Little Miss Homeless: Meet the Exeter student writing about female homelessness
‘This book is NOT a children’s book’
Harriet Earle-Brown, a PhD Student at Exeter Uni, has written Little Miss Homeless,a book using the Mr Men format to tell true stories of female experiences of homelessness.
In the description for the book, she writes: “This book is NOT a children’s book. Little Miss Homeless culture jams the Mr Men series, using real stories from homeless women, to draw attention to the experiences and issues they face.
We spoke to Harriet about her experience writing the book, and how its been received so far. She said: “My PhD research focuses on homeless women- so it [The inspiration for Little Miss Homeless] came from that!
“I’m interested in that topic because homeless women are often overlooked in narratives of homelessness, which mean their issues are also overlooked. As a result their needs are often not catered for when we try and tackle homelessness.
“So I wanted to create something which would bring attention to these issues in a way that’s accessible and engaging to the public.”
On the reaction to her book so far, Harriet said “It’s been amazing. I’ve had so many positive responses from so many different people. It’s especially meaningful when people who work in this area tell me that I’ve accurately represented homeless women! I’ve had lots of support from my department too which has been great.
“The main takeaway is that homeless women exist and that they face particular issues which we need to address. Raising awareness of these issues is important in order to ensure we can better support this vulnerable group in the future.”
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