Photojournalism – Fall 2010

A PLACE TO CALL HOME by Diana Cabral

To see these photos enlarged, click here: https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/capturingcommunities/2008/12/16/a-place-called-home/

I have always been interested in identity and sense of place. Who do people think they are? What is their story? Where does one belong? These are all questions I ask myself as an aspiring journalist. I asked myself these same questions for this project – “Capturing Communities in Words and Images.” But there were other questions invariably on my mind: What shapes a community? What keeps a community together? Who belongs? Why do communities form? In trying to illuminate a community these questions need to be asked and answered.

I chose a non-traditional, often misunderstood and marginalized community to document – homeless women in a shelter. In documenting these women I want to give an anonymous population dignity, humanity – a face for others to care. There is a stereotype that exists: the bag lady. She is often dressed in tatters, with multiple plastic bags, picking through garbage collecting empty cans and is often pushing a supermarket cart. We have seen her. We have looked at her. We have ignored her. Yet in my search for this archetype I did not find her. Instead I found: “Dorca,” “Charlene,” “Ruth,” “Sandra” and “Jane” a community of women who shared with me their stories of loss – in not just a place to call home but in identity. To some they are just statistics however, they are real people and they let me into their community.

I discovered women who have often a mental illness but are released from state hospitals anyway without proper follow-up care or medication; many women that because of bad decisions and situations are forced into the streets and married women with jobs and husbands that divorce and then are left in precarious economic situations.

The statistics in the United States on the homeless are sobering, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Coalition 3.5 million people (1.35 million of which are children) will experience homelessness in a given year; 43% of the homeless population are women; 40% of these women are unaccompanied; 1 in every 5 homeless persons has a severe or persistent mental illness and 25% of the homeless nationwide are employed.

Why this community? This is a question I often asked myself, in my quest for an answer I turned to the community itself. In order to fully experience this community I chose to volunteer at a homeless shelter. The Dwelling Place in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen is a private transitional residence run by Franciscan Sisters. As they say, “In the spirit of St. Francis they provide food and shelter in an atmosphere of love, respect and dignity.” In 1970, its founders; nuns who were nurses at St. Claire’s Hospital saw a woman picking through their garbage one morning, stunned and troubled by this incident they decided to take action. At the time most of the SRO’s (Single Room Occupancy) were for men because there was often more stipulations for women, there were also so-called “flop” houses in the Bowery which were also just for men. There were only two homeless shelters for women one of which was run by the Catholic Church. The Sisters saw a need and after much work The Dwelling Place opened its doors in 1977 in a building that used to house a homeless program and is owned by the diocese of New York.  In a neighborhood a stone’s throw from the Port Authority Bus Terminal – where many homeless gather, they formed their community.

Today the shelter is run by Sister Nancy, who is one of the original founders and Sister Margaret. Each one shares the responsibility towards the women and among other things, go with them to their disability appointments and administer their medications.

There is no better way to illuminate this community of women than to see their images and read their narratives and thereby giving them their own voice – their humanity. It is a community of hope, strength and dignity. They are just like anyone else.

“Dorca” – 58 years old who likes to go to the movies and walk her sister’s dog. Came to New York from Puerto Rico when she was two-years old and lived most of her life in the Lower Eastside. She became homeless after fighting with her partner who took away her disability payments.

“Ruth” – 54 who has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Bob Jones University. She likes to write short stories and poems. She was a teacher in Florida before divorce and mental illness wrecked havoc in her life

“Jane” – 55 years old grew up in Maryland. Chronically schizophrenic, has been in and out of New York and The Dwelling Place for ten years. She used to sleep in churches and Central Park until Sister Margaret from the shelter happen to see her at a Duane Reade and asked her to go to the shelter.

“Charlene” – 47 years old from Brooklyn. Her mother put her out of the house and to St. Patrick’s Church in Brooklyn after she could not deal with her mental illness anymore. She has four brothers and stepsisters who occasionally call the shelter but do not help her. She is in a day treatment program, with group therapy and cooking classes that keeps her busy. Her favorite season is Christmas and says The Dwelling Place is a community where she has found hope for herself.

And finally,

“Sandra” – 53 years old, formerly a resident of the shelter who now is on staff there. She cooks, cleans and does laundry for the women. She says she preferred to sleep in the streets than in city shelters – where women are often raped and slashed while security often looks the other way.

The factors that hold this community of women at The Dwelling Place together is a shared sense of hope and dignity. The Sisters have created a safe haven for the women to come together. Every Wednesday night the shelter opens its doors to other women, many of whom are homeless and others who live paycheck to paycheck and often go without a hot meal, to serve them a hot dinner. Yet is is more than just a meal, it is a chance for the women to talk to one another and have some fellowship.

This community is held together by a shared sense of respect for one another. There are three to four women sharing a room so they need to get along. Invariably they become friends and often go out together to explore the City. The respect they have towards on another begins with the staff and volunteers towards the women. They are not pitied or made to feel that they are being given a handout. The Sisters and the rest of the staff treat the women with value. Once the women are taken into the shelter, after a hot shower and a meal, they are evaluated and a female doctor gives them a check-up.

They each have their own stories, their own struggles – they also have each other. Often just the fact that they are all in the same situation helps them. This community has been formed by tragic and painful circumstances yet they move beyond this, to form a community of hope and renewal.

“Sister Nancy is like a butterfly,” says “Sandra,” “she represents hope and life. She is my home girl.”