10 FEET AWAY looking for partners

Calling all drop in centres, homeless activities venues, community centres!

With it’s origins in the first homelessness arts festival in 2004 (held at Union Chapel), the Ten Feet Away arts and activities programme has developed, grown and sustained a committed group of homeless people in a user led environment. It now has almost 800 hours of activity planned for the coming year (beginning end of April 2006). It has fully funded activities for the homeless, such as Poetry / Creative writing groups, Arts Groups and Personal Development groups, ALL LOOKING FOR NEW, APPROPRIATE HOMES.

Our tutors are paid for so you just have to provide appropriate space. Great for ticking that extra funding checkbox, adding a new string to your community development bow, or just for the sheer thrill of it!

We currently have a Poetry Group that meets once a week. It requires at least three hours to meet in a well lit, easily accessible space preferably with other homelessness activities already running with which to feed the group.

We also have a Personal Development Group looking to start in early May, with the same requirements. Most urgently, we have a successful Arts Group which requires a sizeable space, with running water, and preferably access to an external area such as a courtyard (for spraying fixative etc.)

There are more groups in the pipeline, and we want to develop relationships with organisations willing to help support and develop this network for the future.

Anyone with appropriate space supporting either homeless activity or similar activity to the group (such as a community arts space) please e-mail Julia Farrington or call her on 02072782313 during normal office hours.