A formerly homeless artist has shone a light on the issue by building snowmen living rough on the streets.
Chris Newson is normally a painter but made the sculptures from the snow brought by the wintry conditions this week outside his gallery and framing shop in Leiston, Suffolk.
“I did it to publicise the shop,” Chris told the Press Association. “Called one photo Sleeping Rough and the rest is history.
“Not the kind of weather to get framing done or buy pictures.
“I am glad my four snowmen have raised awareness of homelessness.”
Chris’s snowmen have been shared thousands of times on social media and have received a warm reception.
Local artist using the snow to hi light homelessness 🙁
Can we RT this 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/TVUtSquB0r
— Trevor Coult MC (@TrevorCoultMC) February 28, 2018
Chris, it seems your art profiling homelessness has really hit hope with the Nation!Fantastic 🙏🏻
— Trevor Coult MC (@TrevorCoultMC) March 1, 2018
“I was homeless once and I know how hard it is,” Chris told the I. “They’ve got to sit outside in the weather now and look for a night shelter.
“There’s homeless people in this country and it’s quite disgusting how they’re overlooked.
“There’s just no-one there to help them.”
If you would like to see more of Chris’s work, head to his website, or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
If you see someone sleeping rough in the cold in your area and want to help, consider contacting StreetLink to let local outreach workers know where you’ve seen them and they can help.
