MoH secures National Archives funding!

We are delighted to announce that Museum of Homelessness has secured a National Archives Scoping Grant. The scoping grant offers us a fantastic opportunity to fully scope our archive and collection and plan for it’s future! The National Archives scoping grants fund a report that incorporates expert advice on a range of areas relating to collections management and the development of a collection.

Why Now

At the moment, the MoH archive and collection is used in some of our public events and available to view on request. We want to broaden access to it in the future and get it out there more. The scoping grant will help us do that, giving us a better overview of the condition of the archive, how we can improve access, storage, management and develop future projects with it! This is especially important as we continue our search for a more permanent home for the collection and archive.

This is a behind-the-scenes project, which we hope will set us up for bigger projects in the future. We’ll be undertaking this work over the next six months. Co-founder Matt said this:

“At the heart of the Museum of Homelessness is a collection of objects and precious records detailing the history of homelessness in London and beyond. We are delighted to have received an Archives Revealed scoping grant, and it is an important first step in helping us share the stories of the archive more widely. In the coming years, we hope to secure our own base and the scoping grant will help us plan for this change, develop our work with the archive, and ultimately make this important resource more widely available for everyone.”

The importance of our archive and collection

Our records are important for two main reasons. Firstly, our collection of objects challenging a long-standing historical trope whereby people who faced poverty and marginalisation are spoken for. We want to ensure that people experiencing marginalisation are represented fairly in the future, with a focus on first person accounts of what is happening today. Secondly, our archival records also document an important history from the perspective of grassroots, community-based organisations and individuals who lived and worked through the late 20th century.

We will share more news as we develop this exciting area of work in the coming months - watch this space!