Posted on 12/12/2010 4:58:32 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
It's photo day at the St. Ben's meal. A volunteer project called Help-Portrait Milwaukee has set up in a small room and is offering to snap a picture of anyone who wants one.
No one knows how many takers to expect.
"Many of the guests are very shy and suspicious of cameras and video cameras. I was not sure how this would be received," said Brother Dave Schwab, director of the nightly community meal downtown at 9th and State streets.
He needn't have worried. People begin to file in. In turn they stand against a white wall with their toes up to a strip of tape on the floor. Most are photographed solo. A few buddy up with a friend, and some women have children or grandchildren with them. The lighting is the same used for models.
These are people who are practically invisible in society, but the camera sees them fine. Some are homeless. Some are down and out or mentally ill or way too alone. Yet their human spirit and dignity shine through on the glossy prints they're handed within a minute or two of posing.
Thomas Edward Carter laughs when he looks at his. It's a laugh of delight at seeing himself in a photograph, a common experience for most of us in a time of Facebook but entirely novel for him. He's just come in from the cold, and in the photo he's still wearing his hood tightly around his head and his jacket is zipped up to his neck. His eyes are bright and he's smiling.
When was the last time he posed for a picture? "That I couldn't tell you," says the 63-year-old, who tells me he's disabled and bipolar. He knows homelessness but at the moment has a place to stay.
He's hard-pressed to say why he wanted his photo taken, or as the Help-Portrait folks like to say, given. He receives an 8-by-10 head-and-shoulders shot and one that's 4-by-6, which will probably go to one of his many sisters, he says.
Help-Portrait was started by Jeremy Cowart of Nashville, who has photographed many celebrities. Last year, more than 40,000 portraits were given to the photo-needy in 42 countries. What happened at St. Ben's, and also at a few other locations around Milwaukee last weekend, is part of this year's worldwide effort.
All the supplies are donated. No one is charged for the photos, and they are not used for any commercial purpose.
Four volunteers from the project are at St. Ben's when I visit. Leroy Skalstad, himself a regular at the community meal and a photographer for the St. Ben's calendar, checks people in. Rob Gustafson is wielding the camera with help from Matt Heltsley. And Reuben Neese runs the printer. All are either paid or hobby photographers.
"I'm Rob and I'm going to take your picture," the shooter says to each new photo subject. Some are nervous and need to be coaxed to smile. Others ham it up and pose boldly. The mood in the room is fun. William Taylor Jr., 52, spreads his fingers into a peace sign. "Look at me," he laughs.
"I eat a meal here every day," he tells me. "I'm homeless and I have a drug problem." As he's trying to remember the last time anyone bothered to take his photo, someone nearby yells kiddingly, "Tell the truth. It was for breaking and entering."
More than 100 people are photographed at St. Ben's on this day, and each one walks away with a glossy print or two. The volunteers provide Christmas cards in case anyone wants to give the photo as a gift.
"I'll treasure it," Carla Highshaw, 48, says as we look at her photo. She's wearing a pretty blue and white blouse and hoop earrings. "I look pretty. I like it." She comes for a meal about every other day and stays with a friend, she says.
Calvin Young tells me he's homeless and appreciates everything St. Ben's does for him. The 50-year-old has family, but he can't live there, he says. He did not have any photos of himself until now.
His photo is tucked in a Christmas card that says, "May hope inspire you, may joy fill your heart." He takes the picture out and we look at it.
"I think this is very beautiful," he says, "and it's just me."
But, really. Seriously? This solves the problem of drug abuse, mental illness and the homelessness which results from not getting help (which is around EVERY corner) for yourself? I don't get it.
A nod toward human dignity is always a good thing. A nun (with Little Sisters of Jesus) whom I consider a practical, down-to-earth sage-femme, gives shaves and haircuts and nice shampoos to homeless stinkin' mentally-wobbly people. Does it help, much? Well, maybe it occasionally gives a depressed, self-disgusted person the boost he/she needed to actually get around the corner and get the help they needed.
It can't hurt. So I say, Amen, take those pictures.
I don’t know. This seems kind of sweet to me.
I think it’s kind of cool.
As the article says, all supplies are donated, it’s not some wierd government feel-good project, so why not?
I think its wonderful...
because these individuals think its wonderful...
and thats all that matters...
a moment in time when their happiness was captured...
Well said. And, as others have pointed out, the supplies and time are donated, so I think it is a good thing.
“Well, maybe it occasionally gives a depressed, self-disgusted person the boost he/she needed to actually get around the corner and get the help they needed.”
I sure hope so. I see nothing but moochers workin’ the system in ‘The People’s Republik of Madistan and Milwaukeestan’, though.
If you build it, they DO come!
Wish I weren’t so cynical in this, of all, seasons. ;)
That’s a beautiful photo.
What a beautiful gift to people who often consider themselves invisible. So many of the homeless or those recently/nearly so are people with mental health issues. The photographs are also a great way for the ministry to connect with people, perhaps grow a relationship that will eventually allow them to help those in need. Sharing photographs creates a unique sort of bond, a sense of shared history, even if it’s nothing more than being there when a person has their first picture taken in 60+ years. It’s an odd thing.
Wow. A thousand words indeed. At least.
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