ZINE: Why it’s so hard to hang on to your belongings while homeless

Our “Park Stories” zines share the stories we heard from people experiencing homelessness in Peterborough when we interviewed them last summer. Issue Two focuses on people’s stories about their possessions.

Hillary said she lost her engagement ring during an encampment clearing she experienced. Ron shared that when he went to a local shelter, he “lost war medals from my father, things … that I can’t ever replace.” And Steve said he lost his family photos during a period of homelessness.

Hanging on to your stuff is almost impossible when you’re homeless, and that means losing some of the most precious possessions you have. During his interview, Aiden said that one’s things “slowly get picked away at” as an experience of homelessness drags on.

Of the 48 people with experience of homelessness in Peterborough who we interviewed last summer, 37 talked about their possessions. We’re collecting their stories about trying to hold on to their belongings in the second issue of Park Stories. You can read it in a digital format by clicking the link below.

Click here to read Park Stories: Possessions in a PDF.

In the summer of 2022, the Research for Social Change Lab interviewed 48 people with experience of homelessness in Peterborough as part of our review of the local Coordinated Access system. We’re sharing the stories we heard during those interviews in a series of zines called Park Stories. Please follow the lab as we’ll continue to release the zines through the summer of 2023. If you prefer print copies, please get in touch and we can arrange a pick up or delivery.