#WhatDoYouSee?

Graphic anthology collaboration with Fulfilling Lives

Over the last few months we’ve been working in collaboration with Creative Fuse, Newcastle-Gateshead Fulfilling Lives and Northumbria University illustration students to produce a book aimed at challenging the stigma and negative perceptions surrounding individuals with complex needs. In particular, homelessness, re-offending, substance misuse and mental ill health. It’s often one or a combination of these complex needs that result in chaotic lives and make it difficult for support services to engage with such individuals.

Fulfilling Lives works to improve and better co-ordinate services that provide support to these individuals by giving service users a voice and the opportunity to coordinate the way the programme is run through their Experts By Experience network. Inspired by the real experiences of two of Fulfilling Lives’ service users, the students produced five short illustrated stories which Roots & Wings has lovingly compiled into a graphic anthology. The printed version’s finally dropped and it looks fantastic. Illustrations for the book will serve as the basis for a social media campaign under the hashtag, #WhatDoYouSee?