Impact

Red Line Service is a community of artists and art lovers with a lived experience of houselessness working together with professionals in the arts to reduce barriers to the arts for all. We insist - as unhoused or housing & food insecure artists and art lovers - that we lead, uplift and sustain the community, with support from professionals in the arts, as co-producers. Some of us want access to arts programming that we can consume and enjoy. Others of us, strive for careers and recognition in the arts. We all acknowledge that the lack of fulfilling cultural experiences, precarious wages, food insecurity and high cost of transportation hinder our success and our ability to live enriching cultural lives. Through art programming, art-making and forging social bonds, we cultivate abundant collective care.  Through our depth over breadth programs and events, we:

• Engage with highly regarded visual artists, art historians, curators, filmmakers, actors, writers, musicians, and other cultural workers;
• Sharpen our own art, writing, and music expertise in workshops with renowned practicing artists;
• Present our own art to a broader public through publications, events, exhibitions, and performances;
• Build a thriving, loving community.

The impacts of our community-empowering model:

• De-stigmatize homelessness;
• Decrease social isolation;
• Develop a sense of belonging and social cohesion;
• Provide channels for talent to be recognized, appreciated, and enjoyed; 
• Shift the narrative of homelessness away from individual blame and towards an understanding of its systemic causes.

Research shows that a sense of personal well-being and social connectedness are critical to securing and retaining housing.  Insisting on community-led work, in partnership with professionals in the arts, means providing more than emergency services. It also means fundamentally reshaping society into a deeply connected community of care.