Rachel Bujalski for The Guardian
The Guardian: The California mothers fighting for a home in a pandemic – photo essay
‘The state has the largest homeless population in the US and COVID-19 has exposed how precarious the safety net is”
This week The Guardian published a photo essay showing a day in the life of two families in California who have been served by Family Promise during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The piece was created by Rachel Bujalski in partnership with Family Promise and with help from Family Promise of the South Bay and Family Promise of Orange County.
But we are most thankful to the families who let us into their lives and allowed their stories to be told.
In the words of Rachel:
Currently there are 151,000 people living in shelters or outdoors in the state, according to data from the US housing department. But this figure doesn’t include people staying temporarily with family or friends, or in transitional shelters, and is almost certainly an underestimate.
Cherokeena and Priscilla are two of those people. During the pandemic, I shadowed the lives of these mothers and their children as they fought to find and keep their housing and stay off the streets.
…
Cherokeena and Priscilla’s stories offer a glimpse into the reality many Californians are facing, and the resilience and determination it takes to be a single mother raising a child, finding a job and securing housing during a pandemic.
