The Road I Call Home

Book excerpt: THE ROAD I CALL HOME is a significant book spotlighting the breathtaking photographic portraits of the homeless and their stories. Through the lens of multi award winning, prominent photographer, filmmaker and humanitarian, Randy Bacon, THE ROAD I CALL HOME beautifully presents over 200 pages of portraits and narratives from the exhibition, which has traveled to numerous museums, galleries and venues nationwide. THE ROAD I CALL HOME features simple, direct, emotive, casual studio portraits that emphasize the beauty, dignity and integrity of the homeless and is accompanied by heartfelt narratives, personally told by each person. The unforgettable photography and stories are rooted in compassion and belief that, as a community, we can approach homelessness by choosing to see the beauty of each person in front of us - rather than the issues that overwhelm us. Homelessness is an issue that can easily overwhelm us. You don't have to go far in everyday life to literally come face-to-face with homelessness. We see the stark reality as we drive through our communities, as we walk down our streets and within the media. We see the heartbreaking struggle of too many people that don't have a house, which stirs emotion in each of us. Homelessness is an issue of humanity - over 600,000 people are homeless in the United States, a staggering 150 million humans living homeless worldwide and almost 2 billion living with inadequate housing. THE ROAD I CALL HOME looks to build new awareness about our relationship to homelessness and to each other - to give a voice to the voiceless and begin conversations that will be catalysts for people to get involved. THE ROAD I CALL HOME challenges viewers to look at homelessness with eyes of love and compassion, not negative judgment - to inspire people to simply acknowledge those in need, trusting that we are the same and just wanting to love and be loved. When we take time to listen to another person's journey, we begin the process of turning a stranger into a friend and opening our hearts to another human being.