Filling the Frame with Stories Not Often Told, By People Not Often Heard
Nov. 20, 2019 |Written By: Melissa Restrepo
The CSUN Journalism Senior Project Set On Making A Difference with Members of the Homeless Community.
With the end of the semester quickly approaching, I can’t help but to think back to how nervous I was on my last, first day as an undergrad. Although I mentally prepared myself for the course load I was about to take on, I couldn’t deny being particularly anxious about starting my senior project.There was a moment where I judged myself for being a nervous wreck about a class I was actually the first to sign up for. Self doubt crept in after enrolling in the class and realizing the course might have been geared more toward photojournalism students rather than public relations majors. I was uncertain about how I could contribute to such a project with little background in photography. It took our initial class meeting for all my worries to be put to rest and know for certain that signing up for this course was the best decision I could have made, as it has been the highlight of my time here at CSUN.
Advocacy Media for Nonprofits, taught by Professor David Blumenkrantz, has given me and other journalism students the opportunity to apply the skills we’ve learned to work on a participatory photography project with members of the homeless community at the Holy Family Service Center (HFSC) part of St. Charles Borromeo Church in North Hollywood. Friday mornings we meet onsite for our “How We See It” photography workshops. After being taught some basic photography skills, our homeless participants were each given a digital camera for them to express themselves creatively by documenting their daily life and environment. Each participant is paired with a university student who spends time reviewing the photographs and helping in the editing process weekly. Our objective is to help the participants give their images context, compile photos that can be shared on social media platforms and ultimately organize an exhibition to display their work at the Museum of Social Justice, early next year.
There are so many beautiful aspects to this project, but my favorite is everyone’s collective effort to make this a positive and beneficial experience for all those involved. We not only have a faculty member passionate about photography and working with marginalized communities, but photojournalism majors, broadcast journalism majors and public relations majors all collaborating with a group of 10 unique homeless individuals who have powerful stories to tell through their interesting photos.
It is undeniable that members of the homeless community are often viewed by many as outcasts and neglected as a whole. It seems people forget that these are human beings too and should be treated as so. This participatory photography project has not only allowed for creative expression, but given these participants a chance to tell their own stories through their own camera lenses. “How We See It” photography has provided our homeless artists with a safe space to capture what they deem important and what they want to share, while giving us students the opportunity to be advocates for their community.