IMAGINE Leeds without homelessness Maya Kally and Lara Jones in partnership with Angel of Youth have created this exibition to raise awareness of the many issues homeless women face and challenge the stigma attached to homelessness. Over 250,000 people in the UK are homeless right now.
124,000 children spent Christmas in termporary accomodation. 117 families lose their home every day. 8 million people are one pay check away from homelessness.
Schedule: A night of art, music, speakers 7.30pm - 8:00pm
Jemma Freese: Keys player
8:00pm - 8:15pm
Maya Kally and Lara Jones introduce the event
8:15pm - 8:25pm
Short Documentary: Marvina Newton interview
8:25pm - 8:35pm
Daniel Forino: Keys player
8:35pm - 8:45pm
Short Documentary: Young people interview
8:45pm - 9:00pm
Daniel Forino: Keys Player
9:00pm - 9:30pm
Spoken word by Johnny Solstice
9:30pm - 9:40pm
Spoken word by Jessica Fraulo Ryder
9:40pm - 10:00pm
Spoken word by Rhythmical Mike
10:00pm - 10:30pm
Aisling Doherty: Keys Player Short film by Francesca Spencer
10:30pm
Caitlin Stubbs
International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8 2017. People from around the world celebrated the great achievements of women. Conversation, however, quickly returned back to the inequalities women around the world still face in the 21st Century, even in the UK.
Kally said: “I was always taught to treat homeless people with respect but recently learnt that not everyone was brought up this way. It is important to understand how and why people got to the position they are in so we can help resolve the problem instead of just criticising it.”
Whilst women are still fighting for equal pay, equal rights and equal respect there are marginalised groups of women who have been forgotten about in the fight for equality.
Marvina Newton, founder of Angel of Youths, has parnered with Lara Jones and Maya Kally, students at Leeds College of Music, to host the event.
In the UK women make up 26% of clients of homelessness services. Homelessness is often focused on males and in the fight for equality vulnerable women on the streets are left to fend for themselves. Maya Kally, co organiser of the event, said: “We realised how important tackling the stigma of homlessness was when looking back at how people in our childhoods handled the situation differently. ” This event aims to raise awareness of the issues facing homeless women such as: mental health, drug and alcohol dependencies and sexual abuse among others.
Angel of Youths supports young people to help them build a better and brighter future. Homelessness affects many young people and teenagers. The average life span of a homeless person is 47 years old, the average life span of a person who has access to their own home is 77 years. Homelessness is a killer and many can find themselves in a situation they cannot escape from, if you are affected by this at a young age it can completely destroy lives. The event is asking attendees to donate sanitary products that can be distributed to women on the streets who may have
trouble accessing tampons and sanitary towels. Lara Jones, co organiser of the exhibition, said: “We are asking for sanitary products because nobody realises how hard it is to deal with periods on the street and the amount of infections that can arise from bad sanitation.” The event will include art exhibitions from local artisits: George Hall, Ben Kay and Marie Kohl. Artists have aimed to highlight the struggles facing women through expressive art pieces. Marie Kohl said: “I got involved because this issue is not addressed enough.” Spoken word artists will also feature throughout the night alongside musicians from
the local area wanting to share their thoughts on the issue and take part in addressing negative stigmas attached to homelessness. As part of the campaign to support homeless men and women across Leeds, Maya and Lara have already organised a collection of warm clothes to hand out
to those sleeping rough in the cold. Maya said: “The collection was a huge success, lots of people donated and it was really great to see the impact just a few people could make.” The team involved in the exhibition at Studio 24 will also be hosting other events
as part of an Women’s Herstory Week including a gig at Hyde Park Book Club on Wednesday March 30 2017. The gig features musicians, art work and information stall from local residents to raise awareness about inequality and sexism in modern society. More information can be found on Facebook: Womens Herstory Week: GIG.
Art by: Marie Kohl “I got involved because this is a topic that needs think art is a good medium to use to address the the situation and process it in their own time wi which can be quite overwhelming.�
s more awareness and isn’t discussed enough. I e issue because it gives people time to think about ithout being bombarded with statistics and facts
Dig Deep is a charity that provides water and sanitation to rural communities in Kenya. As well as providing the supplies to access safe water and cleaning facilities Dig Deep provides crucial training about how to continue to access sanitation and why it is important to their health. A group of nine students from Leeds Beckett University will be challenging themselves to climb the highest free standing mountain in the world in September 2017, Mount Kilimanjaro. The climb will take a total of seven days to reach the summit and return back to the ground. The team are currently training for the gruelling conditions alongside fundraising to support Dig Deep and allow them to keep doing the amazing work they are doing with communities who otherwise would not have access to safe drinking water and hygienic facilities. Much like this event is trying to raise awareness and funds to protect people who are struggling on the streets in England with little funding or support to help them, Dig Deep is doing the same across the world.
An event will be taking place on Thursday April 6 2017 at ARC in Headingley. Live bands, quizzes, a beer pong tournament and a raffle will take place on the night to raise money and awareness for the charity.
Advance tickets are £3 or there is a charge of £4.50 on the door.
If you can come along search for ‘Leeds Beckett Students for Dig Deep’ on Facebook.
For more information or event tickets call Holly Beattie on: 07784697776.
To donate directly follow the link: https://mydonate. bt.com/fundraisers/hollybeattie1.