'SNAPSHOTS' OF LIFE. “Heart Beats: Unheard Voices,” a zine collaboration between Eau Claire's Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEAB) and UW-Eau Claire students, gives a platform to those who have lived through homelessness. 17 illustrated stories showcase the realities, questions and calls-to-actions from 10 unhoused people in the community. (Image via "Heart Beats" zine)

“Is the person unseen because of a conscious choice of their own, someone else’s, a group of people’s doing – or just a seemingly random act of change or providence?”

The words of Tyler T. Kresal, a member of Eau Claire's unhoused population, echo throughout a new zine of prose, poetry and illustrations. “Heart Beats: Unheard Voices,” an organized effort between city stakeholders in collaboration with the area university, gives voice to the unsung – those who have lived through homelessness.

Eau Claire’s Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEAB), a new group of local organizers who have experienced or have direct ties to homelessness, came up with the concept for the arts zine this previous spring.

Mara Langrek, co-founder of LEAB, sought to create an opportunity for group members and others to share their experiences through an intentional outlet designed to amplify their voices.

“Through poetry, prose and art, we’re not asking for pity, only recognition,” Langrek shared in the zine. “It is our hope that this project helps community members see us as more than just a statistic or a problem, but as individuals possessing depth of character.”

“A simple yet profound idea grew into a beautiful, unifying collaboration that embraced people from every background.”

dan ingersoll

multimedia artist in eau claire, day shelter volunteer

When Stephanie Holum, a volunteer at the Haven House in Eau Claire, overheard Mara and Dan Ingersoll – a multimedia artist in Eau Claire who assists with the day shelter’s arts programming – discussing the zine, she immediately jumped in to offer support and use the day shelter as a space to convene.

Soon after, creative writing workshops took place over the summer, where folks brainstormed imaginative ways to fund the project and connect with local entities which would believe in the project’s authentic storytelling approach.

“(Attendees) were committed to empowering authors and artists with complete creative control,” Ingersoll said.

In due time, the LEAB secured an ARPA Community Connectedness & Engagement grant through the Eau Claire City-County Health Department and, in turn, the collective vision of the project was that much closer to completion.

A page from "All Eyes On Me," a story written by Justin Miller and illustrated by Lynn Xiong for the project. (Image via "Heart Beats" zine)

Thanks to Ingersoll’s connections to faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Ned Gannon, the art & design department chair – with his current illustration students – were brought on to illustrate the writing produced by each author.

10 authors had created 17 original pieces for the zine; Holum edited each individual piece and Gannon assigned students to interpret and illustrate their stories using any arts medium or style.

“There was a lot of trust involved in this collaboration, when the 17 pieces of writing we had lovingly helped our participants create and polish were handed off to Ned and the students in his class,” Holum said. “I thought a lot of very meaningful connections were being made within the Eau Claire community.”

These connections were evident at the release event of “Heart Beats: Unheard Voices,” held this past December at The Acoustic Café (505 S Barstow St. #A, Eau Claire). At the event, Ingersoll shared that over a hundred attendees were seated, listening to a collection of zine authors and university students sharing their stories and reflections from the project at-large.

“To see the Acoustic Cafe filled with people experiencing homelessness, university students and members from every part of the community – in anticipation of the final publication and support for everyone involved in its creation – was heartwarming to say the least,” Holum said.

“Both the authors and the illustrators exceeded all expectations, producing a collaborative work of art that is beautiful, powerful, and deeply moving to hold, read and view,” Ingersoll added.

LEAB is still in the beginning phases of establishing itself in the Eau Claire Community, Langrek shared. Looking into the next year, Joining Our Neighbors Advancing Hope (JONAH) will continue supporting the organization as a fiscal sponsor.

LEAB also accepts donations through JONAH, to support future creative endeavors. Donations will allow LEAB members to be compensated for their organizing efforts and provide food and additional supplies for future meetings, Holum said.

Langrek and other authors within the group already have their eyes set on new projects to address the advocacy efforts toward homelessness through the arts.

“Beyond the release party, the zine is being used as a conversation starter with community partners, educators, and local decision makers,” Langrek said. “It does what statistics cannot do. It slows people down and asks them to engage.”

Ingersoll supports the forward-thinking minds he's witnessed of members at the day shelter; sharing this publication – and its future iterations – signals a unified direction to confront the localized hardships of the unhoused and bridge a gap between empathy and action, he said.

“In the end, a simple yet profound idea grew into a beautiful, unifying collaboration that embraced people from every background,” Ingersoll said.

"Unseen," a story written by Tyler T. Kresal and illustrated by Mike Jones, shares this message to readers: "Freedom should be for everyone. Even those unseen, invisible, tossed out... forgotten... and given the silent treatment." (Image via "Heart Beats" zine)

To learn more about Eau Claire’s Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEAB) visit its online webpage, leabec.com.