Dr Emma King from the University of Stirling shares her reflections on the PhotoVoice project Mindset, Approach, Perspective, which explored the experiences of residents in Scotland’s first Managed Alcohol Programme.
A booklet containing the images taken by residents is available here, and more information about the project is available here.
Scotland’s first Managed Alcohol Programme (MAP) was opened in 2021 by Simon Community Scotland and offers support for men experiencing homelessness and alcohol dependence. It provides accommodation, measured doses of alcohol throughout the day, and a range of other help to engage with healthy eating, regular healthcare, and ongoing activities. In 2023 our team at University of Stirling started a two-year evaluation of the MAP, funded by the Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office.
We were interested in exploring what life is like in the MAP, through the voices of the men who live there. We worked with PhotoVoice to run a series of workshops for us, with the aim of using the photographs taken as prompts for future in-depth interviews with the residents. Tom came to Glasgow in early 2024 and ran seven days of workshops over a month-long period. All the participants were provided with a camera, which was theirs to keep.
Workshops took place mainly within the MAP and we also provided lunch and made sure to make time to sit and eat together. One day we offered the option of an outing to the local park, which gave the opportunity for an outshoot. Staff described how they saw the men’s confidence grow during the workshops. The photos that the participants chose and the stories that accompanied them meant we all found out so much more about the residents, especially about their lives before they came to the MAP.
In between workshops Tom had left the participants with homework prompts to take some further pictures. We found getting participants to engage with the homework quite challenging. Unlike many other photography projects our difficulty seemed to be getting some of the participants to take any photos at all! We suspected that a lot of this might be due to low self-esteem and a concern about taking the ‘wrong’ photo. MAP staff were very good at helping the participants and Tom was great at suggesting potential photos they could take to accompany stories they were telling us about their life in the MAP.
We were impressed at the level of consent that was obtained for each photo and had been concerned that our participants might not manage this level of paperwork. In reality, they managed very well and Tom went through everything with each individual. It did take quite a long time and a couple of people were not in the service that day, so we delayed our planned celebration to allow us time to complete the consent process.
A few weeks later we held a celebration at the MAP and invited other MAP managers and stakeholders connected with the MAP for some food and to see the photos. The participants were very happy to talk about their pictures and the feedback from everyone who attended was really positive.
As an outcome of this we applied for a small pot of money from the University of Stirling to turn the photos into a booklet. Tom returned for another session with the residents and created a photo booklet with them. We now have printed copies of this to distribute to other services around Glasgow and to stakeholders. Some of the current residents were initially reluctant to leave their previous accommodation to come to the MAP, so they were very keen that their photos could be used to show other potential residents what life in the MAP is like.
The PhotoVoice legacy is ongoing. The residents enjoy going for days out, have a walking group, and go fishing, and they take their cameras with them. Residents are also putting together a photo board for the MAP entrance, with details of local places like pharmacies and shops, so that new residents know where things are.
The full evaluation project finished this week with a big feedback event and celebration, with academics, stakeholders, policy makers, and MAP staff and residents. We displayed the photos and gave a copy of the booklet to all the attendees. Four of the MAP residents spoke about their experiences of living in the MAP, and two of them had taken part in the PhotoVoice workshops and talked about their photos with the attendees.
