Cassi and AJ, II

    Below are some more photos from my project with Cassi and AJ.  

Cassi and AJ

I met Cassi and AJ about 2 years ago when they were homeless and Cassi was 3 months pregnant.  Both Cassi and AJ allowed me to document their lives on the streets in Portland, Oregon and I gained profound insight into the struggles of being homeless.  
When I met Cassi and AJ they were engaged to be married, but their first priorities were finding housing and receiving healthcare.  The state of Oregon provided financial assistance for Cassi and the baby for their medical care at Oregon Health and Sciences University.  Several months into Cassi's pregnancy the family moved into an apartment in Gresham where the first 3 months of rent were paid for by a non-profit organization - with the purpose of giving the family time to work and save money.  
Shortly after moving into their apartment, Sandra, Cassi and AJ's daughter was born July 31, 2012.  After Sandra's birth Cassi and AJ planned a wedding at Multnomah Falls attended by family, friends, and their little daughter on October 7th, 2012. 
Last summer Cassi and AJ were evicted from their apartment because they could not pay the rent.  In our last correspondence they were living outside of Lloyd Center Mall and Sandra was living with AJ's brother.

I recently submitted some photos from this project and was accepted for the Blue Sky's Pacific Northwest Photography Viewing Drawers, Portland, Oregon, juried selection 2014. I am so proud to have my work shown and grateful for this opportunity to continue to bring light to homelessness.  Thank you Cassi and AJ for allowing me to photograph your lives.

Below are a handful of photos from our time together.  Many more to come.

Meachell and Daevion

I met my good friend Meachell and her son Daevion on one of the hottest days of our summer and both remained super cool during our portrait session.  Meachell is an awesome hairdresser in Portland, and Davion is her fast growing - almost teenage son.  Thank you for letting me take photos of you lovely people!

Glacier

It's been far too long since I have posted on my blog!  I have a lot of posts coming, but I wanted to start with my trip in July to Glacier National Park with Brodie.  We hiked and camped for 8 glorious days and both agreed we could have stayed for several weeks and still not have seen all we wanted to.  The landscape inspired and helped foster my great appreciation for the beauty and power of the environment.  And as we spent much time in the quiet of the outdoors (actually not quiet, but a different kind of sound from the city i'm used to) I had a chance to meditate on many aspects of my life.  Few conclusions were made, but I did walk away with a renewed gratitude for the people in my life and the things they have helped me accomplish.

I am really looking forward to seeing what my film cameras captured on this trip!  So more photos to come.

Ethiopia

Austin and I flew to Ethiopia after Uganda and spent a few days in Lalibela, a holy city with 13 ancient churches - some carved into the ground.  They were a magnificent sight.  We took mules to the top of a mountain to see the final church.  Some day I hope to return and visit Ethiopia again - there is still so much exploring to be done.

Uganda

A few years ago I traveled to Uganda and Ethiopia with my good friend, Austin.  We first flew into Kampala and took a 10 hour car trip over poorly paved roads to Lake Bunyonyi where we met our guides for the next few days - the head doctor and nurse of Bwindi Community Hospital.  We swam and hiked around the lake for two days, then traveled to the hospital which was on the border of the Impenetrable Forest.

There we were put to work: taking testimonies and photographs of mothers and their children on the children's ward for the fundraising newsletter.  For the first time in my life I witnessed great poverty.  I saw how a child's life could balance so precariously on proper nutrition, or access to clean water or medication common in the United States - but scarce in Uganda.  The experience left a lasting affect on me.  I have published some of the images on the US Fund for UNICEF's website and am revisiting the photographs again.  Because I can never forget.  And ultimately I hope to continue to expose how many live - or rather, struggle to live in this world.

Batwa pygmies have lived in the Impenetrable Forest for thousands of years.  Above is a photograph of a young Batwa boy.

Some children play with a tiny fruit they toss in the air and catch repeatedly.

A healthworker facilitates a nutrition class for the parents of children on the ward. 

3-year-old Moses and his mother, Turinawe came to the hospital three weeks before to receive treatment for Moses' malnutrition.  Turinawe walks four miles to collect drinking water for her family everyday, and she walked for four hours from her home sub-county of Mpungu to the hospital so that Moses could get medical assistance. 

The young girl was admitted to the hospital that day with what appeared to be an unhealthy liver.

Anna and her 11-month-old daughter, Rachel arrived at Bwindi Community Hospital after a 5 hour walk from their village of Kyishegeri.  Anna sought medical treatment at the hospital for Rachel's severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhea.