Welcome to Litsy!

Incredibly moving and emotional account of the reality of living as a street homeless woman in 21st century Britain. The dark-edged pages are transcripts of Perriman's interviews with women living on the streets, all of whom report (not graphically) sexual harassment and rape by men with homes to return to, and the common degradation of being urinated on by drunken clubgoers 😮‍💨
The contributors are keen not to present homeless people as ⬇️

"It is far stronger to acknowledge an issue, accept it and attempt to restore it than it is to bear the pain, dismiss what it calls for and carry on. Moving on in this way is not being strong or positive; it is denial. Being positive is not plastering a smile over a hard experience; being positive is recognising this experience for its negative nature and acting upon it to make it transformative.”

- Violence and Trauma: Laura E. Fischer

"Since 2010 [when the Conservatives were elected into government] rough sleeping has increased by 169% due to substantial changes to the welfare system, the impact of austerity, the national housing crisis and landlords ending shorthold tenancies. Alongside this, voluntary sector services supporting people who are homeless, women fleeing domestic abuse, mental and drug and alcohol services have decreased due to large-scale funding cuts."

"In this doorway the police used to always move me on, but they never told me where I could go."

Bekki Perriman was a homeless street sleeper, who now uses art installations incorporating photography & audio clips to make visible the invisible people, and give voices to the voiceless. This book collects some of her work together with essays & commentaries from activists, academics, etc., and interviews with rough sleepers about their experience.