Jer Loc: Mesa, Arizona

Freemont Street downtown

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Jer, you really seem to enjoy those DARK images...

Jer Loc: Mesa, Arizona

For a photojournalist it's not about enjoying an image documenting the plight of others for good or for bad.

Different newspapers and agencies have had me cover the dark side of civilization. But it's something that has to be done. Covering tragedies like protest marches, car accidents, murders and so forth is a sobering experience. But we tend to forget these are human beings with lives really didn't deserve the situation that there in. I know these are difficult pictures to take in for many people to look at. But if it raises some empathy, compassion or understanding it's worth it.

ricardo7 Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile

I have to wonder how some people survive. Quite a resilient fellow.

Jer Loc: Mesa, Arizona

I wonder that also. There seems to be an entire underground culture where these folks find a way to survive. It's still tragic to know that people have to endure this type of existence.

Voss

In many cases, this lifestyle is "voluntary." You often read where cities send people out to try to convince the homeless to go to city shelters, "at least until this cold front passes through." If you look at this from a somewhat different perspective, there are certain advantages to this lifestyle: get up and go to sleep when you choose, no job to go to, no taxes, no property or possessions to worry about, no responsibilities. There are many people in this world who would be very happy if all they had to worry about was keeping warm and getting enough to eat, rather than "my wife spends too much money, my son runs with a gang, and I'm two months behind on the mortgage."

A further complication is that of mental illness, which is why I put "voluntary" in quotes. Many homeless would be considered incapable of making that decision. But, again, many mentally ill refuse or forget to take medications that would correct this situation. Should they be forced to? Or, regardless of their abilities, should they be allowed to choose their own lifestyles? And we still haven't come to the problem of alcohol.

It's a very complex issue. For nine years, I worked at a place in Houston where I could look out the window and see a large encampment of the homeless, less than a block away, under a highway overpass. A large number of my photos were taken on 6th Street in Austin--a popular spot for UT students to hang out. But go a block north to 7th Street and you can find the homeless by the dozen (and Austin is probably the most liberal city in Texas). Anyhow, these comments are nothing more than bumper-sticker expressions of a problem with no simple causes and no simple cures. I've used a few sentences when it requires a few books. Yes, Jer, it is a serious problem, but it won't go away if it is ignored. Some people will feel superior to those in the photos, but others will become aware that not everyone is fortunate enough to enjoy their lifestyle.