
One way to live in Kinship is to amplify quieted voices.
Through this Photovoice project, you have the opportunity to pull back the veil and see what it’s really like to be unhoused here in Austin, TX. TOOF’s Photovoice project offers a first-person look at the everyday lives of those we serve.
Some of these stories will bring you joy. Some will make you laugh. Some will make you uncomfortable and push you to turn away. The experience of people living unhoused is often treacherous and inhumane. We encourage you to hear these stories and amplify these unheard voices!
Thank you for listening to people, thank you for loving people.


CINDY - Esperanza Community Member

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.
JOE - Esperanza Community Member

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.
MARK- Esperanza Community Member

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.
MARVIN - Esperanza Community Member

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.
HIPPIE- Esperanza Community Member

"Personal Contributions" Something this writer did not expect was to become a voice for Esperanza, TOOF, and the general homeless population. Opportunities arose to become a spokesman, video host, Resident Liaison, Volunteer Medic, subject of newspaper and television stories, and a source for counsel and advice to staff, residents, and the public. Truth to power was spoken and the advice was appreciated and followed. (How often does that happen?) And it ain't over. Stay tuned! The photo is of Judge Andy Brown discussing issues with Hippie.

"Famous Sandwiches" Since shortly after TOOF arrived, in August 2020, every Tuesday at noon, Antone's Famous Po' Boys has delivered hundreds of sandwiches to the community, lasting for days. The high quality of their product is an honor for us. It provides an important dietary suppliment to the regular meals. On occasion, someone in a mental illness crisis will take a sandwich when they can't take the "crowd" in the kitchen.

"Case Managers" This particular facility started as a tent encampment with very little services offered. The Foundation matured the concepts and practices and applied them to all our lives. None have such a great impact on our progress as the Case Managers. They have a wonderful mix of rookies and veterans in social service. Making such a difference in other people's lives is not easy, particularly here. They suceed with knowlege and tenacity without judgement.

"Showers" Since the beginning, showers have proved a bit difficult to provide. After attempts at hose and cabana units, Shower trailers proved adequate, but have been maintenance challenges. With the new individual stalls, that part of hygene is raised to the best practice available.

"Security Crew" An on-site Security Crew has greatly improved security and stability here. Our residents have less pressure when a basic order is maintained. Understanding that our residents have challenges to overcome, there are many second chances and wait-and-see. This gives a person room to grow. One of our better examples of our Security is Ms. Brown, who has years of experience. It hasn't always been easy and she has grown into an outstanding officer here. She has great communication skills, and she often talks down a stressing resident or consoles a person in distress without physical interdiction. This makes her just right for the Esperanza community.

"The Kitchen" Food storage is critical to unhoused individuals. Until the individual neighborhood prep and gathering areas are complete, our kitchen area supports the estimable efforts of our food donors. The group, Free Lunch, does, indeed, feed freely, and the meals are consumer quality and designed for healthfulness. Our kitchen area supplies ice free to the whole facility. (Ice was my idea, way back)

"Terms" In the early days of our camp, things were loose and somewhat dangerous. However, this was noty a fertile ground for criminals, as very few of us had money or assets. There was a brisk trade in drugs and stolen goods often stolen from the very residents. When TOOF stepped up, a process started that boiled away most of the bad actors and the residents could get on with rebuilding their lives. When TOOF arrived, they listened hard to the community and built systems based on that. Now, with a kind of "civilization" here, people can reduce the fear and heal with the services offered. Even some of the bad actors began to "get with the plan" and change their lives.

"Providers" Free Lunch, Shared Kitchen, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Agape Ministries, CD Doyle, CommunityCare, Integral Care, Laundry Angels and many individuals engage in background assistance for particular needs. Pictured is the group from Free Lunch. On the right is the Founder, miracle worker and perpetual angel, Jazz Mills. They have consistantly provided excellent meals designed to be healthy for over two years. We are the best fed refugees on the planet.

"Domicile" On a number of occasiona, the tents provided a safer alternative to the streets. However, the locked doors, A/C, and metal structure provide a far more stable base for regaining a place in society.
LISA - Workforce First Participant

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.
GENARO - Workforce First Participant

"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.
ASHLEY - Workforce First Participant

"Community Care" This is the MAT office at Community Care and I come here at least once a month. They prescribe me my Suboxone and have great case management services. They also get me my food stamps!

"TOOF Patio" This is the patio where I start every day at the South FIrst TOOF office. Even when I am not working I know I can come here to hang out. I like the people and the atmosphere here.

"Cleaning Bucket" Right now they have me cleaning the offices; the main office and the counselors’ office. I feel very lucky to have gotten this assignment. I am currently working a schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday which I also like.

"Sunrise" This is the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center. I go there to get my mail. They also provide many other services such as showers, case management, and food.

"Ice Chest" This is an ice chest that is the only food storage option I have right now. It’s a pain to have to keep up with it because the ice just melts so fast. Plus, the cost of ice adds up when you have to constantly buy it.

"Car" This is the makeshift bed I created for myself in my car. To create it I had to take out the front passenger seat and build a base out of plastic storage totes. Then I was able to build a bed on top of that. This allows me to actually stretch out in my hatchback. I created window covers so that I won’t be seen by people walking by.

"Hand" I have been having Gallbladder issues for years and this is from a scheduled HIDA scan to test how it is doing. This was at 8:15am and I had to be fasting since midnight all while living in a car.

"Meds" This is my Suboxone. I have been clean off heroin for eight years because of this. Unfortunately, they don’t make it easy to get. I have to go to appointments monthly and am always fearful that it will get stolen.