Groundswell - the reality of homelessness, from the people who have been there. – Details, episodes & analysis

In our final episode of the Primary Share podcast series, Listen Up Project Officer Mat Amp talks to leading clinician and researcher in homeless and Inclusion Health, Dr Caroline Shulman about his experience accessing primary care.  Together they look at some of the barriers Mat has faced as an addict who experienced homelessness. Mat talks openly about his past and some of the trauma he has experienced in his life.  They explore the impact of homelessness, addiction and mental health issues have shaped the way Mat has engaged with healthcare services, what has worked for him and some of the things that need to change.  Head to groundswell-listenup-hub.org  listen to other podcasts and read stories from Listen Up! community reporters and project staff with lived experience.   Listen Up! is a lived experience-led storytelling project funded by Comic Relief and in partnership with On Our Radar. Our goal is to champion major change towards better healthcare access and life expectancy for people facing homelessness. Find out about the Listen Up! project at groundswell.org.uk/listenup/ 

For Diabetes Awareness Week (10th-16th June), we're sharing this insightful conversation between actor, Gethin Anthony and Homeless Health Caseworker, Mark, around managing diabetes and other long-term conditions while experiencing homelessness.

Their conversation covers the role of Groundswell's Homeless Health Peer Advocacy team and the work they do every day, the challenges of managing diabetes and accessing healthcare when experiencing homelessness, and how Groundswell's work can be supported. 

Learn more about our campaign for Diabetes Awareness Week:

https://groundswell.org.uk/2024/diabetes-awareness-week/

Donate here: https://bit.ly/4aRAKDn

#Homelessness #DiabetesWeek #Health #Donations #DiabetesAwareness 

This podcast is based on research conducted by volunteers with experience of homelessness which explores the connection between benefits, health and homelessness. It illustrates how poor health can compound the challenges navigating the benefits system for people experiencing homelessness. This podcast features the voices of Groundswell staff and volunteers and is funded by Trust for London.

Over the last few months COVID-19 and the response to the pandemic has had a significant impact on people experiencing homelessness. The researchers and mobile reporters have made a podcast exploring peoples experiences so far. Groundswell have been working alongside people experiencing homelessness to ensure their views and experiences are represented and acted on. Our reference group of people with experience of homelessness have been critical in the delivery of this research project. One member of the reference group said:

We want to ensure the insights from this project are communicated widely and reach a range of people, including people experiencing homelessness, people from the homelessness sector and key decision makers. The reference group have made a podcast to share the insights from the research. The voices of our reference group and some of the Groundswell team feature in this podcast – the stories they share are based on real accounts of people who have participated in our research project so far.

The insights featured illustrate just some of the ways people experiencing homelessness have been impacted and we are working hard to continue to reach people and hear their story. 

This podcast features adaptation on the Government's coronavirus guidance, so it is relevant to people who are rough sleeping and people who are living in shared temporary accommodation such as hostels. We have also produced short, printable guides with this guidance that can be found here: https://groundswell.org.uk/coronavirus/.

The prevalence of suicide amongst the homeless community is disproportionate to that of the general population. As part of the Comic Relief funded 'From the Ground Up' partnership between Groundswell and the Pavement magazine, volunteers with experience of homelessness were trained as peer journalists. They researched different organisations (Samaritans, CALM, #deardistressed, Maytree, Mind, For Professionals, Storm) offering advice and counselling to people who found themselves feeling suicidal. You can read the accompanying Pavement magazine here: https://groundswell.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Suicide-Feature-Edition.pdf

Working whilst homeless was something the peer journalists wanted to explore - controversial yet seemingly common necessity for many people experiencing homelessness, despite their difficult circumstances. For most people working while homeless is really tough. But for others having a job, or regular volunteering, can help you stay afloat and integrate you into society. This podcast, created by volunteer peer journalists trained through the Comic Relief funded 'From the Ground Up' partnership between Groundswell and the Pavement magazine, explores the issues and realities of working whilst homeless. You can read the accompanying Pavement magazine here: https://groundswell.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-jan-Feb-1.pdf

People often say, “It’s such a shame that people are homeless and sleeping on the street”, but how does shame affect people who are homeless? What impact does shame have on the lives of those experiencing the realities of homelessness? And does society project its own feelings of shame about homelessness, on to people who are homeless? This podcast was created as part of the Comic Relief funded 'From the Ground Up' partnership between Groundswell and the Pavement magazine, volunteers with experience of homelessness were trained as peer journalists.You can read the accompanying Pavement magazine here: https://groundswell.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Pavementmainrun121JulAug19V5FinalWeb.pdf

In this podcast, we report how difficult it is to get help when you have a dual diagnosis, the medical term used when you have both mental health and addiction issues at the same time. This podcast is part of the Comic Relief funded 'From the Ground Up' partnership between Groundswell and the Pavement magazine, volunteers with experience of homelessness were trained as peer journalists. You can read the accompanying Pavement magazine here: https://groundswell.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Jan-Feb-2018-The-Pavement-Shame-Feature-Edition.pdf.

Stigma plays a big part in the narrative around homelessness and the complex stories that land people in the situation. This podcast is recorded as part of the Comic Relief funded 'From the Ground Up' partnership between Groundswell and the Pavement magazine, where volunteers are trained to become peer journalists. Here they explore the stigma surrounding homelessness.