Collective Encounters, based in Liverpool, specialises in Theatre for Social Change. Working with professional artists and local people, the charity uses theatre to engage those on the margins of society.

This report is an evaluation of the Transitions project, which ran from February 2012 to January 2015. Transitions aimed to empower homeless people to engage more effectively with statutory and service provision, and to support them to make a smooth transition from street to hostel and hostel to home. Transitions set out, via a range of theatre/drama activities, to encourage, motivate, build confidence, improve self-esteem and increase the self-reliance of people with direct experience of homelessness.
Activities were delivered in the local authority areas of Wirral, Liverpool and Sefton and included regular accredited training, a peer-to-peer mentoring scheme, work placement and volunteering opportunities with arts and cultural organisations and an annual cycle of outreach activities both in temporary accommodation and within homeless support settings. Transitions also set out to create opportunities for homeless and ex-homeless people to challenge negative perceptions held about them by the wider community and engage in community-cohesion initiatives.

The evaluation summarises levels of engagement and success with each type of activity, in terms of goals and key achievements, and highlights change indicators. It presents specific case studies as well as lessons learnt, and advocates the use of a creative approach as a highly effective way of engaging people with experience of homelessness, mental health issues and those with addiction issues.

Collective Encounters (2015). Transitions Evaluation Report. Liverpool: Collective Encounters.