This is the 4oth year that Paul has been living on the streets. He has done so since the age of 15 after running away from home.

He is happy today, after receiving some good news. It seems that a long battle over a social security claim has been resolved and he is looking forward to getting some needed funds. After receiving his first check earlier today, he is expecting a larger sum to arrive shortly. He wants to use it to better himself and members of his family that he has not seen in over 15 years. His first use of the funds will be to send to his family then, he would like to purchase a small piece of land and an RV somewhere peaceful and quiet. “Though I do not have a license, the people that do will help me, I’ll be alright”.

I ask him how he stays in contact with his family? He pulls out his mobile phone and tells me…”through Facebook”.

“Go to school, get an education and get a job, then you won’t have to sit on my bed” he wants to tell the younger generation as he shares a deep belly laugh.

“For today, what are you grateful for” I ask?

“I woke up”.

27 Dec This entry was published on December 27, 2014 at 1:56 pm. It’s filed under Portraits, Uncategorized and tagged Attitude, Black and White, Blanket, Food, Gratitude, Homeless, Life, Los Angeles, Portrait, Shelter. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.