A Place at the Table

People from Manchester experiencing homelessness, or at risk of becoming homeless, as well as the wider community, have been taking part in local charity Caritas Salford‘s new project, A Place at the Table, writing hundreds of poems with poet Phil Davenport and supported by the team at Caritas’ Cornerstone day centre in Hulme. Participants also worked with artist Christine Johnson developing poster poems to evoke a day in the life of the many authors.

The exhibition invites visitors to appreciate the wit, wordplay, and distinct perspectives on food and everyday life that are shared within the collection of poetry and rhymes. Audiences should expect to be met with candid words and genuine expressions of the challenges facing people experiencing poverty locally. Poet Phil Davenport said: “Poems see our inner life, the subtle connections between us all.”

Supported using public funding by Arts Council England, the poems were developed through a year of sessions, some during one-to-one conversations with people experiencing homelessness, with others through more formal community workshops themed around food, warmth and togetherness. People who reside at the neighbouring Caritas Morning Star supported accommodation also took part. Morning Star provides safe, supported accommodation for homeless men, the team works alongside people to empower them to transform their lives, aiming to help them to move on and successfully resettle in the community.

Zhang, one of the project participants, said: “The poems are from difficult feelings, in a sad old place, where people judge me. If people can understand my feelings, that’s what I want. If they can understand my written emotions, that’s marvellous.”

Project participant Steve said: “Poems tell us the truth and the truth resonates with everyone.”

Cornerstone supports hundreds of local people every week and is just one of Caritas Salford’s services working alongside people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless in the city. 

As well as providing hot meals for those who need them – something which has been integral to the A Place at the Table project – the team is committed to not only supporting those who are already homeless but also preventing people from becoming homeless too. They work alongside people to help them secure safe accommodation and ensure appropriate support for health and wellbeing, access to specialist support services, education, training, and volunteering opportunities, and employment, as a means of sustaining positive housing outcomes. 

Commenting on the project, Poet, Phil Davenport, said: “People at Cornerstone have made a portrait of this community through their collaboration and writing that’s unconventional, full of flavour and connection, but also with frank and unfiltered views and experiences.”

Artist Christine Johson said: “By itself a table is a lonely image, but seat people around it and it becomes an inclusive, contained, and versatile space – for eating, reading, writing, drawing, talking, laughing; a shared experience and a place of possibility. I hope this project will maintain a spotlight on the human experience behind the statistics. And I hope it will be emotionally impactful as it is only through empathy that there is any hope of societal change to prejudice and policy.” 

Patrick O’Dowd, director of Caritas Salford, said: “This is a really exciting project for us, we work hard to offer a range of projects and activities within our services that help people to increase their confidence, improve their mental and physical health and build connections. A Place at the Table is a great way for people to come together, listen, and learn a lot about themselves and each other, in a way that is reflective and supported. 

“The cost-of-living crisis has hit people hard and more and more people in Greater Manchester and Lancashire are coming to us in crisis. This project aims to empower people to control that narrative for themselves, to tell their own story, and to be supported to change their own lives with dignity.

“We can’t wait for people across Greater Manchester to read the poems and see the incredible artworks on display at HOME, and I know participants will be really proud to see the exhibition being enjoyed by so many.”