Wednesday, March 23, 2011

This week has been VERY crazy in my house. My wife got a call on Wednesday morning letting her know that after 12 years with Starbucks corporate, her job was being eliminated. Yikes! Threw us into a bit of a spin. It made me think of a series I did on homes a few years back...and I remember thinking at the time..."There, but for the grace of God, go I". Meaning...we often don't realize how close we could be...with a few bad turn of events..to be one of them.

With the turn of events...I decided to go downtown and do some homeless shots. The point of taking these images is Not to just get some pictures of homeless...but to humanize them. To learn their story, who they are, and why they are there. Each person I spoke with gets $10 for lunch, a chance to tell their story to someone who really cares (and they know it) and a hug. Here are their stories.....

RON, 49


I met Ron sitting outside a Del Taco, on an early Monday morning. He was sorting through a bag of recycling when I walked up to ask if he has a little time to chat. He looked at me wearily, but give a quick, sharp nod. Ron grew up in a small Central California town, whose main area jobs consisted of farm work, and packaging. He went to work at a young age picking strawberries in the field..eventually working his way up to working in the packing plant. He married and eventually had one child. They struggled, as many families do, but they made do. Then one day, his 14 year old son was killed by a drunk driver. It it him hard, but his wife harder. He looked at his feet as he told me his wife just couldn't handle it. She just couldn't take it. Just couldn't live like that, without him. He was quiet as he stared at his feet. I wanted to ask what happened to his wife...but felt his silence told me so much. I didn't want to abuse this moment he has let me into his life, so I sat there quietly with him while he kicked a small rock with the toe of his boot. Finally he looked up at me and said..things just never were the same after that. He had a hard time working, lost his house and has been living on the street since. But, he tells me how lucky he is. He has a bike and a small bike trailer, which is loaded down with bedding and tarps. He has more then most, he says. I stood up to say goodbye to Ron, and give him a hug. He gripped the back of my jacket tight, for a long time...not letting go. When he pulled away he turned his head away...and said thank you.

MAMA SMILES, 56


I came across a older lady sitting on the curb, with a dog at her feet and two other homeless sitting near here. I was drawn to her as I walked down the street, because I could hear here laughing from a block away. As I walked up, she smiled a HUGE smile at me and said good morning! "Mama". That was what everyone on the street calls her. Mama. Because she takes care of all the younger homeless on the street, making sure they know where to go to be warm or get a meal. She tries to keep them away from the spots the police patrol and share her blankets freely. Oh...but the smile these lady had. She smiled the whole time we sat and talked. Mama has lived on the street since 1984, a lifer on the street. In talking to her, I had a hard time piecing together exactly WHY she ended up here. She told me a story about her brother, and the things he did...but even in telling it, she didn't seem to put a lot of stock in the story herself. I've found there are those on the street that live there as a way of life, and they almost can't see any other way. She even found the "Love of Her Life" on the street 19 years back, and married him. TAS is what she called him. I asked where he was, and for the first time she stopped smiling. Two weeks back they were both arrested for trespassing (trying to find a warm spot in an alley out of a VERY bad storm) They released her after a couple of days, but they were still holding him. She said the worse part was that they take all your stuff; shopping cart, blankets, things like that. She said she had to start all over again gathering things up. But I quickly learned why she was called Mama, because somehow she turned the questions on me...and learned MY story. I found myself telling her about my wife losing her job, and not really knowing WHAT was going to happen. I paused and looked up at her. She had tears in her eyes and was stoking my arm with her hand, as she said...oh it honey, it's ok. Don't worry...Mama loves you and will be here for you. I was so touched at this women, who forgot everything in her life and was so focused on MINE.




SARAH, 24



I met Sarah sitting with Mama. She laughed constantly, though seldom talked, and never looked me in the eye. I learned growing up in South Carolina, her father at lost his job when she was 12. Her parents couldn't afford there children anymore, so they took there 3 kids for a drive down the road and when they stopped for gas let them out of the car. She said her father gave her older sister some money and gave them kisses and hugs goodbye and then just drove off. She didn't understand at first. And who would, right? How does a 12 year old girl understand her parents dropping her off at a gas station and saying goodbye forever? She said she lost "track" of her sisters shortly after that, though she wouldn't really explain what that meant. She wondered around the country, through Texas and into California. Along the way, she said, she has had 3 kids. They all live with their dads, from what she said, but didn't really know where any of them were. It struck me how we are such a product of how we are raised and what we are taught. I'm watching her while she talks, and wonder if she knows how like her father she was. But she tells me all is ok now, because she is now with her "MAMA", who loves her and looks out for her.



LAVELLE, 30




Charisma. That was what I thought when I first met Lavelle. This boy has charisma. He was dynamic, engaging and funny. He laughed easily, and joked freely. And he was smart. That was obviously from the way he spoke. I couldn't help but wonder how this kids life would have been different if he had more chances. Or how it could STILL be different, if he had the drive to take advantage of the chances he has. But I really feel he is a strong example of what happens with children in Bad foster homes. He never knew his parents, he said. Didn't know their names, where they were from, or anything. He grew up in foster care. He moved around the system a lot, from home to home. He smiles at one point, and I stop short. All his front teeth are gone, top and bottom. He suddenly stops laughing an get's tight lipped. He tells me at one of the foster homes the "dad" broke all his teeth in with a bat one day. He looks at me very seriously when he says it was probably his fault, anyway. That he was a bad kid back then, and asked for it. My chin almost hit the floor watching the change that came over him. All his confidence was gone. His laughter. His smiles. He said it's cool, cuz you get what you deserve in those places. I think he has been told so much growing up that he isn't worth anything, and he doesn't deserve anything good...that he actually believes it. He has internalized it. It has become him. When I leave I keep thinking how I still think this kid could do so much, if he JUST thought he was worth it.


WILLIE LOVE, 69





Love spoke with such a soft voice, I found myself leaning close to him to hear...thus he drew me in. He reached out while speaking to me...almost as if to shake my hand, but never let go of it while we talked. At first this made me feel slightingly uncomfortable, sitting here holding hands with this man. But his way was so soft and gentle, it almost made me feel like I was a child again, sitting and talking to my own grandfather. But what Willy Love spoke of was hard to follow. His story ran in circles, talking about money that was coming soon one minute, then how he was going to be a finance banker the next. I realized that Willy either suffered from Alzeimer's or Senility. We sat there for 45 minutes as I listened to him talk, wondering what stories were drawn from some reality and which ones weren't. I found myself wishing I had the chance to sit and speak with this gentle, kind man before his mind was gone. I wondered if he still had family out there somewhere, maybe even searching for him. I hugged him like he WAS my long gone grandfather, and I moved on......

2 comments:

  1. Sean I am throughly impressed and moved by your images, stories and especially your empathy and curiosity for others! More specifically "others" that society tends to shun... You have inspired me today. Thankyou! K

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