West Yorkshire homeless charity Simon on the Streets has unveiled 12 blue plaques in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield, intended to highlight some of the cases they have worked with over the last twenty years.
Created by Leeds-based marketing agency Fun Agency, the plaques have been placed at street level to show where the homeless person may have slept or spent time. The plaques give unique descriptions of each individual, designed to give the audience a greater insight into the personality and life of those on the streets.
Eric Richardson, CEO of Simon on the Streets, said:
“Homelessness has risen dramatically over the last 20 years and we want to ensure that this remains in the public’s eye as it’s very easy to ignore people on the streets.
“The traditional English Heritage blue plaques remember noteworthy individuals and often mark places where they lived. Our plaques do the same for people who have slept rough. We believe that everyone should be commemorated – particularly those who are so often forgotten about. The plaques highlight the incredibly resilient people we have worked with, who have overcome hardships and struggles we can’t even imagine going through and have come through the other side.”
All 12 plaques are inspired by real life case studies, although names have been changed.
Paul Alexander from Fun Agency adds:
“We approached Simon on the Streets to run this campaign for the second time given the success of the campaign seven years ago. It’s a great, local charity we’re proud to support and was fitting to launch further blue plaques as part of the charity’s 20th anniversary.”
The charity is encouraging members of the public to search for the plaques in an online “scavenger hunt”, posting photos of the plaques found on social media channel using the hashtag #Simononthestreets to help raise awareness.
