As a photographer for UPI, I recorded human tragedy: A flash flood in Rapid city. A devastating cyclone in India. Terrorism at the Munich Olympics. The Detroit Riots. Wounded Knee.
In 1982, UPI brought me to Washington, D.C. and I began to cover tragedy that was not sudden, but constant. It was the on-going human tragedy of homelessness.
As I documented the plight of families living in shelters, I became obsessed with finding a way to help. The children I photographed were endlessly fascinated with my camera and equipment. In their young lives, creative outlets were in short supply while drugs and guns were only too accessible. I realized that teaching them photography would give these homeless children an opportunity to shoot back.
What I didn’t realize was how extraordinarily moving their work would be, especially when it was gathered all in one place. It is a comprehensive look at life in the shelters through the eyes of children.
