New photography book shows living spaces of people experiencing homelessness in Waterloo region

Dougals MacLellanspent the better part of the pandemic taking portraits of people in Waterloo region who are experiencing homelessness and those photos are now documented in his latest book:Making Home.

The Windsor, Ont., photographer has had ties to the region. As a student at Conestoga College in the 1980s, he metJoe and Stephanie Mancini, the founders ofThe Working Centre.

"In the summer of 2020, Joe gave me a call and said, 'Doug there's something interesting going on called A Better Tent City, I suggest you come see,'" MacLellan told Craig Norris, host of CBC Kitchener-Waterloo'sThe Morning Edition, onWednesday.

MacLellansaid during the pandemic hespent time getting to know the people at A Better Tent Citylocated in the parking lot of the event spaceLot 42 in Kitchener at the time and made frequent visits to theUniversity Avenue interim housing building in Waterloo, as well as the former St. Andrew's emergency shelter in Kitchener in 2021all locations supported by The Working Centre.

It was during those visits that MacLellan heard their stories and connected with some of the residents, who eventuallyallowed him to take their portrait.

"I think the key to it is returning overtime. Whenever I was in Kitchener, I'd go down to A Better Tent City and talk to whoever is there," he said.

'They're just like us'

All the images in the book are in colour, MacLellan said, spread out over 60 pages. Most are portraits of the residents, while others are of the volunteers and workers at the three locations.

MacLellan said he alsocaptured moments in their daily lives and photographedwords and poetry written on walls or benches. The book starts with an introduction from Joe Mancini and ends with MacLellan'snotes and observations.

MacLellan said one of thebiggest take away for him was the sense of community he experienced while working on the project. He hopes peoplesee those captured in the images for what they are:people.

"They're people just like us," he said."I met Olympic team members who are homeless and boxers, gymnasts,I've met doctors. They're just like us."

At the centre of homelessness

For Joe Mancini, MacLellan's dedication to get to know the residents is what makes the images and the book so special.

"He was also able to capture their qualities, theircharacter of survival, but also living. Living life in the context, where things don't go well but it's still a beautiful life in how they're making things work," Mancini told CBC News.

Mancini said when The Working Centre opened 40 years ago, it mainly focused on employment services. Now, the organizations is at the heart of the region's homelessness and housing plans.

Mancini remembers the turning point when herealized something had to be done to address homelessness in the community back inthe early2010s.

"[In 2013] that was when the Out of the Cold closed, but we said there were maybe 40 people who were chronically homeless. To some extent that was true, but bubbling underneath was something going on," he said.

"By 2019, there were 250 people who did not have shelter, who were not in the shelter system, so something happened between 2015. We say synthetic drugs took off in that period."

That's when Mancini said they started to become more involved in the housing and shelter space, growing a small project into something more permanent with the help fromthe region.

"The region has provided the resources to make that happen," he saidreferring to projects like theUniversity Avenue interim housing project and motel rooms the region has offered for those chronically homeless since the start of the pandemic.

The Working Centre has also partnered with the region to support those at the 100 Victoria encampment, runthe 24-7 shelter on King Streetin Kitchenerand soon will be at the helm of the region's hybrid shelter on Erb's Road in Waterloo when it opens in February.

Being involved in the early days of A Better Tent City, Mancini said they will be taking those experiences and lessons learned to run the hybrids shelter.

Mancini said they also have twohousing projects on the go, which he hopes will be ready in 2023.

"Through the rapid housing initiative, we were able to purchase the building next door, 58 Queen St., creating 21 units of housing," he said, noting they will be for single, new-Canadianparents.

He adds the second housing project on Victoria Street will have 44 units available andhe hopes to start construction in March.