Portfolio
bridget
Bridget stands in front of her home, a tent located on Gladys Avenue. She lives alone and has managed for many years on one of the most dangerous and chaotic streets on skid row. drug sales, trafficking and daily violence are a part of her existence.here she is pictured after handwashing her clothing in a bucket.
Woman on 7th and Stanford Avenue
los angeles skid row suzanne stein street photography documentary homeless
Pepper holds his flag a day after losing most of his belongings in a randomly set fire near the Arangelests District in Downtown Los
Masters
29th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
Little Dog On San Julian St
Maple Avenue near 7th Street
Breeze and her partner had recently left Skid Row, and used boosting from major retailers to support themselves.Breeze had been on Skid Row for years before she tried to break away, having to defend herself daily from abuse and assault.
los angeles skid row suzanne stein street photography documentary homeless
Breeze and Dylan, Echo Park, Los Angeles
Victoria
Victoria sits in a doorway, on Wall Street lighting a crack pipe. She would smoke, and become almost unresponsive, changing from the effusive, affectionate, and charismatic rabble rouser she was normally into a silent shell. Victoria was a sex worker, and had been on Skid Row for nearly twenty years, since the age of 19.
Victoria lights a cigarette as she begins to talk about her mother, Norma. She had been struggling with grief after her mother died from CKD(chronic kidney disease)brought on by kidney failure from drug use.
Victoria and Norma
Victoria talks about her mother, and how much she regrets about her life. Her mother was a sex worker and was addicted to crack cocaine, and Victoria also was addicted to crack and trapped in sex work. She had come to Skid Rwo when she was 19, leaving her mother.
Norma
Victoria's tattoo of her mother's name, Norma, sits on her deeply bruised leg. Victoria doesn't talk about how the bruises got ther, and is silent when asked. Her grief became overwhelming when we met, and her usual extremely tough exterior, necessary for life on Skid Row, had crumbled.
Victoria sits in a doorway on Wall Street, away from view, as she smokes from her little glass tube used for crack cocaine.
Victoria on Wall Street. Victoria carries roses on her way to see her boyfriend, who lives in an SRO nearby. She is a swx worker, and her feet are deeply painful from wearing high heeled shoes on the uneven streets of Skid Row.
Baudelaire Is Everywhere
Christine reads Baudelaire on Crocker Street at 3rd.Christine is an artist, and I met her for the first time on this day, applying makeup on the sidewalk along Los Angeles Street.She has schizophrenia and is addicted to heroin.She came from a home where she was subjected to severe physical and emotional abuse and neglect, and wound up on the street as a teenager.
Christine on Towne Avenue
Christine gets ready to inject heroin after visiting the needle exchange on 4th street. She picked up a new coat from the exchange, and sits with it on her lap. The needle exchange provides safe works, food, clothes and medical care. Christine struggles with past abuse and trauma, addiction and schizophrenia.
los angeles skid row suzanne stein street photography documentary homeless
Christine on Towne Avenue near 4th Street preparing to inject heroin after visiting the needle exchange.
Christine on Towne Avenue near 4th Street in Christine relaxes after injecting. She used her experience with the drug to hit just enough to prevent withdrawal, but not enough to cause intoxication, rendering her less able to remain aware of her surroundings. Awareness is crucial on Skid Row. Beofore injecting, her paranoia and delusions were causing rapid and pressured speech. Afterwards, she was relaxed and far less agitated.
Christine on Towne Avenue near 4th Street. she has nowhere to go and has all of her belongings in her suitcase. she must stay near the needle exchange on 4th street because of the support and care they offer, here she sits and contemplates her situation, wondering where she will sleep, and how she will transport and keep her belongings safe from theft.
Christine stands alone on Towne Avenue. Christine recounts a situation with a man that had just driven slowly past her, watching her as she sat on her red suitcase. Christine was a sex worker, and the man had picked her up recently, trapping her in his car. She managed to jump out of the moving vehicle before being assaulted, escaping with only a few punches as she squeezed through the open window of the vehicle, unable to unlock the passenger door. She stood, alone, as she remembered and recounted the incicent. Predators regularly cruise the streets of Skid Row, and do not suffer any consequences for abusive treatment, and so return to repeat various offenses repeatedly.
Leanne with her shopping cart at 7th and Stanford Avenue Leanne was known as the Cat Lady, and spent every available dollar on cat food for the feral, homeless cats on Skid Row. She could often be seen sitting or lying on the sidewalk, almost languidly, relaxed with her cart full of collected trash which she stored in her small studio apartment. Despite appearances, Leann wan't homeless, and, because of her significant mental illne (schizophrenia) was in the system and recieving services. Her apartment was a repository for the garbage she found on the streets of Skid Row, and waas often overflowing and infested with vermin.
Leanne's Hands at The Lamp Lodge, Stanford Avenue Leann holds one of her collectibles, sourced from the massive piles of garbage found on Skid Row and stored in her tiny studio apartment at The Lamp on stanford Avenue. The Lamp is no longer, and Leann was moved to another residence.
Ginette in her shower in the East Village
Ginette
