Wednesday was the start of something that I hope will be a long-term project. For six months, I’ve been volunteering at our local drop-in centre, which provides a safe, warm or cool (depending on the season) place to eat two hot meals a day, drink cheap coffee, and gain access to housing, mental health, and other resources. On Wednesday, I had the day off and it was overcast, so I decided to go for a visit and take my camera with me. A couple of people have agreed in principle to let me photograph them, but we’ve been stuck on logistics. I figured it was more than time to just take the plunge.

So I spent a couple of hours in the smoking area, and talked and listened and occasionally shot pictures. Here are a few of my early favourites:

I like that the images don’t scream HERE IS A POOR PERSON. They say Here is a Person. I also see the trust they have in me and the respect I have for them, and that makes me so proud of these images. They were a true exchange, exactly like I wanted them to be.

It’s obvious I have no emotional distance from these images. They’re so entwined with the conversations we had that I can’t really judge them properly. But I think (and hope!) they’re the start of something wonderful and exciting. If you want to see a slide show of all the images so far, click here.