Roomers is not only a magazine, but, as one contributor says – a lifeline:

“A large number of people who live in rooming houses or supported or subsidised accommodation do so because they have experienced some sort of shipwreck in their lives. The size of the shipwreck and the mayhem that ensues is as varied as is the difference in people’s lives and the events that led to the shipwreck. Some people do not survive and drown in the sea of life. Others float to the surface amid the wreckage and if they are far from land and conditions are cold and harsh with nothing to cling onto, they will also perish.

All of these shipwrecked people need and deserve a lifeline, something to cling onto to help them back to dry land and the chance to find their feet. For me, Roomers, and in particular, the writing classes offer that lifeline. Even though it may seem to some who stand with luck and privilege on dry land and observe that the shipwrecked people should help themselves. Maybe we all need to suffer and experience a shipwreck in order to show compassion and feelings towards others and importantly, take positive action, based on those feelings, in helping our fellow human beings in need. We can’t all walk on water.”

Roomers contributor Eddie Ink