I took this picture shortly after Patricia offered me the opportunity to participate in this project. Patricia has always been very helpful at providing the residents with anything they need at Esperanza. She always manages to get us anything we need.

Here I am charging a new computer that I recently received. I am using it right now to apply for jobs, of which I have interviews already lined up. These computers have been a godsend in their ability to help us reach out and network. We are able to complete resumes and fill out online applications.

This is Chelsea and Jorge. Jorge recently replaced Chen keeping the community center clean and stocked. Though we miss Chen, we are glad to have him. Chelsea is the case manager who gave the residents here our laptops. They are a blessing. We really appreciate all of the work she does here at Esperanza.

This is my cabin. It was painted an olive color, which I love. The cabin is quite roomy and has an air conditioning unit which works great. The security of these cabins are very welcome. I relish the privacy and safety that comes from having a locking door and my own bed. I love having the ability to enjoy my own privacy so I can do things such as study, look for employment, and even enjoy a coke on ice.

These are a group of volunteers that came to Esperanza. They come by from time to time with various items to hand out to the residents. On this day they were handing out totes filled with hygiene products, socks, and breakfast bars. This is a gesture that is greatly appreciated by the people here.

Matt is the security guard who regularly comes in and does the inspections for us. He is very kind, and we appreciate it when he is there. He does a great job at putting us at ease in what could be a stressful situation.

I would like to welcome Kat who is new to Esperanza. She is going to be a case manager here with us. I appreciate her help with showing me how to delete pictures from my digital camera!

Here are the folks with Mission Accomplished who do our laundry. We are excited about having their services twice a week. Their motto is, “new beginnings and second chances.” This statement is so true. It feels great to have clean clothes!

This is my case manager Coco. She has done a great job and I am grateful for the help she has been able to offer me. In the past she has done things like take me to buy clothes and help me navigate the IRS website for my income taxes.

This is Leah, one of the employees who run the front desk here. She is an amazing artist, and a welcome presence here. She always brings the residents opportunities to be artistic through arts and crafts activities. She is an amazing woman who is very helpful at providing services to the residents. She always has an amazing attitude, and the residents appreciate everything she has to offer.

Here is the group doing the Mail Out. This is where we are sending out the quarterly magazine to donors and subscribers. In the past we have sent out thank you cards and books of historical places in Texas. This is a minor employment opportunity offered to select residents at Esperanza.

This is Brian and Amy. These two are awesome, they are great at their jobs, and are loved by the residents. I am grateful for the help Brian has offered me in the past. Amy is a fantastic artist, and her abilities and ideas are a great asset to TOOF. On this day, Amy gave me a survey to take regarding activities she wants to start for the residents including basketball, board games, art classes, yoga, and even a cooking class.

This is my make-believe child. It comes to my mind that she is a girl. I got the house she is in from a salvage. These are some things that I really enjoy having with me.

This is Lisa. She is our food service person here at Esperanza. I am extremely grateful for the service she provides for myself and the others here.

This is Amy. She just happened to be stopping by here to check on my well-being. She is wonderful and a great help.

These are the medications I take daily. They are for pain and nerve damage that I have experienced.

This is my leg right now. It had to be amputated because of a bad infection I had. It has mostly healed now.

This is Mr. Screech out and about in his own little world. This is his world and we all only live in it.

This is me trying to get into Screech’s world. I talked to him about the photo voice project, and we had fun taking pictures for it.

This guy here, Mike, needs to cool down some. He picked up a bag of ice from the kitchen.

This is the front entrance for Esperanza. I ride my bike and take my dog through here all the time to get to the store nearby.

This is Tony cutting the grass behind the building. Tony is a very hard worker and a personal friend of mine. When we are together, we talk about things like motorcycles.

This is Mikey working the showers. Mikey is an easy going and silly guy. We are very glad to have them up and running. I remember over the winter when the water was shut down, things were very hard.

This is Dennis cleaning the trash cans. He is one of the guys I work for. He treats me well and I enjoy having him as a boss.

This is my old buddy boy Jimbo. I don’t have much good to say about him, haha. He is down to earth, and a fun guy. We can talk about pretty much anything together.

This is Amy. I enjoy the talks I have with her about the daily activities here. We often discuss our dogs, and right now she is helping with the new dog park.

This is the kitchen where we eat our meals. This is a place where the residents here can meet up and get together to talk. It’s a great place to stop by after work and socialize.

This is the street I live on. I call it Cherokee avenue. The houses are right on the money. They are perfect for me, and I am glad we are here.

This is the bathroom in the community center. The accommodations here are great, especially after living on the street. Clean restrooms when you’re homeless can be extremely hard to come by.

These are our soon to be new bathrooms. They look like park bathrooms, but I’m happy about them. This is going to be much better for us than what we have now. When you’re homeless, you realize the things you used to take for granted..

The case managers here are awesome people. This is Asia, my new case manager. We are still getting to know each other but she has been doing a great job.

These are the computers in the community center. I use these every day, and though I’m not great at them I’m getting better. They are very helpful for us to have so that we can take care of things. In this day and age, you definitely need a computer to get by.

This is the new laptop I was just given. It is the first one I have ever had. I love having it and am I am currently writing a book. If only I could download the game I want!

This is the guard shack. It is great to have this. I was here before security was set up at Esperanza, and if things were still like they were, I wouldn’t have come back. I feel great knowing they are there.

This is a picture of everyone helping each other out and being a community. This is the car of a resident’s daughter that was being worked on. Everyone pitched in to help.

This is one of my fellow co-workers as we’re starting our day. Right here, we were picking up the trailer where we put the garbage we collect.

Getting ready to start the day. Pick up trash, get paid, hooray!

\This is one of the crew leaders. He is the favorite, everyone wants to be on his team, but I never am!

So grateful to be able to clean up a local campsite here. It was extremely hot and this was my seventh bag of trash. I said “I’m stopping at seven!”

Just goofing around a bit after a long day of work. We had finished at this point but we weren’t too tired to have some fun.

Here I am right after getting paid, on my way to HEB to buy some groceries. This was the first time I was able to buy like $75 of groceries. It was such a relief to not have to worry about having enough money to buy myself food.

"Tent" This has been my tent for a long time since I became homeless. Being in this environment is hard, but it’s something you learn to cope with. I grew up on the streets, so it’s something I’m familiar with. My ancestors are Apache, so I know it’s in my history as well.

"Bike" This is how I move my stuff. It’s hard when you don’t have a car and have to move things from place to place. To make things worse, you aren’t allowed on the bus with something like this. I am looking forward to not having to deal with things like this.

"Bench" This is a bench on Riverside. It’s where I’ve been sleeping lately. When you sleep somewhere like this, one of the worst parts is having to worry about what you’re supposed to do when it rains or it's too cold.

"Friend" This is a friend of mine. He has been around here I think like eight years, before I got here. He is an alcoholic who I see regularly. It’s hard being homeless, and people don’t realize that sometimes you just cope how you need to.

"Trail" This is the trail that we used to walk to our “home.” It was like a mile and a half walk to get to the camp. It would get hot but it wasn’t that bad. I’m not going to miss it, but the memories will always be with me.

"Picnic Table" This is where my workgroup ate today. We ate carnitas with avocado. As a group we tend to get along pretty well. It’s always great to get to know people who are so different from yourself. In situations like this it’s true that sharing is caring!

"Self Portrait" This is me. I have a lot of memories of being here in this place. It can be very hard being a homeless person with disabilities and health issues, but you just have to have faith. I just learned that I am getting a house, and I am extremely grateful for that. The Other Ones Foundation and working with people who care has helped to restore my faith.