A Community of Poets Turns Words Into Hope for People Facing Homelessness
A poetry collection created by 100 writers is helping people in Newcastle look toward the future with greater hope—and reminding them that their community cares.
Through sales of Words on a NE Street, North East England poet Andrew Mears raised £4,200 for Newcastle Helping Street Friends by Christmas 2025. The volunteer-run nonprofit will use much of the donation to support housing and ongoing care for people who were previously unhoused.
For those receiving that support, the project has brought more than financial help. Mears and his fellow poets have also shared their work through readings, creating opportunities for connection and encouragement.
“Meeting Andy [and] his friends and reading the poems has been overwhelming for staff and companions,” said Ruth Parker, chief executive of Newcastle Helping Street Friends’ Emmaus center.
“The kindness and compassion they have shown gives optimism to the companions, making them feel more positive about their future and being part of a community that cares.”
That spirit of care began with a straightforward idea. In 2025, Mears decided to bring together 100 writers, each contributing a poem about homelessness. He would collect their work in a book and donate the sales to his neighborhood shelter.
Within months, the idea had become a self-published anthology—and a way to bring a difficult subject into everyday conversation.
“For me, it's about getting homelessness in conversations,” Mears told the BBC.
Living in a region facing serious challenges with homelessness, Mears saw poetry as a way to encourage people to listen, reflect, and help. The resulting collection makes room for stories and questions that can too easily be overlooked.
Among its contributions is Margaret Montgomery’s “The Homeless Life.” The poem challenges assumptions about people without secure housing, exploring how income, opportunity, and personal circumstances can shape someone’s life. It also asks readers to look beyond sympathy toward support that helps people build a different future.
Its closing line captures that possibility: “But by empowering them we could ensure they have a different fate.”
Mears hopes the collaboration will inspire similar efforts elsewhere. Writers in other cities, he believes, could bring their own communities together through poetry and raise money for local support services.
“They can go and run with it, ‘Words on a Liverpool Street,’ or ‘Words on a Birmingham Street,’” he said. “Hopefully, this is just the beginning.”
For now, those 100 poems have already become something more than a book: a contribution to supported housing, an invitation to talk openly about homelessness, and a heartfelt expression of belonging.
