Homeless people across Melbourne have been given a voice thanks to a project curated by an inner-west writer.
Home Truths: Postcards Unsheltered is a roving street-poster exhibition sharing personal messages from Melburnians who have been homeless.
Rotating across the CBD and multiple inner suburbs from 1-30 November, Home Truths features 18 oversized postcards addressed to “Dear Melbourne” by contributors who are either currently homeless or have been.
“Home Truths is a chance to hear what people who’ve gone through homelessness themselves have to say about the experience,” project curator Meg Mundell explained.
“It’s their voices, direct and unfiltered, speaking to us at a personal level.”
Based in West Footscray, Mundell has long covered homelessness in Melbourne, including editing the book We Are Here: Stories of Home, Place & Belonging (Affirm Press, 2019), a collection of true stories written by people who have experienced homelessness.
She said the goal of Home Truths was to stir curiosity, challenge assumptions, and spark an emotional connection with those living on the streets.
“Postcards are brief format, and the messages are blown up big, so walking past you’ll get a glimpse of someone’s life, a sense of their character and voice, in just a few seconds,” Mundell said.
Among the 18 contributors to the project is Debi Rice, who after being homeless for 10 years, now has secure housing and works as an educator teaching young people about homelessness.
Rice said the project was an opportunity to challenge the stereotypes about homelessness.
“People who’ve experienced homelessness are not ‘broken’. It’s our society that’s broken,” Rice said.
“If we can open our minds and hearts, really listen to what those people have to say, the whole of society would change for the better.”
Other contributors include people currently sleeping rough in the Melbourne CBD and those staying in temporary accommodation.
Mundell said working with the contributors highlighted the diverse profile of homelessness in Australia today.
“Talking to these different people, I realised they’ve worked in a huge range of professions.
“Nurse, apprentice chef, soldier, marketing consultant, writer, educator, salesperson, researcher, policy advisor, community worker.
They’re people just like us. Can we see ourselves in what they’ve written?”
Details: https://megmundell.com.au/home-truths/
