Spread The Word Campaign – Changing The Lives Of Homeless People

When one indulges in a book, they live another life for that moment in time – and there is no better way to zone out from reality than with a great book.

Like the author George R. R. Martin put it, a reader lives a thousand lives, but the man who never reads lives only one.

The Spread The Word Campaign emerged with this principle and with the belief that every human being has the same need to break out from reality once in a while. Priyanka Mogul, who works for us at the International Political Forum, started the campaign aiming to open a library in every homeless shelter in London.

The idea, she said, was inspired by a homeless man in her neighbourhood:

“Everyday on my way to work or uni, I would see him outside the station, but in the two years that I had been walking by him, I never had seen his face because it was always buried in a book.”

Priyanka believes a book has the potential to change the course of someone’s life, like it changed hers and made her so passionate about women’s rights.

“It is that passion that helps me get out of the bed every morning and it is crazy to think that picking up a book when I was 12 years old has defined who I am for the rest of the my life.”

The campaign was launched two weeks back, but the response has been amazing and negotiations with shelters have been going on already. However, the path is not strewn with roses and there have been a few negative responses, as some believe homeless people would not care about reading.

“I think a lot of it depends on the shelters and whether they’re willing to put in the effort to open a library. It requires them to find the right resources – we need space to keep the books and people to manage it.”

Priyanka prefers to focus on the positive milestones, and has set a firm foot on her goal. She has launched the #SpreadTheWordSelfie to bring awareness and, of course, to spread the word.

For those willing to get more involved with the cause, the campaign is open to recruiting volunteers from all walks of life. Whether you’re willing to help out with social media, outreach programmes, or have ideas of your own, you can find out more about the campaign and get in touch with them by visiting www.spreadthewordcampaign.co.uk.