The Sock Mob - an informal volunteer network (London)

I am interested to know the story of this informal volunteer network actually do with the homeless in town and how they engaged with another extremely different group of people in the city. I joined their walks in order to find out more what they do and also where the homeless people stay.

I joined an online social network “meet up” in order to get the information of the walks they do around the city. I can check out which area they are going to walk on that day and where and when to meet, they basically organize everything by posting on the website, about what the people would bring along, where to go for a drink and gather after the walk.

Then we went for the actual walk, I met up with the others somewhere along the Strand. From a big branch of a sandwiches shop, we’ve got some sandwiches which they normally flow away at the end of each day if they are not sold. In the walk, someone bring along his dog, someone bring along some soup and other materials and resources that might be useful for the people stay on the street. 

The homeless people are spreaded out around the area, a bigger group of them gather in front of the doorstep of a church facing the Covert Garden, watching the performance on the square. Another big group gather at pavement area at the intersection of the William IV Street and the Agar Street. The Lions Club from Essex held soup runs here and serve about 100 homeless people everyday. They will sit on the kurb at the shopfront of a book shop, under the trees in that little open space. The territory along a busy road suddenly became a picnic field in the heart of the city. 

Some of them prefer to stay alone on the steps infront of restaurants, supermarket, front and rear door of theatre, basically where there are people who might give them some money or food. You can always see some marks on the floor of those places which shows their existence.

The Sock Mob Group chat with them causally when they hand out the resources to the homeless. They walk, sit and talk with them and they described their action as a moment of mutual learning and trust, driven by the ethos of unconditional human contact and friendship.

Unseen Tour (London)

Record back to August 2010

Reported by the Big Issue magazine, an informal volunteer network in London organized a tour, called ‘Unseen Tours’, They built up a close relationship with the street people in central London, who they met through regular weekly walk. and they coach homeless people they work with to be tour guides. They do this by teasing out their creativity and resourcefulness, and helping to nurture their confidence.

I brought a ticket online through their webpage on the same day and then about 25 people gather outside the underground station in the evening. We walked around Storeditch area from Old Street Station and the other tour around London Bridge area. In the tour, we went through some landmarks, some local attractions, some parks, cemetery, churchyards and squatted houses. We look at some graffitis, art pieces commissioned by council and underground art studio and exhibition space, etc. 

refer http://www.sockmobevents.org.uk/unseen-tours

100 Words into Homelessness

The homeless man walked towards me, walked alongside me, walked pass me. Awaken from my subconscious journey towards home, I turned around, I saw him keep walking slowly among other people, looks like without any destination. Not only once, but many times.

Not only him, not only my city, but cities, they sit beside me, sit behind me, lie down in front of me, live around me, live with me.

Where do you live? What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Where are you going? I wanted to ask. But where am I going also? I asked myself.