README
Breaking the Silence on Hygiene Insecurity: Data as a Story. Creative outputs (poetry, artwork, photography, audio and soap installation) from community-led research with Kitty's Launderette, Anfield, Liverpool
About the data set
Title
Breaking the Silence on Hygiene Insecurity: Data as a Story. Creative outputs (poetry, artwork, photography, audio and soap installation) from community-led research with Kitty's Launderette, Anfield, Liverpool
Dataset creators
Susan (Sue) Barry, Senior Lecturer in Executive Education, Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University. ORCID: 0000-0001-6189-8887
* Anthony Scott, Community Lead, Kitty's Launderette (workers' community co-operative), Anfield/Everton, Liverpool. 
* Jess Swainson, Faculty Administrative Support Officer, Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University; facilitator, Blue Room inclusive art programme, Bluecoat, Liverpool. ORCID: 

Contributors of creative works
* Anfield Writers' Group (poems and group poem): Travis Faulkner, Janet Gardiner, Alison Little, Jan Mullen, John Murray, Daniel Northover, Pauline Rowe, Tashya Shiers, Liza (Liz) Turner, Ian Watt.
* Tashya Shiers (artworks).
* Dr Pauline Rowe, Liverpool-based writer and poet (co-facilitator of the writing workshop).
* Georgina Tang, local soap maker (co-facilitator of the soap-making workshops and maker of the themed soaps).
* Community members of Anfield who took part in the photography – John Murray
Affiliated organisations
* Liverpool John Moores University (Liverpool Business School)
* Kitty's Launderette, a workers' community co-operative, Anfield/Everton, Liverpool
* Anfield Writers' Group, which meets at Kitty's Launderette
Rights holder(s)
Copyright in each creative work (poem, story, artwork, photograph and audio recording) remains with its individual author or creator, who has given permission for it to be shared in this dataset. The compiled dataset and its documentation: Liverpool John Moores University and Kitty's Launderette. 
All permissions have been granted from all those contributors involved and confirmed by Dr Pauline Rowe. 
Year of publication
2026
Description
Abstract
This dataset brings together the creative outputs of a community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) project on hygiene insecurity (also called hygiene poverty), an often-overlooked form of poverty. The research was co-designed by Liverpool John Moores University and Kitty's Launderette, a workers' community co-operative in Anfield, Liverpool.
The dataset presents research in creative forms that honour participants' contributions while making their experiences accessible to wider audiences. Drawing on co-produced knowledge about hygiene poverty, the work turns statistical realities into embodied, human stories. It contains poetry written by the Anfield Writers' Group at Kitty's Launderette, artworks and photographs created by community members, audio recordings of the poems, and a set of handmade soaps made with local soap maker Georgina Tang, each inscribed with a key theme from the research. These materials formed the exhibition 'Breaking the Silence on Hygiene Insecurity: Data as a Story'.
These creative approaches centre community voices, challenge stigma, and invite audiences to engage emotionally and intellectually with an issue that affects many people but is rarely spoken about. The work foregrounds dignity, agency and connection, and shows how artistic methods can illuminate lived realities in ways that purely academic formats cannot.
Key information
* Data type: qualitative, creative and arts-based outputs. The dataset does not contain numerical survey data or interview transcripts.
* Generation methods: community writing workshop, art-making, participant photography, poetry recordings and community soap-making workshops (see Methods).
* Key themes: stigma, shame and isolation; childhood memories of being 'dirty'; the cost of living (choosing between heating, eating and staying clean); making do (watered-down shampoo, cut-open bottles, cheap soap); period poverty; mental health and grief; dignity, resilience and community solidarity; structural rather than individual causes.
* Soaps are grouped and colour-coded into three categories that reflect the research findings: Causes, Impacts and Solutions.
* Place: Anfield and Everton, Liverpool, UK. Period of creation: January to June 2026
How to cite this dataset
Barry, S., Scott, A. and Swainson, J. (2026) Breaking the Silence on Hygiene Insecurity: Data as a Story. Creative outputs from community-led research with Kitty's Launderette, Anfield, Liverpool [Dataset]. Liverpool John Moores University. https://doi.org/10.24377/LJMU.d.00000287

Related publications
* Washing away the stigma: Hygiene insecurity, community-led research and grassroots social protection, Social Policy Association Annual International Conference, Liverpool, 01 Jul 2026 - 03 Jul 2026. 2026
Contact details
* Principal Investigator: Susan Barry, Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University. Email: S.H.Barry@ljmu.ac.uk 
* Alternative contact: Anthony Scott, Community Lead, Kitty's Launderette, Anfield, Liverpool. Email: community@kittyslaunderette.org.uk 
* If the PI leaves LJMU, contact the LJMU Research Data Management team at researchonline@ljmu.ac.uk.
Terms of use
Copyright (c) 2026 the individual authors and creators. Compilation copyright (c) 2026 Liverpool John Moores University and Kitty's Launderette.
This dataset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. You may copy and share the material for non-commercial purposes, as long as you credit the individual author or creator and this dataset. You may not distribute altered or adapted versions of the works. 
Please treat these works with respect: they draw on personal and sometimes painful lived experience. They should not be used in ways that stigmatise people experiencing hygiene insecurity.
Project and funding information
* Project title: Breaking the Silence on Hygiene Insecurity: A Co-Designed Study Between a Worker Community Co-operative and Liverpool John Moores University, in Anfield and Everton, Liverpool.
* Project start and end dates: July 2025 -July 2026 (independently ongoing). This dataset covers the initial phase of an ongoing longitudinal programme; the community engagement and creative workshops took place in February and March 2026, and the exhibition 'Data as a Story' was held in April 2026.
* Funding: Liverpool John Moores University, QR (Quality-Related) Participatory Research Funding. Grant/reference number: July 2025-July 2026
Contents
Folder structure and file naming convention
Files are arranged in six folders. File names follow the pattern HI_[Type]_[Creator]_[Title].[ext], where HI = Hygiene Insecurity. 
01_Poems_and_writing (PDF)
* HI_Poem_AnfieldWriters_NextToNothingness.pdf: group poem written collectively by the Anfield Writers' Group (10 contributors), February 2026.
* HI_Poem_JanetGardiner_AnfieldLight.pdf, HI_Poem_JanetGardiner_ABrighterStart.pdf, HI_Poem_JanetGardiner_RealityBites.pdf: three poems by Janet Gardiner.
* HI_Poem_JohnMurray_CountThePennies.pdf: 'Count the Pennies One by One' by John Murray.
* HI_Poem_JanMullen_HowDidItGetToThis.pdf: 'How Did It Get to This... Where Did It Go Wrong' by Jan Mullen.
* HI_Poem_JanMullen_OnTheBus.pdf: 'On the Bus' by Jan Mullen.
* HI_Poem_LizaTurner_HygieneInsecurity.pdf: untitled poem by Liza Turner, presented as 'Hygiene Insecurity'.
* HI_Poem_LizaTurner_LeftOut.pdf: 'Left Out' by Liza Turner. 
* HI_Poem_LizaTurner_PeriodsOfSadnessOrShame.pdf: 'Periods of Sadness or Shame' by Liza Turner.
* HI_Story_AlisonLittle_TheLastResortSoap.pdf: 'The Last Resort Soap', a short prose piece by Alison Little, with an introduction, accompanying image and author note (3 pages).
02_Artworks (image files)
* Five artworks by Tashya Shiers: 'And Then There Was Isolation' (watercolour, pen and pencil on paper); 'Hygiene Poverty Poem' (pen and pencil on paper); 'This Brush Is Not for Sharing' (acrylic pen and pencil on paper); 'Hygiene Insecurity Has No Gender' (watercolour pen and pencil on paper); 'Hygiene Insecurity Is Real' (acrylic pen and pencil on paper). File names: HI_Art_TashyaShiers_[Title].
* HI_Art_TashyaShiers_Descriptions.pdf: titles, media and artist credit for each artwork.
03_Photographs (image files)
* 6 photographs taken by community members to document everyday experiences of hygiene insecurity. File names: HI_Photo_[nnn]_[short description].jpg
* HI_Photo_Captions.csv: one row per photograph giving file name, photographer or 'Community member', date and caption. 
04_Soaps (image files and table)
* Photographs of the handmade soap bars made with Georgina Tang, each inscribed with a key research theme. File names: HI_Soap_[Category]_[nn].jpg, where Category = Causes, Impacts or Solutions.
* HI_Soap_Themes.csv: one row per soap giving soap ID, category (Causes / Impacts / Solutions), colour and the theme inscribed. Categories are colour-coded and are not equal in number. Soap themes as a list, sorted into the three colour-coded groups:
Causes
* Affordability crisis
* Lack of access to support
* Low income
* Broken washing machine too expensive to fix
* Inadequate housing
Impacts
* Prone to infections and illness
* Trade-off of food over hygiene products
* Damaging opportunities and affecting relationships
* Damp and mould
* Isolation and judgement
* Dental decay
* Unpleasant smells
* Anxiety, stress and depression
* Parenting guilt
Solutions
* Sustainable refill stations
* Accessible hygiene products in familiar spaces
* Use of empty council-owned buildings
05_Audio (audio files)
* Poems read aloud by their authors or by the research team for the exhibition. Received so far: 'Count the Pennies' (John Murray); 'Anfield Light', 'A Brighter Start' and 'Reality Bites' (Janet Gardiner). File names: HI_Audio_[Creator]_[Title].
* Liza Turner x3, Jan Mullen x2, Alison Little x1, and state who read each poem- read themselves.
06_Exhibition (PDF / image files)
* HI_Exhibition_TitlePoster.png: exhibition title poster, 'Breaking the Silence on Hygiene Poverty: A Co-Designed Study Between a Worker Community Co-operative and Liverpool John Moores University, in Anfield and Everton, Liverpool'.
* HI_Exhibition_PegPoster.png: audience interaction poster, 'Should more be done to address hygiene insecurity?
* HI_Exhibition_DataAsAStory.pdf: exhibition statement and research team biographies.
* HI_Exhibition_LayoutNotes.pdf: notes on the display layout (photo and poem side by side on raised foam board; soaps beneath, arranged in columns of Causes, Impacts and Solutions).
File formats and software
* PDF (.pdf): text of poems and documents; opens in any PDF reader, e.g. Adobe Acrobat Reader.
* JPEG/PNG (.jpg, .png): photographs, scans of artworks and posters; opens in any image viewer.
* MP3/WAV (.mp3, .wav): audio recordings; opens in any media player
* CSV (.csv): tables of captions and soap themes; opens in any spreadsheet program or text editor.
* No specialist software is needed.
Methods
How the dataset was generated
The work is part of a longitudinal programme of community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) on hygiene insecurity, co-designed with Kitty's Launderette and rooted in long-term, place-based partnership working in Anfield. All activities were designed to create safe, non-judgemental spaces, to reduce stigma and to make sure participation benefited the people involved.
* Community engagement sessions (February to March 2026): Sue Barry and community co-researcher Anthony Scott ran interactive sessions at St George's Church food pantry and the Community Basket in Anfield, using games, quizzes and one-to-one semi-structured interviews. These sessions shaped the themes used in the creative work. Interview data are not included in this dataset. 
* Writing workshop (23 February 2026, Kitty's Launderette): co-facilitated by Sue Barry and Dr Pauline Rowe with the Anfield Writers' Group. Participants reflected on their experiences and wrote individual poems and prose. Each participant also contributed lines to the group poem 'Next to Nothingness', which was then assembled and edited collectively. The workshop produced 11 poems and pieces of writing.
* Artworks: five artworks were created by Tashya Shiers in response to the workshop themes, using watercolour, acrylic pen, pen and pencil on paper. 
* Photographs: community members took photographs to capture everyday experiences and settings relating to hygiene insecurity by John Murray.
* Soap-making workshops: co-delivered by Sue Barry, Anthony Scott and local soap maker Georgina Tang. Sessions combined practical skills with facilitated discussion of the causes and impacts of hygiene insecurity, how to make affordable soap and source materials, and small-scale, community-led enterprise solutions. Key themes from the research were then inscribed in a set of soaps, grouped and colour-coded as Causes, Impacts and Solutions.
* Audio recordings: poems were recorded by their authors, or read by the research team where authors were unable to record, for visitors to listen to in the exhibition. 
* Exhibition: the materials were displayed in the exhibition 'Breaking the Silence on Hygiene Insecurity: Data as a Story' at Liverpool John Moores University Aldham Roberts Library in April 2025, with visual notes and creative input from Jess Swainson.
Data processing
Poems are presented as written by their authors, with minimal formatting changes only. No other processing was carried out.
Ethics and consent
Ethical approval: 25/LBS/020 All contributors gave informed consent for their work to be exhibited and deposited in this repository, and chose how they wished to be credited. All parties consented
People involved
* Susan Barry (LJMU): principal investigator; research design; co-facilitation of all workshops; curation of the exhibition and dataset.
* Anthony Scott (Kitty's Launderette): community co-researcher; co-design; co-facilitation of engagement sessions and soap-making workshops.
* Jess Swainson (LJMU): visual notes, creative input and support for creative approaches to engagement and impact.
* Dr Pauline Rowe: co-facilitation of the writing workshop.
* Georgina Tang: soap-making expertise and production of the themed soaps.
* Anfield Writers' Group members and Anfield community members: authors and creators of the poems, artworks and photographs.
Further detail
For more detail on the research context and methods, see Barry, S. (2026) 'Breaking the Silence on Hygiene Insecurity: Community-Led Research in Action' (see Related publications above).
2025