Skid Row
Read MoreIndian Alley Portrait near 5th Street A woman requested that her portrait be taken near her favorite mural, directly beneath her favorite poet, Charles Bukowski. Bukowski famously hung out at The KIng Eddy Saloon, a half block away.
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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 dances on 6th Street near Towne Avenue. Victoria had been living with her girlfriend at this location. She moved often, staying at a location for no longer than a month or two, bouncing from place to place.
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Doreen on Towne Avenue near 5th Street in the late afternoon sun.Doreen hangs out on Towne Avenue, getting ready for the night as a swx worker on Skid Row. She is smoking from a glass tube used for crack cocaine. Doreen was vibrant and full of life on this day, and spent hours making herself up. She could be seen in various places throughout downtown, applying makeup, chatting with passerby.
Doreen on Towne Avenue near 5th Street in the late afternoon sun.Doreen hangs out on Towne Avenue, getting ready for the night as a sex worker on Skid Row. She is smoking from a glass tube used for crack cocaine. Doreen was vibrant and full of life on this day, and spent hours making herself up. She could be seen in various places throughout downtown, applying makeup, chatting with passerby.
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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.
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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.
Bridget
Bridget stands at the corner of 5th and San Pedro. She is taking a break from her recycling activities....she spends hours each day, pushing a shopping cart loaded with recyclables. Cans, bottles, metal, plastic, anything at all that she can sell by weight at the recycling center located on Alameda. She routinely digs through garbage bins and mountains of trash piled at street corners to mine for bits she can sell.
Bridget searches the dumpsters on Skid Row for anything she can gather to recycle. She spends a lot of time in dumpsters,sifting through layers of putrid garbage for anything she can salvage.
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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.