Shailaja smahee4@yahoo.co.uk

Shailaja Maheetharan In Sight, In Mind

Upon studying existing interventions that tackle homelessness in Cambridge, a missed connection can be clearly identified between the fixed nature of services and shelters on the outskirts of the city centre and the itinerant community they seek to serve.

My project aims to resolve this misalignment by placing a homelessness intervention hub at the centre of the city. Sited across a series of currently vacant retail units in an identified area of heavy footfall among the homeless population, the hub’s reach will be extended through semi-portable units stationed around the area, functioning as mobile clinics to offer first-aid and health advice.

This arrangement follows the principle that an intervention for the homeless population should be tailored to that community’s daily liturgies and habits, rather than interrupt them. It is hoped that such an approach would increase the chances of successful interaction with the services.

As well as decomposing the design hierarchy in this way, the project aims to dissolve the spatial notion of segregation between institution, volunteers, and customers, instead seeking a holistic intervention strategy which uses a series of smaller spaces where the needs of all are met simultaneously.