The Foyer on Pelham Street provides a safe haven and temporary supported accommodation for 50 vulnerable 16 to 25-year-olds who are homeless or in housing need. They receive training, advice and guidance to develop personally and make the transition to live independently.

One of the Foyer’s main aims is to encourage its young residents to become part of the community but this can often be challenging.

Lucy Maiden, healthy living worker at the Foyer, who has coordinated the project, explains: “Often people jump to conclusions about young homeless people - they assume that it must be their fault and that their tough exterior is all that is there. In fact the opposite is usually true - no one would choose homelessness over a happy home. Inside, I believe we all feel like children and we create an exterior, tough or otherwise, to cope with what life throws at us.”

The ‘see it through our eyes’ project began in October 2006, when the Foyer won funding through Brighton’s Youth and Connexions Service to re-decorate the television room. With the help of youth arts worker Sarah Paine, residents painted individual pictures, creating a unique canvass Christmas tree.

The wall of art continued to grow and the results were so inspiring that no one felt it should stop there. This led to a photography workshop and the creation of a 40 canvass, four metre-long depiction of Brighton Pier, which is also being featured during the festival.

Lucy says: “We want to show people that there is often more to something than meets the eye. We want to challenge people to look a bit deeper and, perhaps, even change their view. We want them to at least try to see it through our eyes.”

1st May 2007