“I enjoyed being able to gather others’ thoughts to


highlight the good, bad and ugly of York’s housing offer (when you’re being evicted because the landlord’s decided that). I hope my experience is shared with the decision-makers, in ensuring that they


take more account of the human pressures anyone experiences when others decide you can’t live at ‘home’ any more – the family impact of upheaval, the bureaucracy of systems and the trauma of


being scared it could happen again. I truly hope my sharing results in ‘real change.”


Charlotte, storyteller


I spent about nine months meeting with Miles and Astrid from Lived Insights, and getting to know some of their members with experience of complex, related disadvantages, such as homelessness, undiagnosed mental health conditions, poverty and the criminal justice system. We worked together to tell those complex stories and identify things that powerful institutions could have done differently. Complexity was never seen as a hindrance, but we did ask each storyteller to consider: who would you most like to read your story, and what would you like them to do as a result? The issue of trust was evident throughout. Contributors


wanted to be heard, but felt very wary of ‘the media’ either through experience or a general fear. Even where there was not full-on distrust, there was a striking absence of trust. Organisations doing collaborative work on a far larger scale have observed this. In reporting its People’s Newsroom project, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism called trust ‘the existential problem facing journalism’. It should not surprise us that people who have been mistreated by many systems are wary of ‘the media’. Trust needs to be earned over time, and part of that is a commitment to tell authentic stories rather than shoehorning people into case studies for preset ideas. Time, reliability and clear agreements were key. The stories


were written and rewritten with the contributors, everyone could use pseudonyms and contributors were told exactly when the stories were going live so they were not caught by surprise. The immediate result was a series of stories published by YorkMix over this summer. Charlotte had been pushed into homelessness because her


landlord wanted to sell her home and rents nearby were unaffordable. She told of what she had learnt from navigating York’s homeless system and suggested practical changes. Anne told first-hand about the links between poverty, addiction and deteriorating mental health. She described the effects compassionate support staff can have, but also the rigid, gruelling process of applying for social security support. John and Dave spoke of need for more flexible support for


people who have been homeless, and of the positive impact that NHS support had had on their mental health. They are now contributing to a local film about homelessness in York. Tammy told first-hand of the harm drug dealers cause to


teenagers, the problems that spiral from there and the years- long wait for the diagnosis that opened the door to support.


“It’s been a great collaborative project


bringing together experiences of people into a powerful series that asks the public and


change-makers to consider reframing how they view circumstances they might have previously judged people on.”


Miles Goring, Lived Insights


Top: Miles Goring and Astrid Hanlon from Lived Insights, Above: Gavin Aitchison from Church Action on Poverty


All the stories were well read and, notably, generated


overwhelmingly supportive comments on social media. There was a quick second result as well: Lived Insights was approached by others who had been through similar challenges and wanted to speak up in the same way. And a third result: the grassroots group held discussions with the council and a feedback system for people who had been through the homeless system is now being explored. None of this was easy but it is doable and replicable


“


elsewhere. I know many journalists would love to dig deep into social issues but are overstretched. I also know that many people would like to speak out but are wary. By taking the time to work together in an organised, purposeful way, we can lower each other’s barriers, produce uplifting, meaningful journalism with people who are almost always drowned out in society and, hopefully, help to accelerate change. We agreed a set of purposes for the project and four


The issue of trust was evident. People wanted to be heard but felt very wary of ‘the media’


principles: every story should be told primarily by the individual with first-hand experience of the issue, ideally in the first person; every story should look at solutions, showing things could be done differently; all stories should include some wider context as they are not isolated examples but evidence of flawed systems; and articles should reflect the real complexity of people’s lives – multiple issues should not be reduced to make the narrative easier.


Gavin Aitchison is media and storytelling coordinator for Church Action on Poverty, and worked with the NUJ and others on the Reporting Poverty guidelines in 2021


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