“A beautiful testament to survival, resilience and hope.” — Benjamin Law
Australia has a large shadow population of people who live without a safe place to call home. The rough sleepers we often see on our city streets are only the tip of the iceberg — a small but highly visible minority. The vast majority of Australia’s homeless population are experiencing so-called “invisible” homelessness: they are couch-surfing, or staying in women’s refuges, emergency accommodation, boarding houses, caravan parks, vehicles, or squats.
Too often, people who experience homelessness are vilified, dismissed and blamed. They are spoken for, and spoken about, but rarely get to speak for themselves. This book aims to breaks that silence.
We Are Here: Stories of Home, Place and Belonging is a vibrant and moving collection of true stories written by people who have experienced homelessness. This world-first anthology showcases the creative talents, survival skills and courage of 37 diverse writers. Contributors include first-time scribes, emerging writers, and award-winning authors and journalists. We Are Here is framed around the theme of “PLACE”. From cold city doorways to lonely bush camps, from a borrowed couch to a discreetly parked car, from dodgy boarding houses to the humid hell of Manus Island, these defiant and illuminating stories will make every reader question their place in the world. And the kind of place they want the world to be.
WRITERS: Alex Presincula, Alice Star, Andrew Bairn, Ayub Abdi-Barre, Benyam Seifu, Bob Love, Behrouz Boochani, Cheryl Schalks, Claire G. Coleman, Debi Rice, Declan Furber Gillick, Devana Senanayake, Gavriil Aleksandrs, George Zammit-Ross, Gregory P. Smith, Jody Letts, Jo French, Jon Bauer, Josiane Behmoiras, Kris Kneen, L. Hammond-Lewis, Liz Jett, Mariann Biron, Mouchi Latina, Paul Berrer, Paul Harper, Patrick McAnelly, Rachel Kurzyp, Roderick Waller, Sharon Bowden, Sue Tan, Susan McDonald-Timms, Tanya Page, Tarryn Reid, Thuy On, Wahibe Moussa, Wendy Butler. ARTISTS: Alex Steinfort, Charmaine Tracey, Christine Thirkell, Irene Jacob, Lily Mae Martin. FOREWORD: Tony Birch. INTRODUCTION: Meg Mundell.
We Are Here was conceived, compiled and edited by Meg Mundell and published by Affirm Press. The project began with a series of place-themed writing workshops Meg ran in 2018 for people who have experienced homelessness. The book was launched at a sold-out event at The Wheeler Centre in August 2019, featuring a panel discussion and live readings, followed by two further public events where the writers read their work aloud to audiences.
PROJECT PARTNERS: Launch Housing, StreetSmart, Roomers Magazine, Affirm Press, Elwood & St Kilda Neighbourhood House, Council to Homeless Persons, The Big Issue Australia. Thanks to a grant from the City of Melbourne, all contributing writers and artists were paid for their contributions to the book.
