richard

Richard

I've known Richard for a couple years now. He's seems much older this summer, suffering from a bad hip among other physical ailments.

Richard lives on the street with his dog. He gets around in a wheelchair now, and often I see his dog pulling him down the sidewalk. Richard hangs out in my neighborhood. Some mornings I practically stumble over him on my way to the gym.

I made this portrait in the park next door to my building. Jamison Square has a really cool fountain that attracts families, especially on hot summer afternoons. Kids squeal with delight as the water fills the basin, then recedes. Yesterday I found Richard sprawled on the grassy area in front of the fountain. His dog was lying next to him, the wheelchair at their feet. Kids dodged them as they scampered to and from the flowing water. Parents set up their blankets so they wouldn't get too close. Richard smelled like beer. And his dog wan't tied up. And there was leftover food and trash all around him. He was passed out for awhile, oblivious to the delightful sounds offered up by kids enjoying one of the last lingering days of summer. When he woke up, he climbed into his chair and sat for this picture.

The homeless and the families of Portland coexist at this park, just as they do at most of the other urban outdoor spaces. I don't think the families do it very happily, but they do it just the same.

When we parted, I told him I hope he gets the hip replacement he needs. Richard told me he hopes I find what I'm looking for.

haircut and a shave

I stopped by Mike's usual hangout spot today and felt like I had come upon someone 10 years younger than he was just a couple days ago. He beamed hello when he saw me, called me by name and told me he'd been to the beauty salon for a $9 haircut.

I'm also happy to report that he does wear a shirt and pair of pants under his blanket.

mike

Of all the interesting people I see regularly on the streets of Portland, the guy who walks around wrapped in a blanket has always intrigued me the most. I’ve seen him in our neighborhood each summer since we started coming here in 2008 and have always wondered what his story is.

As far as I can tell, he doesn’t wear much/if anything underneath the blanket. His feet are jet black from dirt and grime. His hair is unkempt, and he has a scraggly beard. I usually see him coming from the corner ATM machine with cash clutched in his fist.

Eddie heard from a woman who works at the Starbucks across the street that his name is Mike, and he’s a millionaire. I finally decided to approach him.

I’ve asked him several days in a row now if I can make his portrait. He’s had the same response each time: “I’m OK.” Then he goes on to say he needs to shave and get a haircut, and then he goes off from there about how he needs to “get motivated” and he’s planning to get his driver’s license and also go to the library. I tell him each day that I think he looks rather royal in his “robe” and that I will ask him again the next day if I can take his picture. He smiles sort of boyishly and reiterates that he needs a shave.

Yesterday I saw him hanging out in front of the Safeway. I greeted him and asked if I could take his picture. He said it might be OK. So, we talked for a long time. I asked a few questions, but mostly he conducted a monologue about a variety of topics, hopping seriously and unpredictably from one to the next. I learned, among other things, that he is 43, his father was adopted, he thinks Steve Martin is funny, he sleeps on the sidewalk near the train station each night, he gets to withdraw $20 from the bank every day except Sunday, he was in the military and he’s traveled to many places, including Puerto Vallarta. The monologue was periodically interrupted with each passerby, when Mike would wave his hand and say, “have a good day”.

I photographed him while he was talking. He was fine with that. I told him I’d bring him a picture, but he didn’t seem too interested. I’m not sure where he’d put it, really. He just has a blanket, after all. He was childlike and sweet, and he seemed really happy that I stopped to chat. Actually, once he got used to me, it seemed like he didn’t want me to leave.

I told him my name early in the conversation and asked him before I moved on if he remembered it. He lowered his head kind of bashfully and said “Gloria.” Then he told me that sometimes he knows certain things when he goes to sleep at night but can’t remember them the next day.

I told him I’d look for him tomorrow. He was happy about that and waved to me as I walked away. He gathered up his blanket and turned to face the people who were filing out of the grocery store.

“Have a good day” I heard him say.

early morning

While in Portland each summer, I try to shoot every day. Often I wander the city for hours, observing, appreciating and sometimes photographing the many colorful characters who inhabit this city.

Yesterday, for example, I walked 9 miles with my photo gear in tow.

Two mornings ago I had to take Eddie to the airport at 4:30 a.m. When I got back to our neighborhood and was a block away from our place, I noticed a couple sleeping on a bench. It's very common in Portland to see people sleeping on sidewalks, in doorways, under bridges and in the parks, but this couple really moved me. I'd seen them there before on one other early morning walk I had taken. They sleep sitting up, one leaning on the other, and they drape themselves in a blanket. One of them must use a wheelchair, because it is kept very close by.

Friday morning, having just said goodbye to Eddie for a few days, I was particularly moved by the love these two share and the obviously challenging circumstances under which they live. It was still pretty dark out, and the only camera I had on me was my iPhone, but I really wanted to make a picture of them.

So I did.

I took two frames and then decided to run up to my place and fetch my bigger camera before they awoke and moved on their way. When I returned a few minutes later they were still under their blanket, but they were starting to rouse, and it was clear they would be waking soon. So I left.

The picture from my iPhone just didn't feel like it did justice to the beauty, sadness and poignancy of the sleeping couple, so, while I did have that, I really wasn't satisfied. For the next two mornings, this morning included, I set my alarm for 5:30 a.m. and walked back to the bench with my Hasselblad to make the picture I really wanted.

But they weren't there.

This morning I even walked a couple miles around the neighborhood searching for them. I never found them.

So, the picture I already made will be the one.

People often ask me which is my favorite camera, and I always tell them it's the one I have on me.

on the street

Walking around Portland early this morning, I was overwhelmed by the increasing number of people sleeping on the sidewalks and in the parks.

It seems like the city is dotted with fallen soldiers.

nice timing (by max feinstein)

Roger's Braid, Portland (GBF)


"As a regular reader of this blog, I was pretty thrilled when my mom recently embarked on a new project to photograph members of the homeless population in Portland. Part of my excitement stems from the new spectrum of colors present in photographs where once there was only black, white, and gray. As an avid enthusiast of GBF’s work, I’ve enjoyed comparing and contrasting the new style of work with the old. Perhaps even more exciting about this new project is the subject matter. Now, I’m not surprised that the artist in question has ventured into a previously untapped realm – this is something she regularly does – but that the current focus aligns so closely with recent events in my life. Specifically, since I moved to Boston but a few short months ago, I discovered a local not-for-profit whose mission it is to enrich the lives of the homeless population through food.

One could call Haley House a soup kitchen, but perhaps a more appropriate title might simply be restaurant with free healthy food. (And I do mean healthy – most of their food comes not from cans, but from a nearby organic farm.) In addition to serving meals, they also dole out a healthy dose of dignity to their patrons. Instead of simply serving guests and sending them back to wander the streets of Beantown, Haley House encourages volunteers to treat guests not as homeless people, but simply as people. Subtle though this distinction may seem, it has the distinct effect of reminding Haley House patrons that they deserve equal treatment as anyone else – an ideal that likely slips away rather quickly after a short period of life on the streets. The Haley House mission resonates beautifully with the ideals that have been deeply instilled in me be the author of this blog and her loving counterpart. That’s why I’m excited to begin working there regularly. (I will in fact be living at their residence for full-time volunteers, an opportunity afforded to me thanks to the generosity of Lynne Melcher and Melissa Mosher, whose thoughtful recommendations played no small part in the acceptance of my application.)

If you’re interested in learning more about Haley House and their work, I encourage you to check out their website. And if you’re in the Boston area, I highly recommend checking out their café at 12 Dade St. (02119 zip code). In the meantime, I’m looking forward to more installments of GBF’s latest project as a means to put the spotlight on the world of street living that’s often brushed aside from the average home-dweller’s daily discourse."

[Max will get room and board at Haley House in exchange for working there. He will be part of a small community of live-in residents who prepare and serve the meals to guests.]

parting shots

Time to head back to the midwest. This project I've begun in Portland will have to be put on the back burner until I can return.

Here are two more photographs I made. These guys are both incredibly down on their luck, have been for a long time and unfortunately don't really see a way out of the downward spiral at this point. They, like all the others I've met while working on these photos, could not have been nicer to me or more open with me. I really appreciated having the opportunity to get to know them, even if it was for such a brief moment in time.

leo, roger and jason

There is a bi-weekly newspaper in Portland called "Street Roots" which covers, among other things, topics specific to issues surrounding homelessness.

From the "Street Roots" website: "The 'Street Roots' motto is 'for those who can’t afford free speech.' The content and investigative journalism in the paper provide stories regarding marginalized communities, inequality, systemic abuses, addiction, etc. It brings clarity to political wranglings over budgets and often complex systems that are difficult for people to understand. The newspaper asks what the need is, who the needy are, and what they look like. 'Street Roots' is also a platform for individuals to publish their voices through poems, editorials, and opinions."

An impressive 12,000 - 15,000 copies are distributed; many of those are sold by the 80 homeless vendors who work for the paper. This group of sellers can be found on various corners throughout the city, politely hawking the paper for $1.00. The vendors pay $.25 for each paper; the $.75 profit goes directly into their pockets. For most of these homeless men and women, this is their only form of income. They take great pride in the paper and assume a certain ownership of it, making suggestions and providing input at weekly vendor meetings.

One of Portland's more recognizable members of the homeless community, Leo is a homeless activist and member of the board of "Street Roots." Occasionally he writes articles for the paper. He's also a poet.

On a good day, Roger, who stands outside Powell's Bookstore, sells 15 papers. Roger's been selling the paper for 12 years. He and his girlfriend (who is also a "Street Roots" vendor) camp outside on the other side of town.

Jason sells his papers each Sunday morning on a corner outside the Unitarian Church. He greets many of the churchgoers by name as they walk by. After selling a handful of papers, he enters the church and attends services along with them.







These three men were so gracious to let me photograph them; I'll be delivering prints to them tomorrow. And I am looking forward to photographing more of the vendors soon.

young couple

More of the work I made this past week.

mo

I'm using my new camera (the Hassie) and also trying to fully embrace and fall in love with color. As I continue to photograph those in Portland who are "urban camping", "sleeping out" or "part of the homeless community" (I'm learning that there are several different terminologies) I am getting more and more comfortable with both the camera and the color.

This is a photograph of an interesting and inspiring man named Mo. I met him yesterday and spent some time listening to his story. His challenge of living on the street is exacerbated by the fact that he does not have use of his legs and is dependent on a wheelchair to get around.

homeless in portland

These are some photographs I've made over the past couple days and some info about homelessness in Portland.

"Homelessness in Multnomah County jumped about 8 percent between 2009 and 2011, according to a new report that looked at how many people were living on the streets, at emergency shelters or in motels with vouchers earlier this year.

Precisely how much worse the picture has gotten amid the recession depends on how one defines homeless.

The report, compiled by the city of Portland and Multnomah County, studied four types of homelessness: people who sleep outside, in short-term shelters, transitional apartments or on the couches of friends and relatives. In those categories, homelessness increased between 7 and 9 percent between 2009 and 2011.

Generally speaking, the number of homeless Multnomah County residents grew from 2,542 to 2,727 in the two-year period. Using the broadest definition of the term, which includes all four categories, the increase went from an estimated 14,451 to 15,563."

-Oregonlive.com, June, 2011