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.”
Your essay sounds personal and I found it extremely engaging. I think you took an interesting approach to your project because in keeping dignity with your subject you photograph their circumstances more so than the actual subjects. The first picture you have of the woman with her back facing us is extremely powerful. I feel the power rests in that you never see her face because she can be anyone. Your project in general comes in a timely fashion considering the current economic recession.
Not only through your images, but through your words as well, you put a face on these women that are more often than not invisible.
I especially liked your still-life images, they beautifully depict the simplicity and dignity that the shelter offers.
I really liked that you chose to do your pictures in black and white, as that really adds to the soberness of the topic. Also, the way you structured your paper made it easy to relate to, as it truly shows that you took the time to speak to the women and, more importantly, listen to them. The project as a whole also sheds light on a problem that is often ignored, and I’m really happy to hear that you’ll be continuing to volunteer there!
I am so happy your project worked out for you, I know how difficult it must have been in getting the trust of these women. I love your essay it is so personal; i love the way you put the questions you asked yourself in there. You really connected with these women and I am happy that you will continue to volunteer there it shows that you are not just taking you are giving too.
I liked how you introduce us to the women not just their faces on the pictures but you tell us what the like as well as their names. In doing this I thought you removed the invisibility cloak that often covers the homeless. Another thing I liked about your project it also show how some women after getting back on their feet go back to help out.
Your presentation is very inspirational, especially when you consider the time of year it is. You really managed to show how big of a problem homelessness is and how it can affect anyone, even college graduates. Your images show that you have made a connection with the women you met and hearing their stories really puts things in perspective.
I had been anxiously expecting these images. I think they succeed because they are so distant from stereotypes. It’s like this project managed to articulate a completely different image of homelessness. The women’s photos are so striking, i think part of their personalities comes through strongly and contributes to humanize them and others like them, at least in our heads. I agree with someone whom mentioned earlier that the sober effect of your photo essay is compelling and appropriate.
I think your choice to shoot the pictures in black and white was an excellent one, as some people have mentioned already. I respect the amount of time and energy you invested in order to gain the trust of these women. It certainly shows in your photography and writing. That fact that you are continuing to volunteer there is wonderful.
I love how the pictures portray the poverty, yet that doesn’t mean the women are not happy. From looking at some of these pictures you can tell that the women are poor, nevertheless they have hope, each others support and some look even happy.
Diana,
You certainly worked hard to gain the trust of these homeless women and it shows. Your decision to remain on as a volunteer will undoubtedly enable you to develop this story further. I especially like the portraits and think that a series of such portraits with accompanying texts and a background essay would make a fine book.
These images are spell-binding. You’ve produced some great black and white photos that capture symbols of what the Dwelling Place offers- safety, shelter, food, rest, fellowship and the possibility of a brighter future. The captions for the images were very helpful to me – the story unfolds with the pictures and the captions alone. I sense the importance of your project because it captured a community of people whose story is not always well-known, and, unlike the group I profiled, the people you introduce us to didn’t necessarily opt-in to this community, they simply found themselves in desperate situations with no better place to turn. You’ve done a great job of giving them a platform and a spotlight. As you well know, I am happy to hear that you are continuing this project. Best to you, Yaphet
I think your images are greatly complimented by your text. Even though many of your photographs do not have the members of the community in them, I feel that they tell us just as much if not more about this community and the lives within it.
I love that you were able to get so personal with the women, I remember you had problems at first. Great job!
P.S.: I absolutely love the way you wrote the introduction where you said that instead of a bag lady you found Dorca, Charlene, Ruth and Jane 🙂
Your personal engagement with the community is admirable and I’m sure it gave you a deeper sense of this community when you finally felt ready to photograph. It was a tough subject, different than some of the other communities where people almost want to be seen or at least feel they have something to show off. Here, these women’s lives might be something they want to hide and yet you documented them with a sense of propriety and respect which they seem to have called forth from you. That kind of dignity even resonates in the objects and empty spaces.
Diana,
I was moved by the self-portrait of Dorca and your description of it; thank you for including it in your collection! It really stood out to me as a very powerful and intimate statement, and you must have put a considerable amount of effort into spending time with Dorca and being involved in the shelter in order to even have known of the self-portrait’s existence.
I enjoyed your personal essay, although personally I would have liked to have heard more about the shelter concerning its administration/management (maybe a few quotes from the director and/or staff?) and perhaps it also would have been nice to have been given a more complete time context (for example: how is the shelter managing to stay afloat given the current economic recession? are there any plans for a shelter expansion — what are the plans, if any, for the future of the shelter? if anyone reading your essay is interested in donating or volunteering some of their time, who should s/he contact? However, maybe all that’s beyond the original scope of your assignment or not relevant?) Anyway, congratulations on your project! Well done!!!