Homeless youth photo exhibit: 'It personalizes it. It humanizes it'
EUGENE, Ore. -- A new exhibit at the downtown Eugene Public Library focuses on homeless youth in Lane County.
The exhibit is a collaborative project between the Lane County Department of Children and Families, AmeriCorps, Looking Glass New Roads School and the Brattain House.
Homeless youth were given disposable cameras and asked to photograph moments from their everyday lives.
Krysta Jenkins, 19, participated in the project. "I hope people can mostly just open their eyes when they see those pictures and see that it's hard for us, but were dealing with it," said Jenkins.
Chris Mirabal is the program manager for the Looking Glass New Roads School in Eugene.
"This project reminds us in the community that there are young people out there who don’t have enough to eat and don’t have a warm place to stay," said Mirabal. "I think that’s one of the biggest important parts of having a project like this."
Mirabal says the photography exhibit is more than meets-the-eye.
"It puts faces, and it personalizes it. It humanizes it. It's very easy to talk about homelessness as a social issue that isn’t really about individuals. These are people who experience this type of life everyday," said Mirabal.
