Path launches Plymouth’s first Homelessness Action Week

This week-long programme will use art, storytelling and community action to challenge perceptions of homelessness across the city.

Plymouth homelessness charity, Path, is launching the city’s first Homelessness Action Week, bringing people and organisations across Plymouth together from 10-17 October 2026 to raise awareness, challenge stigma and encourage action around homelessness.

Building on the success of Path’s World Homeless Day activities in 2025, the new week-long campaign will use art, storytelling, community engagement and lived experience to help people understand the realities of homelessness and housing insecurity - and the difference that early support can make.

Last year, Path marked World Homeless Day with two major creative projects in Plymouth: the “There’s No Place Like Home” city-centre mural and a community art exhibition created with Plymouth Artists Together.

The projects demonstrated the power of creativity to make people stop, look and talk about homelessness. This year, Path wants to take that conversation further.

Homelessness Action Week 2026 will move beyond a single day, creating a full week of opportunities for people across Plymouth to learn, listen, take part and help create change.

A major feature of the week will be an exhibition at Royal William Yard, held as part of Plymouth’s annual Artober programme.

Artists, photographers, makers, writers and creatives from across Plymouth are being invited to produce work inspired by four themes:

HOME | HOPE | HOMELESSNESS | PLYMOUTH

The exhibition, which is being coordinated by art partner, Ocean City Arts, will explore different perspectives on home, belonging, identity, community, resilience and homelessness, while encouraging visitors to think beyond stereotypes and recognise the people and experiences behind the issue.

Alongside the exhibition, Path will be taking Homelessness Action Week into communities across Plymouth.

Schools, workplaces, community groups and local organisations will be able to host a Pop-up Path, providing accessible information about homelessness, the support available in the city and practical ways people can help.

Path will also invite people with lived experience of homelessness or housing insecurity to contribute anonymous voice recordings, giving people the opportunity to tell their stories in their own words while remaining in control of what they choose to share.

Volunteers will be able to support activities throughout the week, while a digital campaign toolkit will enable individuals and organisations across the city to share information, challenge common misconceptions and help extend the conversation online.

Victoria Allen, CEO of Path, said:

“Homelessness can happen to people for many different reasons, and too often we only talk about it when someone has already reached crisis point. Homelessness Action Week is about changing that conversation.

“We want people across Plymouth to understand that homelessness is not just what we see on the streets. It can be someone worried about losing their tenancy, staying with friends because they have nowhere else to go, or simply not knowing where they will be living next month.

“Last year, we saw how art could bring people together and start conversations about what home really means. This year, we want to build on that and involve the whole city - through art, stories, schools, workplaces, community groups and local organisations.

“Most importantly, we want people to know that help is available. The earlier someone reaches out when they are struggling with their housing, the more opportunity there can be to prevent homelessness in the first place.

“My hope is that Homelessness Action Week helps Plymouth become a city that understands homelessness better, challenges the stigma surrounding it and knows that we all have a part to play in creating change.”

Stacey Chapman, Director of Ocean City Arts, said:

"Art is a powerful platform for raising awareness of important social issues such as homelessness. It creates a space where everyone can have an opinion, get involved, share experiences and make a statement, regardless of their background or artistic ability. By bringing artists, communities and individuals together, art can help ensure that homelessness is not simply discussed as a social issue, but understood through the experiences and voices of the people it affects."

Homelessness is not always visible and does not begin with someone sleeping on the street. Job loss, relationship breakdown, rising housing costs, eviction, financial difficulties and other changes in circumstances can leave people at risk of losing their home.

One of the central messages of Homelessness Action Week will therefore be that people do not need to wait until they are homeless to ask for help.

Path hopes the week will encourage people to recognise the warning signs of housing insecurity; understand what support is available and feel more confident seeking help early.

For more than 30 years, Path has worked in Plymouth to prevent homelessness and support people experiencing housing crisis, providing practical assistance, personalised support and routes towards greater stability.

Homelessness Action Week will build on that work by asking the wider city to be part of the conversation. Path is encouraging Plymouth residents, artists, schools, businesses, community organisations and volunteers to get involved between 10 and 17 October.

Whether that means visiting the exhibition, creating artwork, hosting a Pop-up Path, volunteering, sharing campaign messages or simply learning more about homelessness, the charity hopes the week will demonstrate what can happen when a city comes together.

Homelessness Action Week takes place from 10-17 October 2026.

For more information about Homelessness Action Week and ways to get involved, visit www.pathdevon.org/homelessness-action-week