on any given day in houston there are hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of people that visit hermann park

It is a place that many in my trade visit, at the very least, weekly to capture beautiful photos of couples on their way to their wedding days. Hermann Park has been the mainstay of my personal walk with the homeless community. While I go many places and know a number of people, I have a family at this particular park. I have learned more about the homeless community as a whole, and their struggles, as well as about myself in this one place than anywhere else in my entire life. On any given day there may be hundreds of people walk by a bench just like this one pictured, or maybe even this particular one. On many of those days there will be a man or woman sitting upon that very same bench who has nothing more than a bag filled with a few items that they call their own. Of the many that pass by, few will ever notice or realize that the person resting there has no home, no possessions and very possibly no one that truly loves them in their lives. The bench where the gentleman passed away may be where my journey began, but this park...this is where it has taken shape. My family and I have watched many come and go. We have made life-long friends. We have grown our family and we have watched a few disappear, by deaths that no one saw and few will mourn.

Hermann Park is where many of the stories I publish will come from. It is a place of serenity for many. It is a place for a wonderful outing with the family. It is also a place of peace for many that live on our streets but that peace is often broken due to the many restrictions and regulations placed upon these people. It is a window into the community that is all across our city and that window is being closed, very literally, before our very eyes. As of writing this in March of 2016, I know too many people that have been cited for doing nothing more than taking a morsel of food from a trash bin, when they have had nothing all day. I know far too many that have been cited for camping when they simply sat upon a bench with their few possessions in the middle of the day. I know far too many who have died, some from the final pull of their addictions, but many others from illnesses that should have been taken care of; heart problems, pneumonia, cancer.

I know there may be many of my clients as well as future and possible clients that read this so I will leave you with the same words I often speak to my clients when we decide to have a session at this place....While we walk around this park we may be approached by a homeless person, or many of them. They live here. They're good people and I am proud to call them my family.