Sofa Stories uses live theatre and digital media to amplify the stories of young people impacted by housing insecurity or homelessness who may have resorted to couch-surfing as a means to survive. Featuring monologues created in collaboration with those who have experienced homelessness, housing activists, and community artists, the project aims to bring attention to an often invisible crisis and imagine a world without youth homelessness.

Sofa Stories is an ongoing project of Every Soul Arts, a collective of artists, care providers, and housing activists who believe every person should have access to safe and affordable housing and opportunities to explore and celebrate their own creativity. 

The first phase of Sofa Stories began in 2019 when the Sofa Stories team worked with young people at the Detroit Phoenix Center to create a series of short monologues that all explore homelessness/housing issues in some capacity. Performances took place in Detroit in August & September 2021 in outdoor locations across the city. At each performance, a selection of monologues was performed by actors sitting on sofas to one audience member (or pair) at a time. At the end of each performance, audiences heard from young people from the Detroit Phoenix Center to learn more about what they can do to help end youth homelessness.

Short films of select monologues from the first phase of the project are available to view here.

The first phase of Sofa Stories was made possible with funding from the 2019 Knight Arts Challenge Detroit, an initiative by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to support local art that connects people to place and each other, and additional support from Floyd and Trip Wipes.

If you are interested in bringing Sofa Stories to your community, contact us here for more information.