Dreams

A few weeks ago, a friend posted a link on Facebook to a Flickr account titled, "The Faces of Addiction."  After scanning a few photos, I became so captivated that I spent an hour scanning every image in turn.

Chris Arnade is a Wall Street banker and father, who in is spare time (where does he find the energy?) traverses the streets of Hunts Point, Bronx photographing and interviewing the neighborhood's residents, many of whom are on the spectrum of addiction and homelessness.

Their stories are all unique, but tangled around common and tricky themes of violence, victimization, children living elsewhere, and the interdependent cycles of prostitution and drug abuse.  

Along with the somber realities of their lives, Mr. Arnade asks the Hunts Point residents about their dreams.  One answer in particular struck me- that of a Michael, who squats in an abandoned building and cross-dresses to engage in survival sex to support his heroin habit.

“I am sick of this life. Sick of jamming needles into myself, sick of not having a home, sick of all my money going to dope, sick of waking up and needing drugs. I just want a normal life. I want to have a home and watch movies.”

I have never struggled with addiction or housing insecurity, but through the lens of other experiences I found Michael's dream to be wholly relatable.  What more could we want than a place to sit quietly and without suffering, and something to take our minds off the day?

These days, I am grateful for every moment that seems normal, boring even.  Healthy hands to do the dishes, a job that's safe if not stellar, and walls I own.  Not to be reductive, but does there need to be more?

I admire for Mr. Arnade's pastime.  Far from exploiting this vulnerable population, his profiles are sympathetic and humanizing.  He explains that his photography habit helps him unwind from the stress of his job-- and as difficult as I'm sure some of the interviews are, I understand.  It doesn't need to be so complicated.  What is money, trade, bonds and securities, compared to security, normalcy, home.