Steve.

It has been a while since I had spoken to a homeless person I must admit; upon moving to Bath the problem of homelessness is still very prevalent and working in the city centre I noticed most days the same men and women sat asking for money.

A man who I regularly walked past I later discovered was called Steve who was an ex-army medic. Steve possessed a cardboard sign that had become torn and hard to read due to ink runs. I eventually plucked up the courage to ask Steve if he would let me re-design his sign into a slightly sturdier, waterproof version whilst still incorporating the elements of his old design that he loved. This included his army regiment number and the Royal Army Medical Corps.

The design was not elaborate or anything particularly noteworthy – however, cost me around £6 to make, a small price for what I would hope could help bring Steve in some more money and help others to understand and ask more about his story.

I understand that the sign has potential to make people question as to how he got the sign with the materials on it considering the position that he is in; but looking past this I wanted people to understand that no matter the condition of the cardboard sign, they are still having to hold it up and ask for money.

I want to re-create many more signs so that gradually the general public can notice how homeless peoples stories are rich with information and are inclusive of a diverse range of backgrounds and also perhaps wish to re-create signs themselves.

Steve was incredibly grateful for the re-creation of the sign and walking past him the following days that I gave it to him, I see it leans against the pillars of the Baths infrastructure by his hat and crossed legs.

Thank you for reading.