seen from China
seen from T1
seen from Türkiye
seen from Australia
seen from Poland
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Australia
seen from Australia
seen from United States
seen from Morocco
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from France
When they move on
When a person dies
on the streets
where do they go?
do they go to heaven?
does anyone miss them?
does their family know?
and if they went to heaven…
do they have a home now?
or are they still sleeping
on a sidewalk,
outside Heaven’s gate?
This is the 711 on SW 4th Ave in downtown Portland, Oregon. Many people living on the streets hang out here daily and some ask for change from the customers as they enter and exit the store.
When I was there, this 711 tried to discourage loitering by blowing a horn loudly outside. I heard they also tried playing music loudly. This was also done to discourage anyone to sleep outside.But the noise also bothered the other businesses and people nearby; after people complained, they stopped blowing the horn.
I noticed this sign that advised customers to say “no” to panhandlers, and I saw the same sign posted at a 711 in Seattle. It would seem poverty and the housing crisis have hit Portland and Seattle especially hard; I was stalked and harassed by people asking me for money more times in Portland and Seattle than in any other city I’ve been in.
The homeless population in LA was the largest I’ve seen, but during my stay there I never had anyone ask me for change or harass me. One guy sitting on the sidewalk I was walking on actually apologized to me for being in the way and offered to move (I told him I was fine and walked around him instead).
Maybe the social services are better in Los Angeles? I don’t know the details, but based on what I saw, the cities of Portland and Seattle are not adequately dealing with the housing crisis or the rising poverty in either city.
I took these pictures in the spring of 2019.
Camera used: Canon 6D Mark II
Lens: 50mm
illumination
illumination
is how I feel, when the sun
makes the dull earth bright
The Hunt
They chase and they chase,
following my footprints- I’m
prey… hunted to end.
Love,
The string in your hand
pulled tight- trailing from a root
living in my heart.
