Mark Burton Photography

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Guests & Volunteers

Crisis at Christmas operates a number of centres for homeless people in London each year.  The Rough Sleepers' Centre is the largest, and was open from the 23rd – 30th December. On the night shift about 300 guests are cared for by about 100 volunteers.

The 2010 Rough Sleepers' Centre was housed in a disused office building in London Docklands. During the day the place buzzed. Doctors tapped chests, dentists checked teeth and hairdressers removed swathes of hair. Corner offices became advice centres to help guests find accommodation, or to connect them to other services.As the night shift begins most of the guests turn-in for the night and the upstairs floors quieten in the semi-darkness. Bodies under blankets snore gently on camp beds. Occasionally people get up for the toilet, or stir to re-arrange their covers.Throughout the night other parts of the Centre remain active: there are comings and goings at the front gate; the café keeps up a flow of tea, coffee and snacks; films are shown into the early hours; the banks of computers have a steady flow of people tapping at them.By the end the week it is only the volunteers' white name badges that distinguish many of them from the guests. During the previous days, while the guests have received haircuts, new clothes and hearty meals, the volunteers have worked long hours and look dishevelled and weary.Crisis volunteers are a complete cross section of society: East End geezers, ladies from the home counties, teenage students, teachers, retirees, hedge-fund managers, actors, executives, and increasingly, one-time guests now returning as volunteers.The willingness of the volunteers to muck-in is matched by their deep reservoirs of empathy. Many of the volunteers have had tough experiences in their own lives. Maybe they’ve suffered a bereavement or the end of a relationship.The double benefit of Crisis is that by giving their time, and caring for the guests, the volunteers receive a rewarding experience. In many ways, everyone is there for each other.Most of the guests at Rough Sleepers' are street homeless and have been referred by an out-reach team or a day centre.The photos are made using an old film camera which takes time to set-up and adjust. I find my subject's match my intense working method with concentrated stares. To me, this means we are both in control of the image being made.There are any number of reasons why a guest has ended up on the street: a lost job might lead to a broken marriage; a bout of depression could lead to alcohol; many have histories of abuse, neglect or violence in their past; some have a combination of all three. For others, their predicament is due to poor decisions or just plain bad luck.Some guests are prime candidates for getting into accommodation and back into work on a relatively short time-scale: they just need some help getting there.Others may be suffering from what professionals in the homeless sector call 'complex trauma'. These guests have mental health issues and/or are dependent on drugs or alcohol. With help some have the potential to return to mainstream life.As a volunteer it is hard to comprehend what guests feel about being at the Centre. One guest explained that he'd been isolated and on the street for so long it had taken him several days just to get used to having other people near him.The final morning of the Centre is always the hardest. Coaches start lining up to take the guests back to drop-off points in central London. At the very least Crisis will have kept them safe, warm and well fed for eight days and nights. They will have had people to talk to and people to care about them.For some, Crisis will have been a turning point. They will have re-connected to friends or family and they will have found accommodation or even a job. Most importantly, they have been given hope that they can re-build their lives.  To volunteer for Crisis at Christmas or any other time of the year: www.crisis.org.uk
My recent large-scale portraits provide a rare glimpse inside the Crisis Rough Sleepers’ Centre in London, which operates during Christmas each year. Cameras are usually banned from the Centre, but as a long-term volunteer I was given permission to capture a series of portraits depicting guests and volunteers.

The images portray the dignified and respectful relationships that develop at the Centre. This series of work also challenges perceptions of homelessness: the subjects removed identifying name badges or wristbands, often making it unclear who is the guest and who is the volunteer.

- click on the image to view the gallery -