The People. Project Cornwall campaign is a collaboration between St Petrocs the charity that works to end homelessness in Cornwall and the people of Cornwall.

The aim is to give a voice to those that have struggled with housing insecurity or faced homelessness since the start of the pandemic while confronting the stigma that stereotypes of "the homeless" and of people struggling with housing create, and the shame these can lead to.

By using photographic portraits alongside interviews that include people's accounts of housing challenges since the pandemic (and before) the campaign is able to give an insight into the housing crisis in the county, in total there are 27 portraits and 70 interviews.

Steve Ellis the vice president of St Petrocs wanted to raise the esteem of the charity's clients and started to put ideas together with Helen Trevaskis the founder and director of StreetDraw24 who is an artist with a background in research and behaviour change. Photographer Gavan Goulder also helped bring the project to life in the early stages with his social documentary photography and a passion for socially engaged work.

I got in touch with Helen to learn more about the project and to see what impact it can have on the audience, she said: "Each of the portraits is beautiful and each is also anonymous which forces the viewer to wonder, 'Who are they?', 'What life have they led?' and to remember we are human beings with value, irrespective of whether we have a secure roof over our heads or not. 

"Seeing the portraits indoors at the Royal Cornwall Museum is powerful because there they all are! Staring right at you, challenging you to think again. Seeing them outside, in their varied locations does something different, it grounds the exhibition in all of our lives here in Cornwall - a place that's so beautiful and yet where so many face so many challenges. "

As Helen mentioned the project has a number of ways it's trying to reach people, with a book, website, and exhibitions, the indoor exhibition is taking place at the Royal Cornwall Museum which is also providing workshops on the power of portraits.

The outdoor exhibitions are hosted by a number of people and organisations across Cornwall the campaign says that this reflects their belief that collaboration is essential to positive and lasting change, both the indoor and outdoor exhibitions run until the 23rd of December.

You can find the outdoor exhibition map here: People Project Cornwall but let's take a look through the current displays around Helston:

Derek & Ann Wood - Falmouth Rd, Helston, TR13

Derek & Ann Wood (Image: People.Project Cornwall)

Porthleven Environmental Group - Helston TR13 - The group currently host three portraits and spread the word by having two on their van.

Porthleven Enviromental Group van (Image: People. Project Cornwall)

Porthleven Enviromental Group (Image: People. Project Cornwall)

Hannah, Helen, Tel, and Ivy - La Flouder House, Laflouder Ln, Mullion, Helston TR12 7HT, UK - The People. Project Cornwall is happy to have exhibitions in such a variety of places to highlight that homelessness can happen anywhere.

Hannah, Helen, Tel, and Ivy (Image: People, Project Cornwall)

There is a number of portraits around Cornwall so be sure to check out the map in the link above, for any more information you can find the website for the campaign with links to those involved here: People Project Cornwall.