Housing the Homeless by Theo Volpatti
"Opening doors" is President Obama's plan to prevent and end homelessness. The Plan is focused on goals of preventing and eradicate homelessness in five to ten years. "The goals and timeframes we aspire to in this plan are an important target for the nation. They demonstrate the Council' s belief that ending homelessness in America must be a priority for our country." As President Barack Obama has said, in a nation as wealthy as ours, "it is simply unacceptable for individuals, children, families, and our nation's Veterans to be faced with homelessness. "We believe it is important to set goals, even if aspirational, for true progress to be made. "Housing the homeless" is a documentary photo story set in Detroit, an area greatly affected by the manufacturing and automotive decline. While many Detroiters are teetering on the edge of financial collapse, the story offers a glimpse of hope. For some, even after as much as ten years on the street, they have found help and shelter once again.
During the month of June, 2010 I had the oppurtunity to work with the NSO (Neighborhood Service Organization), and the people devoted to helping the most unfortunate citizens of the motor city. My main goal was to document homelessness in Detroit, and it turned into one of the most important samples of humanity that I have ever witnessed.
My journey began with a meeting at the NSO head quarters located at 220 Bagley Street in Downtown Detroit. Mr Joe Howse Director of corporate affairs, Mr. Reggie Huff Director of Homeless Services and William Weld Wallis, chief Operating Officer spoke with me about the opportunity of joining their organization for a month volunteering and taking photos for the story. After a few meetings, I secured a position as a doorman for the homeless center Tumaini.It turned out that standing at the front was the perfect way to meet the people from the shelter and establish relationships. In order to become eligible for the apartments that the NSO would eventually arrange, they had to visit the center for twenty-eight days in a row. I immediately put aside my ideas of what I was doing there and about how I planned the story to unfold and focused on being face to face with the visitors to the center and their individual plights. My job, for that week was the buzzer. It was a small but important task, watching the door whose open hinges were the line between hope and hopelessness. I'm sure I must have seemed curious to them, this tall lanky Italian with a thick accent and a camera around my neck. In the center, they were once again "Mr." and "Mrs." a sense of respect and value they didn't have in the dark streets and alleys of Detroit. During the breaks from the door, I' d go out and take pictures, adding the people and faces to my story. Some of them were willing, and some of them were less than pleased at the doorman's inquisitive lens.
Chapter 2
Mr. Tony Head, Housing specialist.
After a week or so working at the door of the center, I went on a planned trip with Mr. Tony Head, Housing Specialist. I had never met him during my days at the center and was happy to find myself in the company of Mr. Tony, his SUV and his comical voices. He has the homeless of Detroit get back into more than twenty apartments and on the road to rebuilding their lives. Mr. Tony knows very well his way around the neighborhoods and has relationships with the people he meets. He understand both the bright sides and the dangers of the streets of Detroit. I spent my entire week Mr.Tony, and could see that he takes his job and his gift of bringing food and hope to the many needy people in metro area.
From local resident's apartments to foreclosed homes and hotels, I was able to accompany him to most of the city in an attempt to get an image of the whole story. My hope now is that the photographs can stand as a testament to my time and experiences in the city.
