Museum of Homelessness facts for kids

The Museum of Homelessness (called MoH for short) is a special museum in London. It was created and is run by people who have experienced homelessness themselves. It's a "social justice" museum, which means it works to make things fair and right for everyone.

The museum started in 2014, founded by a husband and wife, Matt and Jess Turtle. MoH works to help people understand homelessness and housing inequality. They do this by sharing the stories of people who have been homeless. They also offer direct help like training and support to their community members.

History of the Museum

The Museum of Homelessness has strong ties with the Simon Community. This is an important charity in London that helps people who are homeless. MoH uses the Simon Community's old records and also works with them to help people on the streets of London.

The growing number of people experiencing homelessness helped start the museum. Matt and Jess Turtle got permission to use the Simon Community's old information. They also gathered a group of volunteers who had experienced homelessness. This group helped plan the museum's work. The project became a charity in October 2015.

One of MoH's founders, Jess Turtle, grew up in a community for homeless people. Her parents, Fred Josef and Jane Josef, started it in 1978. This community was named after Anton Wallich-Clifford, who founded the Simon Community. Jess's upbringing taught her how important it is to work with people as a community. Everyone contributes what they can to create something special together.

Early Projects and Launch (2017–2018)

After their first projects, the MoH group got a chance to work with Tate, a famous art museum. They launched a special event called State of the Nation in April 2017. This event showed what the homelessness crisis was like in 2017.

Many groups and people helped with State of the Nation. For example, they worked with artist David Tovey, who had been homeless. He put on a performance called Man on Bench at Tate Modern. MoH also worked with artist Anthony Luvera on his project Frequently Asked Questions.

The State of the Nation program continued in 2017 with a tour of London's hostels. They worked with Cardboard Citizens on this tour. In early 2018, the program also went to Liverpool. During this time, Sharon Heal, who leads the Museums Association, became the chair of MoH.

MoH started collecting objects and stories from people across the UK. They wanted to show many different experiences of homelessness. The museum tries to change how people think about homelessness. They do not use pictures that might make homeless people look bad. The stories they collect are often shared through special performances. In late 2018, MoH had a big project called Objectified in Manchester. It looked at health and homelessness.

Campaigning for Social Justice (2018–2019)

MoH is an independent museum. This means it does not take money from government contracts. Instead, it works closely with groups that help homeless people, like the Outside Project and Streets Kitchen. In early 2019, the charity announced it wanted to find a permanent museum building. Since spring 2019, MoH has been based at the Outside Project's community center in Clerkenwell. They worked with groups there to launch Truths of the Last 10 Years in late 2019. This project looked back at ten years of increasing homelessness.

The charity speaks out about social issues linked to homelessness. In 2019, they took over the Dying Homeless Project. This project was an investigation into the deaths of homeless people. Today, MoH has a national page to remember people who have died homeless in the UK. They continue to campaign about these deaths. In 2020, the charity was named a Big Issue change-maker for its important work.

MoH also started Catalyst, a creative project that brought many new people with experience of homelessness into the organization. They have worked with well-known campaigners and artists. In October 2017, MoH and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism started the Dying Homeless project. This project collects information about homeless deaths.

Helping During COVID-19 (2020–Present)

When the UK went into lockdown, MoH joined with Streets Kitchen, the Outside Project, Simon Community, and the Union Chapel. Together, they started the COVID-19 Homeless Taskforce. They worked with Islington Council and used a community center. Over three months, they sent out 8,956 meals and care packages. These went to people in Islington and Camden.

MoH also worked with Streets Kitchen to help homeless people self-isolate safely. This work helped inspire the government's later ‘Everyone In’ program. This program housed thousands of homeless people during the pandemic. Because of their efforts, MoH was nominated for an award.

After the taskforce returned the center to Islington Council, they kept working in North London. They had a weekly Streetmuseum showcase. In late 2020, MoH also teamed up with the Simon Community to help people on the streets of Westminster during a second lockdown. As of 2021, MoH is based at 52 Lant Street, London, but they are still looking for a new main location.

Research and Academic Work

The Museum of Homelessness's approach to social justice has been part of many discussions. It has also been featured in academic studies about the role of museums today. Their work is mentioned in books like Museum Activism and Museums and Social Change: Challenging the Unhelpful Museum.

The co-founders, Matt and Jess Turtle, have also written for other museum publications. Their work was recently chosen as a case study for the Museums Association's guide on learning and engagement.

See also

• Homelessness in England
• Homelessness in the United Kingdom
• Museums Association
• Simon Community
• National Public Housing Museum