Story
We are confronted on a daily basis with the unbearable plight of homeless young people living in appalling conditions. The impotence most of us feel when confronted with this problem is what inspired the APA, as a sponsor of End Youth Homelessness (EYH), to try and do something to help.
In short, we have developed a national campaign about to roll out in major cities across the UK to raise awareness of the EYH brand and to raise serious cash and corporate sponsorship.
But, and there's a big but, we are desperately short of cash to fund this national roll out - critically so.
Everyone is donating their services for nothing but the impending national road show (see below) involves some unavoidable hard costs and it is these costs we are desperate to finance.
Currently, homeless 16-25 year olds outnumber the population of Bath. With EYH, early intervention is a proven solution. Please give generously; collectively, we really can change young lives beyond recognition.
BACKGROUND & THE CAMPAIGN:
Thousands of young homeless people are on the street and a greater number manage to temporarily avoid the street by sofa - surfing until goodwill expires, become night bus riders or even self harm to get a hospital bed.
Those on the street feel completely overlooked, unseen. The remainder are truly invisible to us - we naturally do not recognise them as homeless.
And so, the strategy distilled down to one word became, naturally, Invisibility.
From this single thought, the idea of creating invisible figures was developed and artists approached.
David Oliveira, whose wire sculptures not only describe 'Invisibility' but are arresting in their own right, kindly volunteered to make a series of life-size figures.
These sculptures will be placed in the most public of spaces with the greatest footfall, for example, main train station concourses and major shopping complexes across the UK .
The objective is to provoke the viewer into engaging with these figures and their message '#NowYouSeeMe' making the invisible suddenly visible and to learn more about the plight of young homeless people and EYH and its work.
Additionally, a campaign is being built around the figures that will maximise media attention.
If we are fortunate enough to gather funds greater than that required for hard costs, this money will of course go directly to EYH, towards the great work they are already achieving.