Outsiders

Description

ISBN 9781908457725
Hard cover
270mm x 290mm (landscape) – 180pp.

Outsiders is a glimpse into their world – in their own words This is their testimony to the hardship they face – the hunger, discomfort, uncertainty and danger – and also the way they are ignored and treated by society who see them as less than human.

“Long before I ever dreamed I would work for Shelter, the photography of Nick Hedges – his unflinching but compassionate images of poverty and unliveable housing conditions in the 1960s – forced me to confront injustice that I would never otherwise have seen. I believe the beautiful, arresting, and human images by Marc Davenant in this book can do the same for a new generation of young people. And it could hardly be more important right now to inspire people to understand the damage done by social injustice, and to join the fight for home. It shames us all that more than half a century has passed between the creation of these two important collections of photography, because in half a century so little has changed.

The struggle for a decent home for families and individuals on low incomes is as desperate and hard as it ever was. And the safety net for anyone who loses their home is still frighteningly precarious and threadbare. Millions of people simply cannot afford a decent home. The fundamental reason for this is straightforward. Despite a widespread perception that new buildings are going up everywhere, the reality is that year after year virtually no homes are built that ordinary people on low incomes can afford to live in. This is the systemic failure behind the human stories that Marc tells so powerfully. We can change this if it matters to us enough. I believe this book can help it matter. I certainly hope so.“
– Polly Neate CBE, Chief Executive, Shelter