...At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands in front of the camera, to honour what is greater and more interesting than we are. We never accomplish this perfectly, though in return we are given something perfect - a sense of inclusion. Our subject thus redefines us, and is part of the biography by which we want to be known.

- Robert Adams, Why People Photograph

 

...Sanctuary is a Christian charitable organization that offers food, clothing, and basic health care to marginalized people of downtown Toronto. Beyond that, Sanctuary provides a unique, healthy community: a safe place.

...My understanding of dignity has been shaped by Sanctuary. Encompassed in the word 'dignity' is the capacity of an individual: the capacity to work, to care for another, to express him/herself creatively. Usually social services and drop-ins are thought of as existing to help 'them', but at Sanctuary it truly is a mutual experience of helping and being helped, loving and being loved.

...Each individual photographed was asked to write something about themselves, whether simply signing a name or providing a longer description of who they were, and how they were associated with Sanctuary. These images are selections from the project, which consists of thirty-one portraits.

Fall 2005