Using Visual Storytelling to Help the Homeless - NCA FEATURED

Health centers, providing services to people experiencing homelessness, have tremendous potential to directly affect the health status and influence numerous underlying societal inequities that contribute to health disparities and poor health in this population. Over the next three years, the National Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Council will focus on developing learning collaboratives targeting health centers to improve their performance and practice in some of the areas of trauma, behavioral health, and addressing the social determinants of health. One such initiative is the PhotoVoice Learning Collaborative to address the issue of stigma. PhotoVoice is a community research initiative in which participants recruited by health site coordinators document their lived experiences through photographs and journal entries that will be displayed in community and national exhibits. The goal of these exhibits is to not only increase knowledge and awareness, but also to empower participants to share their individual stories and to allow them to engage attendees in collaborative dialogue around issues and policies affecting community members.