Stories of the Homeless in New York City, NY

Concrete Pillows isn’t your run-of-the-mill stories of homelessness in New York City. I’m not going to bore you with numbers and statistics. My mission with Concrete Pillows is not to generally blog about homelessness in New York City but to tell the stories of the New Yorkers who are homeless. I report about my encounters with these resilient people and share their words and their faces so that the world can see them as more than a figure in the corner.

Concrete Pillows is my photojournalistic blog, not about homeless people but about people without a home. This blog will help you remember the humanity of these individuals and more fully understand their struggles and challenges, as well as how the system has failed them.

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Learn Their Stories

 

In a place like New York City, it’s easy to see crowds instead of people, especially if the environment is new to you. I aim to help New Yorkers and out-of-towners alike stop seeing NYC’s population without homes as background fixtures during their tourist trip or daily grind but instead see them as people who have the same basic aspirations as anyone: to live comfortably, eat well, and feel safe.

Concrete Pillows does not seek to create a prototypical homeless New Yorker for easy consumption by the public. Instead, this blog treats its featured individuals as just that — individuals. Below, you can read their stories, learn their names, and see their faces. We must learn to empathize with the people who sleep with concrete pillows.