21/08/2026
This is a bit longer than our usual messages but it is important.
We're talking about this again as we’re seeing videos online of people who appear to be homeless. We know much of this content is made with good intentions, and we don't want to discourage people from helping but it can cause harm.
At Wycombe Homeless Connection, we've been working alongside people experiencing homelessness in our community for nearly 20 years. We've supported hundreds of people, sometimes for a day, a week, a month and in some cases years. We help people find somewhere safe to live, get healthcare, access benefits, understand their rights and options, and help them with other types of support they’re entitled to.
We're trusted, accountable and transparent, and we want to share what we've learned from nearly two decades of working with people in crisis.
We know how complex homelessness can be, and why seemingly simple acts of kindness can sometimes have unintended consequences. People experiencing homelessness have rights to privacy, dignity and informed consent.
Achieving full, informed consent to be filmed, identified and publicly shared can be especially difficult where there is a power imbalance: when one person controls the phone, the platform, the audience, and gives out money, gifts of food or other practical items, while the other person does not. It can be very tough to say no to those gifts, or to being filmed, even if that's what someone actually wants to say.
Public exposure, especially at a local level, can have lasting personal consequences far beyond the moment a video is posted.
At Wycombe Homeless Connection, we rarely share images of the people we support, even though doing so could highlight some of the realities of homelessness and generate support and money for our work.
We choose not to because protecting people’s dignity, safety, wellbeing and recovery comes first.
Our mission is to help our community make a lasting impact on people in a housing crisis, stop those crises before they happen, and do it all in safe, trauma-informed, impactful and accountable ways.
Hundreds of local people help us provide practical, trauma-informed support including expert advice, shelter, food, clothing, showers, healthcare access and help navigating complex systems.
Together, we work with people to build a future they choose for themselves.
