This is Kim. She lives in her van and works part time at Walmart. Kim told me that she tried to get a job at Walmart full time, but she is a recovering addict, and her record keeps her from being eligible. Despite being homeless, Kim is surprisingly upbeat.

Kim in the van she lives in. Kim rents half of her van to a female friend of hers for $100 per month. Finding an affordable/safe space to sleep in Denver is hard these days. Kim would like to be able to get out of her van and in to an apartment, but with a felony on her rap sheet (from when she was still struggling with substance abuse) she is unable to find a full-time job. Not even Walmart will hire someone full-time if they have a felony on their record.

Pat and I first met in downtown Denver against one of the walls of The Rescue Mission. I said "hi", and he responded saying and signing "I am deaf" and looking away. The college I went to (RIT) had a large deaf population, and so I responded to him in ASL saying "My name is Michelle." Immediately Pat got excited and we began a great conversation. With the mix of signing, lip reading, and writing he told me of times he has been attacked for not being understood and being homeless. Recently he asked someone to bum a cigarette and they began to beat him in the head with their fist. This man is one of the sweetest people I have encountered while working with Denver Homeless Out Loud on this project.

Mama Jo (Joanne) has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I can't imagine life as a woman on the streets, let alone a very sick one. Mama Jo got her nick name when she started to be known for handing out items that people donated to her to others on the streets. Generally it is necessary for homeless people to develop strong bonds with others who are homeless, so they can watch out for one another. Mama Jo is the only woman in her "family".

The first time I met Yawahmeccy, I stood quietly as he aggresively explained the injustices he has experienced. My responses were not welcome. In fact I believe I was not welcome. The second time we met I decided not to engage, which I think opened him up a bit to figure out what I was about and why I was back in the alley with him and his friends. We talked about Denver Homeless Out Loud, the tiny house proposal we will be presenting to the city, we joked a bit, and eventually he told me "Oh I have a picture for you!" He then ripped off his shirt and stood in front of me as you see him here. Meanwhile all his friends were yelling "Hulk! Hulk! Hulk!"

"NOBODY IS ALLOWED HERE AFTER HOURS, NO SLEEPING, NO HANGING OUT! DUE TO PREVIOUS INTERACTIONS WE ARE FORCED TO DO THIS.-THANK YOU SOX PLACE". Sox Place is a drop in center for homeless youth. They provide food, clothing and a safe space for for 1-year-olds to people in their mid 30's Tuesday through Saturday.

The police come and go constantly in places where people without homes sit. Most people would move, if they had somewhere to go, but they are without a safe place. Here Hoss and Jeanie are sitting in the Golden Triangle area of Denver.

Hoss and Jeanie are a sweet couple I met on my first day photographing for Denver Homeless Out Loud. Hoss used to live in Argentina and ran a small publication about aquariums. It was such a good experience meeting these two kind folks.

This is Patrick. When we met he introduced me to his dog, Duke. He also told me this- “There are four things that are true about everyone- we all eat, we all poop/pee, we all sleep, and we all have sex. Three out of four of these things are illegal when you are homeless. “ He is right, in fact, if Denver passes a law they have been considering, it may become illegal to share food with people on the street. If this happens these basic human needs will all be illegal for people who are without homes.

This is Jarhead (Daniel). He is a military veteran and he struggles intensely with PTSD. Jarhead says the medications he was given by doctors really messed him up, so he has resorted to self medicating. He told me that marijuana has helped his PTSD more than anything else he has tried. I really enjoyed talking to Daniel, because he was kind to me and he was interested in sharing his story to help DHOL.

Dan The Artist Man is a struggling artist. As his sign illustrates he is not hopeless, in fact he has quite a talent for painting the likenesses of people ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Marilyn Monroe. The only problem is that he is battling Parkinson's disease. His central nervous system is starting to shut down, which affects movement and often causes tremors. Today Dan was very frustrated, because he accidentally dropped purple paint all over his new image of Marilyn.

This is Easy. Right after I took this photo a man drove up and offered him a job painting a house. With that, Easy loaded his rolling suitcase in to the hatchback of the man's car, and he was off! After chatting with this man for a few moments it was not difficult to see how he got his nickname. He seemed very laid back and EASY-going.

Here is Sherry and her 10 month old baby, Aaron. She just found out that she is eligible to live in an apartment in Denver! While pregnant, she was on the street and unable to even make it to doctors appointments. The news of a possible new home for this proud mama is very exciting!

Pat and I first met in downtown Denver against one of the walls of The Rescue Mission. I said "hi", and he responded saying and signing "I am deaf" and looking away. The college I went to (RIT) had a large deaf population, and so I responded to him in ASL saying "My name is Michelle." Immediately Pat got excited and we began a great conversation. With the mix of signing, lip reading, and writing he told me of times he has been attacked for not being understood and being homeless. Recently he asked someone to bum a cigarette and they began to beat him in the head with their fist. This man is one of the sweetest people I have encountered while working with Denver Homeless Out Loud on this project. In this image Pat is explaining everything he wrote here in the alley. I told him I wouldn't tell anyone he was the one who wrote it, but he says The Rescue Mission knows he did it and they like what he wrote.

Eddie and Rachael

Eddie and Rachael sitting under the No Trespassing sign.

Mama Jo (Joanne) has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I can't imagine life as a woman on the streets, let alone a very sick one. Mama Jo got her nick name when she started to be known for handing out items that people donated to her to others on the streets. Generally it is necessary for homeless people to develop strong bonds with others who are homeless, so they can watch out for one another. Mama Jo is the only woman in her "family".

Matt is in a program in Denver that has helped him get clean, work on himself, and eventually will help him pay to go to school or help him buy a car to get to and from work with. Matt spends a lot of time down on the 16th street mall sharing his story with people in situations similar to his old life, he tells them "If I can do this, so can you". He has expressed to me that it is only through God's grace that he has been able to come so far in this program and in life.

Jarhead, Kevin, Tim, Yawahmeccy, and Wally

Baby G sporting her hand drawn Sharpie tattoos

Many of the public restrooms in Denver are locked to keep the homeless population out.

Volunteers helping build a tiny house example for the Biennial of the Americas event. The point of this build was to show just how quick, cheap, and easy it is to construct a home for people to live in. Our hope is to someday have a tiny house village for the people in Denver, who are currently without homes.

Tiny house example down on the 16th Street mall

Many parks are fenced in to keep people from loitering. "Public places" are only available to a portion of the population here in Denver.