Accessible Report

Photography Project in
Bankside Hostel
By: Ricky Eagleton and Steve Murphy

Photos of people and of places have been removed from this version of the report in order to protect those who took part in this project. For further information please see Ethics and the anonymisation of research reports

This is a photo of Bankside Hostel, January, 2003

Introduction
This project was about a long-stay hostel for adults with learning disabilities which was closing down.

We wanted to give the residents of the hostel a chance to take photographs of the hostel and the things that were important to them.

We hoped that taking photographs would help people to think about and remember their lives in the hostel as they moved to their new homes.

Who we are

RICKY	STEVE

Ricky Eagleton is a member of a local self advocacy group for people with learning disabilities and a member of the steering group for the BA (hons) in Learning Disability Studies at Manchester University.

Steve Murphy is a researcher in education at the University of Manchester .

We have been working together on the project since January 2004.

Ricky was first employed to help out and give advice on the project, but ended up working as a partner, taking on more work in the planning and decision making.

How we did the project
We spent a lot of time in the hostel getting to know the residents before we brought any cameras in.

We asked residents if they wanted to get involved in the photo project.

We worked with some residents, but not everyone wanted to be involved. It was difficult for us to communicate with some residents, but we tried working with them if they seemed interested.

We ended up working with seven people taking photographs and looking at them and trying to find out what was important to people about the photos.

We taught some people how to use the camera and they took their own photos. Some people told us or showed us what photos they wanted to take and then we took the photos for them.

A few people could not tell us or show us what photos they wanted taking so we worked with staff to take photos we thought would be interesting and important for them.

We started out using disposable cameras and later used digital cameras.

It was better working with digital cameras, because people could see what photo they'd taken straight away and we could show people their photos on a laptop computer.

We also showed people prints of their photos.

We talked with some residents and staff about people's photographs and what they meant. We also talked to people about life in the hostel and what it was like to live there.

We talked to staff separately about what it was like to work in the hostel.

When we were working and talking with people in the hostel sometimes we took notes or used a tape recorder.

Sometimes we took pictures or used a video camera.

After we took the photos with people we had a party at the hostel to give people back their photos.

At the party we had drinks and cakes and we gave all of the residents their photos back in photo albums.

Many of the residents' parents came to the party.

What we found
Some residents took photos of things, or places, or people that were important to them. Many people took photos in their bedrooms because all of their important things were in there.

Some residents told us what they liked about their photos. Some residents couldn't speak and tell us, but everyone seemed interested in looking at their photos.

Some residents really liked looking at their photos, but some people liked it even better looking at their photos on a laptop computer.

Sometimes we found it hard explaining things in a way residents could understand.

We tried asking residents what they thought about their photos and their lives in the hostel. We sometimes found it hard to understand what people were telling us.

Only one of the residents took the camera off on his own. He liked taking photos through windows.

Most of the photos residents took were of things they liked, but some photos were of things they didn't like or they were unsure about.

Photographs we took of the old bungalow getting knocked down made some residents upset. It was hard for some residents to see their old home so broken down and one resident was afraid his new bungalow would get knocked down like the old one.

Staff helped us to take photographs for two residents who couldn't communicate easily. Staff gave us ideas about what these two residents liked and what was important to them.

Staff also helped us look at residents' photos to help us understand more about them.

We felt that some staff were surprised that the residents who have the most difficult time communicating were so interested in the photos.

At the end of the project we put all the photos together into 'photo stories' and gave these to the people we had been working with. You can see one of these photo stories at Robert's Photo Story.

What we think
Sometimes it was hard for residents to pick out what was important to them because all of these things and places had been part of their everyday lives for many years.

It was hard for residents to talk much about their lives in the future because when we did the project with them, they hadn't moved out of the hostel yet.

Many residents have never spent much time outside of long-stay hospitals and hostels before. It can be hard to talk about life outside hospitals and hostels, especially if you haven't had much (or any) chance to live outside of these places.

What we want to do next
Some residents of the hostel now live in new bungalows on the site of the old hostel and some residents live in new bungalows nearby.

We want to keep visiting the residents of the hostel in their new homes.

We are also looking for money so we can keep on working with residents in their new homes and new lives.

We want to see how people's lives have changed since moving out of the hostel.