People First Radio – May 02 2024People First Radio – May 02 2024
People First Radio
Zakia Moulaoui Guery explains how Invisible Cities trains people with experience of homelessness to lead walking tours, challenging stereotypes through local stories. Later, Nanaimo resident Marlo René Mares reflects on moving from street homelessness into supportive housing and shares direct advice on what real help should look like.
0:00•3 May 2024
Walking Tours, Tent Cities and the Truth About Homelessness
Episode Overview
- Invisible Cities trains people who have experienced homelessness to use their transferable skills as walking tour guides, building confidence and future opportunities.
- Tours are designed by the guides themselves, going “beyond the postcard” to include social justice, local services, and underrepresented histories.
- Zakia stresses that relationship breakdown and lack of support networks are major drivers of homelessness, often more than addiction.
- Marlo highlights the value of compassionate, firm support staff and calls for services that see each resident as an individual rather than applying blanket rules.
- Both segments emphasise simple human contact – saying hello, getting to know people on the street – as a key step towards reducing stigma and isolation.
“Get to know the homeless. Get to know them. Stop and say hi. They're me, you know.”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction, homelessness, and everything in between? This edition of People First Radio brings together two very different, yet tightly connected stories about housing, dignity, and community. First up, social entrepreneur Zakia Moulaoui Guery talks about Invisible Cities, a social enterprise in Edinburgh that trains people who’ve experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides. Instead of a slick, postcard-perfect tour, you’ll meet guides who share real histories alongside their own lived experience.
As Zakia puts it, guests often say it’s “like going on a tour with a friend,” which is exactly the point: breaking stigma by showing that someone who’s been homeless can also be your knowledgeable, funny, history-obsessed guide. Zakia explains how the project uses “amazing transferable skills” like public speaking and customer service to help guides gain confidence and future opportunities, from hotel work to further study.
She also tackles common myths, noting that in the UK “the biggest reason why people become homeless is what we call relationship breakdown,” not addiction, and stresses how vital support networks are when life falls apart. The second half shifts to Nanaimo, where new resident Marlo René Mares walks through her room at Cornerstone, a supportive housing building operated by Connective Nanaimo.
Marlo shares blunt reflections on street life, being “chased around the city by the city workers,” and the community that formed in tent encampments. Her plea is simple and sharp: “Get to know the homeless. Get to know them. Stop and say hi.
They’re me, you know.” Together, these conversations offer a grounded look at homelessness, support services, and how small human gestures – a hello on the street, a chance to guide a tour, a patient housing worker – can shift someone’s future. Which of those small actions might be yours?
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