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Sue Hogan's Thoughts on Media Engagement

October 25, 2007

Media attention is a mixed blessing. Recently we have been confronted once again with this reality. On 21 September the Herald Sun ran an article titled ‘Security a key to survival’. The journalist and photographer visited Credo Café to interview volunteer and community member, Neil. They wanted to take photos in Credo during lunch. However, we are cautious about allowing this as we wish to create a safe and relaxed atmosphere. Some of our guests come to the city to be anonymous and others experience the vulnerability that can accompany poverty. It is our desire to uphold the dignity of each person who joins us for lunch. The very term ‘homeless’ can undermine people’s sense of self-worth. On this occasion however, not allowing cameras in Credo resulted in a published photo which unfortunately used the city laneway as a cold and stark background. It was a negative image and once we had not foreseen. In addition, the photographer asked Neil to pose with a sad face, but Neil himself is rarely without a smile.

Neil expressed to us his disappointment with the article and photo and he has written about his perspective. (See below). In his generous way, he quickly brushed off the negative feelings. However, this article, the second article beside it ‘Homeless get younger’ and the associated Lord Mayors Charitable Fund ‘Heart of Melbourne’ campaign has lead to further debate at Urban Seed about how to work with the media. How should we engage with something that has power to reach and influence many people, but also has the power to reinforce negative attitudes? Will the public read, and buy, newspapers, that use good-news stories rather than play on our pity?

The recent success of the Choir of the Hard Knocks is another example of using a visually powerful approach to engage the public. Many people have been moved by the stories that have emerged through the choir. There has been a powerful inter-play between homelessness with hopefulness. However, many of us at Urban Seed, who know some choir members as friends or guests at lunch, have sat uneasily with the high publicity and public emotion. We wonder if the celebrity of homelessness is helpful? (Is any celebrity, in fact, ultimately helpful?). Any project, which is nurtures belonging and creativity should be celebrated. However, the challenge for all of us is to move beyond sentimentality and to change our lives to end homelessness within our own neighbourhoods.

Many of us know when we see something we don’t agree with. The question that remains, however, is what images and stories do we want to see in the media? Urban Seed worked with the Lord Mayors Charitable Fund to attempt to present a message that emphasised the need for recognition, community and acceptance, rather than the need for charity. Homelessness is much closer to home than any of us likes to acknowledge. Someone we know – a friend or family member, or ourselves - may experience homelessness at some time. ‘Homeless people’ are not living across an invisible, dividing line. Life circumstances, health, relationships and coping mechanisms, along with strong systemic, economic and political barriers, have the potential to lead each of us towards homelessness. However it is still difficult for many fundraisers to find alternative messages with the same power to engage the general public.

The LMCH are raising awareness and funds for organisations which provide a variety of services to address the needs of people without either shelter or ‘home’. However, in our country at the present time, the type of funds required to end homelessness are huge, given the exorbitant costs of land and housing. We need acts of charity to alleviate the affects of poverty. We need support services to help people address personal struggles. However we cannot effect sustainable social change without the political and economic will to address the injustices created by excessive property-driven wealth creation of individuals and governments alike.

At lunch in Credo Café, in the week following the article about Neil, I witnessed the attitude of service. It lead me to think about the attitude of generosity we need in our society in order to change the reality of homelessness. Perhaps this is a message that we need to embrace: to see homelessness as part of our neighbourhood, and part of our responsibility to alleviate. As we serve the meal each day we pass the bowls of food along the main table in the centre of the café. After this we pass the bowls to all those waiting in line behind the table.

On this particular day I was struck by the way each person behind the table passed the meal given to them, to another person. Each person, in need of a hot meal themselves, served those around them first. While the method of serving the main table is a Credo tradition, the second part has been instigated by our guests. It is often those with the least to give, who give to others in need. This is also true in housing. Many people in crisis stay with their friends, who are living in transitional or short-term accommodation themselves. They offer someone in need a place to stay at the risk of losing their own tenuous housing.

It is difficult to create a powerful message or image out of the types of actions that many of us at Urban Seed believe are worthwhile. Our measure of success in the alleviation of poverty doesn’t necessarily translate well for the media. However it is worth trying to change people’s perceptions without perpetuating the stereotypes. All of us have a part to play in creating a generous, fair and compassionate society.

Posted by brent at October 25, 2007 10:04 PM