My Story Project

The Service User Board (SUB) meets monthly, to discuss all kinds of issues relating to their experience of being homeless and using OxHoP’s accommodation. It is formed of a group of current (and sometimes former) residents of both O’Hanlon House and Julian Housing, and helps inform OxHoP’s policies, procedures and strategic direction.

At one meeting there was a lengthy discussion of how we can help influence the way the general public views homeless people. There was a strong feeling amongst the group that the most powerful messages come from hearing the stories of people who are experiencing homelessness.

From this discussion, the “My Story” project was born. A wonderful volunteer, Riki, offered to help pull it together, along with Tara and Tracy from SUB. Riki made herself available to meet willing participants, giving them a series of “prompt” questions to get them going:

As a child, I loved…
My favourite job was…
I've always been good at…
A bad time was when…
I became homeless when…
When I was homeless I…
I like/dislike…
If I could change one thing…

Some people chose to write their own accounts. Others preferred Riki to write it up for them, after a long conversation with her.

The results speak for themselves… and more will follow!