Music is a uniting force, regardless of what is going on for someone, it’s a means for people to be who they really are.  Wherever you go in life, it’s a grounding force to come back to, not just the music it’s self but the community and subcultures of different genres. It’s a way to […]

Ace came into our lives last year after I became homeless. Ace hasn’t had a great start to life as his previous owner was in a domestic abuse relationship with their ex–partner. Ace used to protect his owner from the violence and ended up getting attacked himself.  Ace took a while to get settled with […]

We reporters of Listen Up are Bringing stories we come from afar Fields, estates, blocks and gardens Guiding the Groundswell star (Chorus) Oh, stars of writing, stars from the night Royal William shining up our light Oval meeting, northern leading Getting homelessness policies right Brought along by bus, bike and train Mat we bring him […]

With so much anger and hate in the news, I thought that I’d share something lovely here today. The lady behind this story works tirelessly behind the scenes to bring a bit of cheer to her corner of the world, and so I thought that I would spread that cheer with you and explain why […]

Read the previous report in Andrea’s eviction series  My update on the police is more positive today.  I’m now on my second case number with them regarding my landlord not allowing access to the property to get my belongings. I had to report online to the police that my landlord has failed to get in […]

In this written piece, Dan, who has just started as a project worker at Groundswell, offers a response to a recent report done by our ace roving reporter Steve from Manchester.  Steve’s gift as a communicator is to give deeply textured snapshots of life through his eyes and in the original account he wrestles with the […]

A few days ago, I was coming from the train station and happened to bump into a neighbor who was carrying empty cardboard boxes from the local Sainsburys. I didn’t ask him what they were for and we simply talked about what was on for dinner that night.    Yesterday, I bumped into him again.   I […]

Where do I come from? 1967, France, standard education. Waiter, sailor, hospitality, support worker. Married, divorced, pretty vagrant, addiction and recovery. REALITY. How did I get there? Car, train, auto-pilot. Flight, walk, hitch-hiking, Running. Walking. Any ideas. Breathing… Inputs contributed to own journey? Ancestry, heraldry, parents, grandparents, booze, recovery. Marriage. Divorce. Goodness. Madness, NVQ 3 […]

The good thing about this project has always been what I call ‘VIVE LA DIFFERENCE’. It gives us a platform to freely express ourselves. To report on issues from the heart, with emotion and passion and without the limitations imposed by journalists who work for commercial concerns funded by vested interests. To change the narrative […]

This post mentions recovery from addiction Relaxing with a group of friends around the pool at The Mar Hotel, host to Lanzarote AA convention. We were talking about this new COVID-19 Virus that came from a wet fish market in China. I remember saying with absolute certainty (like I had inside info) “oh it’ll never […]

GG reflects on reconnecting with herself and finding happiness again, and overcoming the dehumanisation of a system that only defines people by their problems and challenges, rather than seeing their achievements, good things and unique experiences. I wanted to talk about a follow up to my piece on libraries, and I heard that it got […]