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Double Exposure is a Student-Led Project aiming to alleviate the mental health suffering caused by homelessness and is led by 2nd Year Undergraduates Anjumon, Humaira, Katherine, Sana and Semee. Around UCL, you don’t have to walk far to see people in poverty, which is why Double Exposure will be working with a local charity in Camden to provide art therapy workshops that’ll help boost the confidence of those who access the service. 

We (Double Exposure) will be holding an exhibition in Arlington towards the end of March where we will showcase all the great work done by beneficiaries. Hopefully, this will help them visually see their potential and allow the public to get a better understanding into the complex lives of the homeless, beyond what the media portrays.

A lot of hard work has gone into getting this far. During the initial stages of project planning, it is easy to get carried away with different ideas and want to do many things, for example, we wanted to do photography workshops and also fundraise to hand out care packages to the homeless on the streets. Having the Volunteering Service, especially Amman and Cyreeta, we were able to properly assess what is feasible for us. 

We decided to focus purely on the photography workshops and work to make that as successful as possible. The next stage was to find a partner organisation to work with which would provide the facilities and client group to work with. This was definitely the hardest part. It is easy to think that just because homelessness is such a big issue currently, that there is a demand for the project. With the support of the Volunteering Service, we got the perfect partner, One Housing Group, and being able to work with two other fantastic student-led projects in the same facility will really make the process easier.

I am really excited about the workshops but also nervous. We have put in a lot of hard work in preparing these sessions and hopefully we are successful in putting a smile on our clients’ faces and helping them to really express themselves freely. More so, we are excited to learn from the clients and connect with new people in this journey!

We’ve come a long way, but we’re still in need of volunteers. Our first workshop is on 16 January, so please contact us here if you would like to help out. 

Written by Anjumon Ali, Double Exposure Project Leader


If Anjumon's story has got you inspired to join or start a Student Led Project, check out the SLP directory

Or, browse more volunteering opportunities related to homelessness and mental health.