For those who have never been homeless, it can be difficult to understand or empathize with people experiencing it. A new museum wants to change that.
There are 7,000 homeless people in the city of Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Mission, and more than half a million in the United States. By using interactive technology, storytelling and exhibits, visitors to the Dignity Museum "will confront their ideas of homelessness and what it takes to escape it," the museum's website states.
The Dignity Museum is housed in a bright red shipping container at the College Park headquarters of LoveBeyondWalls, a nonprofit with a vision "to provide dignity to the homeless and poor by providing a voice, visibility, shelter, community, and grooming and support services to achieve self-sufficiency."
"I hope that visitors feel empathy, and that it helps change their perceptions of homelessness and humanizes these individuals that are suffering this fight," Terence Lester, founder of LoveBeyondWalls and curator of the exhibit, told Atlanta Magazine. "I want people to have a chance to listen to the source, which is the people who are actually going through the suffering."
The museum is divided into three rooms. When visitors enter, they are faced with the stereotypes around homelessness — how people become homeless, how close many people are to losing their homes and the challenges that can prevent people from getting back on their feet.
The enclosed second room uses virtual reality to create empathy by showing visitors what it’s like to eat and sleep on the streets and have people avert their gaze when walking pass them.
The third room is designed to inspire action. Visitors are given information about resources that are available to help the homeless.
"Oftentimes, we put off responsibilities on institutions or the government," Lester told Fast Company. "But it's like Martin Luther King said — we're a global village, and all of us can be a part of the solution."
The museum encourages visitors to bring a fully charged cellphone and earbuds to scan QR codes and use the smartphone app. There are cellphones at the beginning of the tour for visitors, if needed.
“What does it really feel like to be homeless? We hear about it, but this give you a true feeling, starting with the virtual reality and going through it, you come out feeling what it’s like,” a recent visitor said.
The Dignity Museum is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Wednesday at 3270 East Main Street College Park, Ga 30337. Tours last about an hour and 20 minutes. You can sign up for a tour online at lovebeyondwalls.org/dignity-museum/.
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