Documenting the homeless in Manchester

Walking around Manchester at 5 am Sunday morning I figured I’d do something unusually productive and take some pictures using my Minolta camera with Kodak ISO 400 film. I started taking pictures of objects and buildings before I noticed a few lifeless bodies lying around Piccadilly Gardens. The only people around, that weren’t finishing their night shifts or skulking outside of cafes waiting for their caffeine hit for the day. The homeless in Manchester.

Piccadilly Gardens and Manchester have always had a homeless problem but in recent years it’s really gotten out of hand. You can really feel the desperation in the evening when the previous day’s drugs have fully left the systems and a need to refill is rampant.

It must be impossible to sleep on the street without something really hard to knock you out.

What gave me hope is that despite a bustling population in the evening of beggars and choosers, the 5am rough sleepers appeared few and far between. I decided to check side alleys and small back streets to see if I would come across any unique sleeping arrangements but I came up short. I know little of the homeless culture in Manchester but I hope that these people have the opportunity to find shelter hence me finding it difficult to find more than half a dozen unfortunate souls slumbering.

The streets are changing in recent years, much for the worse.

If you want to help out, you can donate either money or time to Lifeshare, a charity focusing on caring for the homeless in Manchester population.