Faces of Dallas
Humanizing the Homeless
As a documentarian I use my camera as an instrument. With my camera I can do many things, I can heal, I can educate, & provide context & perspective with the snap of a photo. As a resident of the Cedars district of Dallas, I am relatively close to downtown Dallas. It’s about a 10 min walk into the city. Over the holiday season I was invited by a friend to pass out food and clothes to the homeless on Cadiz & St. Paul, during our time out there I was able to meet men and women from all different walks of life, all of which with different stories and backgrounds. The thing about those days were that I didn’t have the intent to take pictures, I just so happened to have my camera in my car. As I was passing out food, I stopped and got the names of those that I interacted with, asked politely if I could have a little insight to their situation and simply had conversation with them. As I was doing this, I began to be inspired to share their stories as best as I could. Realizing that these people looked just like me, some of them you couldn’t even tell were homeless. The children that I had met were in such good spirits that it almost seemed as though they couldn’t have known that they were homeless. I made the people feel human by giving them the decency and respect that every human being deserves. I didn’t just shove my camera in their face, I asked politely if I could get a picture and respected those that told me no. With these stories and photos, I just wanted to provide context of those who live on the streets, giving them the space to have an identity & share their story as they are overlooked every day. There is a lot of misconception of those who are homeless and with this series I hope to give space for those to tell their stories. Faces of Dallas is a series that is meant to educate, provide insight & hopefully inspire others to help the homeless in their city.
“A man was passing out money over a fence”
Contextualizing Homelessness……
There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding homelessness and why people are truly homeless. A lot of people cast judgment without context of the full parameters that cause someone to become homeless, or even to come out of homelessness. Every January the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance host a homeless count to count those in Dallas & Collin counties who are experiencing homelessness. In 2019, 3,722 people were reported to have been homeless out of which 1,153 were un-sheltered. Out of that number, 485+ people have some sort of felony or misdemeanor. The Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs are currently blocking people with certain criminal convictions from living in tax-supported “supportive housing” developments. These type of supportive housing programs are pivotal key in fighting homelessness. Homeless people already have many obstacles and barriers preventing them from accessing housing. Currently the rules mandated deny applicants for two years for non violent felonies & class a misdemeanors such as possession over 2 ounces of weed constitute a ban of at least 1 year. Violent crimes possess a ban of at least 3 years to indefinitely. Murder, sexual assault, & crimes like kidnapping constitute a permanent ban from housing developments & shelters. I provide this information to you readers because, a lot of times people point the finger and judge those who are on the streets without full context to their situation. There are women who were sex trafficked that the only way to escape their abuser was to result in violence, now this woman cannot get housing to give her self time to rehabilitate back into society after serving her sentence. There are a lot of unfortunate stories & situations that are in the streets. A person who has served their time for their crimes should have a fair shot to rehabilitate back into society, they paid their debt with the time served, they shouldn’t just be dumped back out in the streets with nothing to result in committing more crimes. The system is set up for them to either die , or commit more crimes to get them re-arrested. Out of all the shelters in the Dallas area, it’s about 2000 beds city wide available to people , which are all full at the end of each night. That leaves most people with no other choice but to sleep in the streets. A little perspective is that it cost the city around 17,000$ per year to support someone in government housing. It cost around 90,000$ a year in policing and health care to provide resources in those impoverished areas. A lot of people are stuck living under freeways & in front of business entry ways which cost the communities that they inhabit great policing and medical expenses. Another thing to think about is we are in the middle of global pandemic, and none of the homeless have insurance or qualify for health care, who knows how this is affecting the transmission rates for COVID since they aren’t even being counted, because they can’t get treatment. There are people who try their best like churches and non profits to provide assistance and help as best they can but it’s just not enough. Shelters have programs in place to help the homeless kick drugs & alcohol and to help them find jobs and housing. I was told by a representative of a shelter that a lot of the programs in place are “self willed” meaning that the programs in place require effort from the homeless to be effective.
The Faces……
“Sahari Vaughn”
Sahari moved from Ohio 17 months ago with the intentions to use his masters degree in psychology to find a job. After not being able to land a secure job , he fell into the temporary job pool. He would do assignments here and there to keep his rent paid, but those assignments didn’t last long enough for sustainability. After not being able to find work , he drew his 401k and lived off of it for a while. After he depleted his retirement he found himself on the streets because he wasn’t able to take care of himself any longer. He has family in Houston but refused to reach out because he feels that he is self sufficient and doesn’t want to burden his family with his situation. Never touching drugs or alchohol , he hates that people look at him with the stigma that because he’s on the streets that he is one of those type of people. He is educated, smart , well spoken and simply wants a chance to rehabilitate himself to getting a job and sustainable living. He found a partner named Jena who was with him but declined to want to tell her story, with respect i share Sahari.
“Tim”
“Hey Take My Picture” i heard come from a distance in the parking lot from a man in a yellow zip up. I go up to him and i ask him his name, he tells me his name is Tim. I asked Tim how long he’s been on the streets and he said he’s been homeless for 12 years, said he doesn’t know where his family or where he’s going to go. Didn’t really say much after, so i made sure he got some food and a goody bag the other people were passing out & he went on his way.
“Isaiah”
I met Isaiah while i was giving food and things out to the homeless during Christmas, we exchanged short conversation but i didn’t get an opportunity to get full context of his story until our 2nd meeting. I saw Issaiah randomly as i was walking through downtown, in front of The Statler hotel. There is a dog park where i saw him sitting on a bench and i walked up to him and reminded him of our initial meeting on Christmas. He remembered me and I asked him if we could finish our original convo so i could get context to his story. He told me that he had just done a bid in prison & was having trouble adjusting back into society. He doesn’t like the shelter system because he feels it’s alot like prison, the conditions & layout of the shelters he says reminds him of what he was trying to get away from. Doesn’t have any family in the immediate city to reach out to so he finds home in the streets. Getting food where he can and making a little bit of money here and there, from sweeping and cleaning jobs shops allow him to do.
“Mr.White”
I saw this man and his wife and children walking getting food and clothes in the parking lot when i had asked him if i could speak with him for a second. He said his name was Mackel and that he had gotten word that they were giving out food and clothes and he came by with his family. I asked him his story and he told me that he was a ex con that had served a 20 year sentence for a murder that he says was self defense. He said ever since he’s release it’s been tough for him and his family to find stable housing and that he relies on the generosity of the people to get by. Heavy into the word of God he has changed his life and is trying to make a better life for his daughter and wife by doing construction jobs or whatever he can get.
“William Roscoe Collins”
A poet in his own right , as we were passing out food he was speaking peom/jokes but also preaching the word all in one. It felt like he was like a old school preacher back in his day but also a playa’ too. It’s hard to explain but he was just good with his words. I called him Triple P……. Playa , Pimp, Preacha. lol he was a funny guy but also you can tell he was deep and a educator of the streets. He educated us on how things go on a day to day basis but also showed gratitude for those that came out to give their time.
“Keisha Ali”
I had seen Keisha earlier in the day because I was at the table where they were passing out the boxes of chicken, when i had time to get free and take pictures I was able to introduce myself to her and get context to what her situation was. She told me that her husband had disappeared and took her children with him and she had no where to go. She went to the only place that she knew which was downtown to the community that resides on St.Paul & Cadiz. Bouncing from the streets to the shelter to shelter , she was just trying to enjoy her Christmas as best as she could.
“Earl”
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
“Brittany”
I saw some children running around having fun with toy swords and i was trying to figure out who their guardian was because i wanted to ask permission to take a picture of them playing. I saw one of them run up to her and embrace her, so after i approached her I asked her if i could snap some shots of her children playing. She kindly said “sure”. They were playing ninjas with another child and racing each other. The children seemed so happy that you wouldn’t even think that they were in the situation that they were in. After taking pictures of the children, I asked Brittany a little bit about her story and got context to her situation. She told me that she actually traveled from Garland to downtown because she had lost her job and wanted to try to get her kids something for Christmas even if it was a donation. She gave me context that it really isn’t any assistance in the suburbs and that she has to come to Dallas to receive help. She has 2 sons and a little girl to look after and she’s been in this hard time ever since the beginning of 2020.
“Black”
After losing his mother to cancer when he was 25 “Black” fell into the system from committing petty crimes to survive. Now 41, Black hasn’t been able to get back on his feet to get housing or adequate support. He has a job working at a packing plant, the plant sends a van out to a parking lot downtown every morning and he gets paid 40 dollars a day for 8 hours of work. Being a felon he doens’t have many options but is grateful and hopeful that he will be able to get the assistance he needs to get back connected with his family.
“Ronnie”
Talking to Ronnie was like talking to one of your wisdom filled uncles, he stayed dropping cool little gems as we talked and would put alot of things into perspective for you to think about. We talked about what a true opportunity would look like for a man like him. He told me that it would first have to start in the approach and in the mind, that people would have to have good intentions in their hearts to want to him legitimately do better. Opportunities are rare for people like Ronnie, with no ID or documentation it’s almost impossible for him to gain any traction to taking any steps to getting off the streets. he expressed to me that an opportunity would have to come for somebody to help him in order for his life to change. “Any type of opporunity that presents it’s self to me, or door that can be opened , i don’t care if it’s the back door or side door, I’m going to walk through it” metaphorically speaking. What he means in that statement is that he doesn’t care where the help comes from , no matter if the opportunity is big or small , he simply just wants an opportunity.
“Gee”
Recently released on a 3 month stint in jail Gee was just looking for a bite to eat and some conversation. He approached me like most of the people that day and asked me if I could take his picture, I didn’t hesitate.
“Huck & Abby”
Huck from Minneapolis & Abby from Maine met each other on their journey’s 2 years ago. They met up in Tennessee both were escaping adolecent rebelliousness and mistakes in hopes of finding opportunities along their path. Huck was a musician with dreams of being a guitarist in a band & Abby was a chef that was working in a kitchen on her way to becoming a top chef in the ranks of the restaurant she was working at. They travel with their 4 dogs every where they go, & often times have hard times getting into shelters because of their pet policies. They traveled with a group of people to live out on the beach in San Diego and were hoping to find a new life there, but things didn’t work out. They told me that enjoy being free, to live and go wherever they want, and yes things are hard but they enjoy life the way they are living it. Constantly on the move and meeting new people is something that they enjoy, as long as they have their dogs and each other things are OK for them.
“Nate”
Nate was expecting to start a job in San Diego that his ex girlfriends father promised him would be waiting for him. He backpacked his way all the way west coast with his girlfriend and got there and was disappointed to find nothing was waiting for him. In San Diego things got rough and him and his girlfriend split apart. Living on the beach of San Diego he met Huck & Abby. They traveled to New Orleans from someone they met who had rented a U-Haul trailer. There they lived on the streets together and decided to make their way to Texas. Nate has the same beliefs as Huck & Abby , just being free and being able to pick up and leave and go wherever they want to go. He travels with his puppy as well.
“Lawrence”
64 years of age, Lawrence has been on the street for years, disconnected from his family he walks the streets of Deep Ellum in hopes of simply finding food and better clothes. Gets help from the locals and restaurant owners from time to time. He sleeps in a sleeping back closer to Main street off in a alley, but often bounces around because of the weather.
“Charles Brooks”
I traded a warm cup of coffee from 711 for a story with Charles this morning, he told me that he had been in and out of the streets for 16 years. Coming from a rural city in East Mississippi he came down here to do construction in the early 90s. He shared a story with me about how the city does the homeless during the nights as they sleep. Charles told me a few nights as he slept, that the city had sent street sweepers through the streets by where him and his belongings were. Waking up with dust and water all over him and his things he was sick for days, he wasn’t able to make it anywhere to a hospital as they are out of walking distance.
“Alfredo Sanchez”
Moved here a few years ago from San Antonio , working in construction for years prior. Alfredo was rising in the ranks with the company he was working for. After some projects fell through, he got behind on rent & found himself on the streets. Manuevering his way through the city Alfredo hasn’t been able to rehabilitate himself back into society. All he is looking for is stable housing and a job to be able to take care of himself.
“Carlton Madison”
46, from DC , Carlton shared with me a lot of insight to the unwritten rules of the homeless in the streets. He also shared with me a lot of information that i never knew to even think about. Carlton was just released from federal prison for theft, he said that he got involved in those crimes after he lost his job some years back. He shared that in DC while he was there Obama’s administration had a no sleeping in public order in place that resulted in the incarceration of a lot of homeless people in the DC area. I learned that the homeless community is made up of a lot of felons that simply don’t qualify for housing . They’re a lot of rules that eliminate homeless people with felonies and misdemeanors from being able to sleep in shelters or utilize public housing. Carlton mainly sleeps in the Deep Ellum gardens right on the outskirts of Deep Ellum, he chooses there opposed to other places because he says he finds peace there and that it’s quaint. We discussed the many different ways the government and the city could eliminate homelessness, he’s a very smart and financial literate man.
“Benjamin”
Ben hasn’t been homeless but for maybe 3 months, disconnected from family and moving from Mexico to Texas for better opportunities, he’s found himself unable to keep work. He said it’s tough finding work when you can’t get rest at night, worrying if someone is going to steal your stuff or even kill you. We talked about the cruel things that some homeless people to others and some of it is just flat out inhumane. He fears for his life at night and struggles to find any work because he has no green card or ID to apply for housing or shelter. He does little jobs here and there to keep food in his stomach and a few dollars in his pocket but overall his situation doesn’t look to get any better.
“Antonio”
Antonio has been in and out of the streets for about 7 years now, not able to find stable living due to the fact that he has a felony on his record from some years back. Originally from Kansas City, bouncing from city to city he landed in Dallas after being disconnected from the friends he was traveling with. In & out of jail, Antonio has been floating on the streets unable to get proper living accommodations.
“Niko”
Originally from NYC, Niko just got out of prison for promoting prostitution. He let me know that when i told his story that he wanted it told how it happened and no sugar coating it. He was a pimp in New York , got popped for it and just got out of prison. Told me that he fell into substance abuse and thats what has kept him from focusing on getting out of the streets. Has a good heart and good intent but told me he needs time to get his head together because it’s nothing out here for anybody on the streets.
“Pete”
Recently released from prison after serving a 32 year bid. When i met with him he had only been released for about 3 days. He said that things were alot different in Dallas when he went in, he can’t even get around because things are so different. Due to the severity of his crimes he doesn’t qualify for housing , which leaves him just floating the streets. Pete told me that when he went in he admired the unity that black people possessed back in the time that he was out, now he feels that we are all against each other. He shared a common fear, that he felt more safe in prison than he does in the streets because he has to watch his back as he sleeps.
“Mac”
41 years old From Shreveport, LA , recently released for theft , i met him as someone had come to pass out sleeping bags and food. What i gathered from Mac was that after recently being released from prison, he wakes up everyday looking to work so that he can connect with his family back home. Recovering from a substance addiction he can’t get the help he needs because due to his conviction it prevents him from being eligible for housing to utilize the health benefits. Staying positive by fellowshiping with other homeless, he plans to get a job if presented to him.
“Jimmy”
50, from Dallas has been homeless for the past couple of years , was a truck driver and contractor before becoming homeless. He has been in and out of shelters for about 2 years and told me that he hasn’t been able to get the help he needs to return back to the life that he was once living. With a combination of not liking shelters and liking his freedom, he chooses to stay in his tent and chooses to backpack across the under passes of Dallas. Jimmy talked about the stresses of dealing with a divorce and the death of his father. He spread a positive message of peace and love as we spoke about the hardships of his situation. His infectious smile and his mellow toned stories were enjoyable, but i couldn’t help but hope one day Jim gets to rehabilitate back into society.
“Emmitt”
Emmitt has been homeless for about 10 years, bouncing from hospital, to shelters, to the streets and back again, its been a viscous cycle for him. He feels that none of the programs that are offered in the shelters aren’t geared for people with his mental condition. I got the opportunity to meet him at the food and clothes give away around Christmas time, he had the same big smile on his face when i first met him. He went on to tell me that his family has long passed and that it’s just him and the streets for the last 10 years.
“Danny”
Danny is a 32 year old man that has been homeless for the past 8 years, he committed a federal crime which has disabled his ability to get federal housing in the state of Texas. He finds a way to collect money to take the train daily into Dallas from Carrollton as he chooses to live on the streets there. He told me that Dallas, has a bigger community of homelessness than in Carrollton and he prefers to be alone. He’s been disconnected from his family for about 5 years and has no way of contacting them. He enjoys music, food, & meeting new people. Doesn’t favor the shelter life, so he chooses to live on the streets. I asked him if he knew of any programs that could help him in his circumstances and he said due to the complexity of his crime he doesn’t think he will ever get help.
“Mike”
After losing his grandmother to cancer Mike gave up hope. Originally from Oak Cliff he made his way downtown after being released from Lew Sterrett for a theft crime. He was in jail for 2 years and came out and had nowhere to go. He bounced around from shelter to shelter, but hasn’t been able to get the help that’s offered because of his disagreements with shelter workers. He feels because he is a felon that he gets treated worse than the people that aren’t offenders. He has gotten into a few heated arguments with security guards around the stew pot and that led to him be barred from any services until March. He hopes once the ban is lifted he is able to get a ID and social so that he can go to work and start his journey back to a normal life. He makes money by doing little jobs that construction workers offer around the city , they give him less than minimum wage, but he’s grateful for the little that he does get, he feels its better than stealing or doing something that will lead to him being incarcerated again.
“Cliff”
47, before becoming homeless years ago him and his wife had children that were taken from them to CPS. He told me that they were deemed unfit to take care of their children due to their mental states. Cliff shared that he has been clinically diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He was admitted to the mental health center on CF Hawn pkwy but has recently been released and can’t get in contact with his wife. He told me that his wife was at the Bridge for 2 years and he joined her before he was admitted but hasn’t seen her since then. No run ins with the law to my knowledge, but he hasn’t been able to consistently receive his medicine because of his uncertain living situation. He told me that if he could have one wish it would be to reunite with his wife & child and live a harmonized life but he doesn’t believe that will ever happen.
“Kenneth”
33, before Kenneth became homeless he was a machine operator for a logistics company, he has a wife and children but his wife is in the Army currently & his children stay with a family in south Texas. He expressed to me that he lives in his sleeping bag in secluded alleys because he has been mistreated by the people on the streets and in the shelters. When it comes to the workers he felt that every time he interacted with a shelter intake worker that he was treated as a felon or a substance abuser when he is neither. On the streets its a constant battle to protect his belongings as people steal from one another. I asked him why not just connect with his wife & children and he told me that he felt ashamed. That at the moment he had nothing to offer his family and is trying to get himself together so that he can step back to his family as the man he once was.