Making space for creativity: a new zine from Housing Justice’s Lived Experience Group
August 25, 2026
Poetry, drawings, collage, music and conversation came together at a creative workshop in South London – resulting in a new zine created by members of Housing Justice’s Lived Experience Group.
On a hot April afternoon, members of Housing Justice’s Lived Experience Group gathered at our South London offices for an afternoon of creativity, connection and expression.
There was poetry and collage, drawing and music. There was fresh ginger and lemon. And, importantly, there was space to come together, decompress and be creative.
The result is a beautiful new zine, created by Weyni, Almaz, Greg, Ruby, Agnes, Eliane and Pham.
Creativity, community and home
The zine explores themes of home, community and lived experience through the different perspectives and creative styles of its contributors.
Across its pages are drawings, poems, recipes and reflections – each offering a glimpse into the experiences, hopes and ideas of the people who make up the Lived Experience Group.
One contribution describes Housing Justice through the image of a strong, protective tree: something that can offer care, hope and strength. Another brings together a workshop playlist, while poems and artwork offer other ways of expressing experiences that can sometimes be difficult to put into words.
The zine is a reminder that lived experience is not just something to be listened to. It can also be creative, joyful, thoughtful, powerful and deeply personal.
A space to breathe and create
The Lived Experience Group brings together people who have received support from Housing Justice. Members share feedback and use their experiences to help shape services and improve support for people experiencing homelessness in London, particularly people who are not from the UK. It is a welcoming and supportive community made up of people from many different nationalities.
The creative workshop offered a different kind of space – one where people could put their experiences aside for a moment, pick up a pen or paintbrush, listen to music, make something together and simply enjoy being creative.
As the zine itself puts it, getting artistic together is a way of “decompressing” and giving ourselves the chance to be creative, expressive and connected.
That spirit runs throughout the zine.
Made by the Lived Experience Group
This isn’t a publication written about lived experience. It has been made by people with lived experience themselves.
Every contribution brings something different to the collection, from Agnes, Ruby and Greg’s artwork to Eliane’s drawings and reflections, Weyni and Almaz’s contributions, and Ruby’s poetry. The contributors’ names are proudly included throughout the zine, celebrating the people behind the work.
The zine forms part of Housing Justice’s creative workshop series, creating opportunities for members of the Lived Experience Group to explore creativity alongside the group’s wider work.
Take a look
We’re delighted to share this zine and the creativity of the people who made it.
Take some time to look through the pages, read the poems, explore the artwork and discover the different ways members of the Lived Experience Group have expressed ideas of home, community, hope and belonging.
A huge thank you to Weyni, Almaz, Greg, Ruby, Agnes, Eliane and Pham for sharing their creativity, and to everyone who helped make the workshop possible.
We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed making it.
