I Dream of … College, Safe Home and Hope
Photographer encourages kids in homeless shelters to make art of their dreams.
July 18, 2007 — -- In a bleak corner of North Memphis, trash blows in the hot breeze. Beyond the abandoned buildings and rusted cars, one place stands out.
Inside a new brick building on a hill, the Salvation Army's shelter for homeless families, something amazing is developing. A group of children hover around a table as photojournalist Linda Solomon shows them how to compose a photograph.
"You hold the camera like this," she says as she moves 8-year-old Marteja's fingers away from the camera lens.
Solomon is an award-winning photographer and best-selling author. With a grant from General Motors Corp., she has traveled to homeless shelters in 10 U.S. cities to distribute disposable cameras and encourage children to dream beyond the shelter walls. Their work will provide images for Salvation Army holiday cards.
As she and the children began a daylong workshop, Solomon asked the youngest shelter residents to make a list of what they wished for in life and then capture those dreams on film for the project "Pictures of Hope."
"You see the most beautiful things," Solomon said. "These children aren't wishing for Nintendos or iPods, they're hoping for things that are truly important."
In some case their hopes can be heartbreaking. In Raleigh, N.C., a teenage girl took a photograph of her empty closet to illustrate her wish for "new clothes for my whole family."
A 17-year-old submitted a self-portrait in which she held her infant child. Her dream: to give her own children a better life.
In Orlando, Fla., one child photographed homeless men sleeping outdoors to illustrate his wish for "no more suffering and no more pain."
An 11-year-old snapped a photo of Purdue University from a Web site because he desperately wants to study there.
Another child wished for his father to get out of jail.
At the Memphis shelter, 9-year-old David, a spunky blond boy, read his list.
"I want to be a doctor," he said. "I hope to get an education. I hope to see my Dad some day."
Nine-year-old Jasmine followed, and in a soft voice she said, "I hope for the world to be a better place to live."
