we were given by the exhibition to speak to people who had lived experience of homelessness that helped me see the hardships and indignities that they face day in, day out. One story, by a homeless cancer patient was particularly poignant as he shared the struggle he experienced of navigating illness on the streets. He noted the shame of having lost his freedom, confined to the area where he slept due to incontinence.

1 in 50 people in London are currently homeless. How can this ever be acceptable? Thankfully, The Museum of Homelessness isn't accepting it and is offering us many ways to get involved. One opportunity to visit is by volunteering for 'Community Tuesday' which runs every Tuesday at 11am and aims to help those who are struggling. In addition, on the 2nd Thursday of every month, the MoH runs the Breathing Room, a facilitated space to talk about grief, loss and dying.

'How to Survive The Apocalypse' will run every Saturday until the 30th November, but after this date, the museum will still be open to the public and there will be many more events to follow. The perfect opportunity, not to look away.

Image: Louis Brown at Museum of Homelessness opening May 2024. Picture by Lucinda MacPherson