Betsy Karel
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Boston (Darrel and Barbara met a year ago when Darrel saw Barbara sitting on a wall. "We talked and decided to pool our money to buy a half-pint," he says. "We've been together ever since." On frigid weekends, especially after the sun sets and before the shelter opens, they ride the subway to keep warm. "Riding the train gives us some peace, some space away from the rest of them.")
Boston (Darrel and Barbara met a year ago when Darrel saw Barbara sitting on a wall. "We talked and decided to pool our money to buy a half-pint," he says. "We've been together ever since." On frigid weekends, especially after the sun sets and before the shelter opens, they ride the subway to keep warm. "Riding the train gives us some peace, some space away from the rest of them.")
Betsy Karel 1999
Artwork
Boston (Alcoholism is only one of the many health problems on the street. Every night in Boston, two mobile units, each with at least one medical person and two outreach workers, patrol the streets and back alleys of the city. They bring hot food, blankets, clothing, and most important, a sympathetic ear.)
Boston (Alcoholism is only one of the many health problems on the street. Every night in Boston, two mobile units, each with at least one medical person and two outreach workers, patrol the streets and back alleys of the city. They bring hot food, blankets, clothing, and most important, a sympathetic ear.)
Betsy Karel 1999
Artwork
Boston (As the temperature drops, Linda and Gerald reluctantly spend the night at a shelter, rather than on the streets. This emergency facility, which will admit people who are drunk, is sometimes referred to on the street as the "Nightmare Center" or "Fright Center." There are no beds, so guests must sleep on chairs or on the floor. Linda sleeps under her wheelchair because she worries that someone might steal it.)
Boston (As the temperature drops, Linda and Gerald reluctantly spend the night at a shelter, rather than on the streets. This emergency facility, which will admit people who are drunk, is sometimes referred to on the street as the "Nightmare Center" or "Fright Center." There are no beds, so guests must sleep on chairs or on the floor. Linda sleeps under her wheelchair because she worries that someone might steal it.)
Betsy Karel 1999
Artwork
Boston (At the Boston Night Center, Toni Abraham, a nurse practitioner from the Boston Health Care for the Homeless program, supervises while nurse Jack Castro and Mark Lepore, a student from Boston University Medical School, bandage the badly infected foot of a homeless man. Often, homeless people will first present themselves to health personnel when they have serious problems with their feet. Swelling of the feet and legs, cellulitis, and skin ulcerations are common among people living on the street. Inadequate opportunities to bathe, ill-fitting and wet shoes, and exposure to the elements all contribute to medical problems. "When your feet don't work, you can’t do the things that you need to do," says one.)
Boston (At the Boston Night Center, Toni Abraham, a nurse practitioner from the Boston Health Care for the Homeless program, supervises while nurse Jack Castro and Mark Lepore, a student from Boston University Medical School, bandage the badly infected foot of a homeless man. Often, homeless people will first present themselves to health personnel when they have serious problems with their feet. Swelling of the feet and legs, cellulitis, and skin ulcerations are common among people living on the street. Inadequate opportunities to bathe, ill-fitting and wet shoes, and exposure to the elements all contribute to medical problems. "When your feet don't work, you can’t do the things that you need to do," says one.)
Betsy Karel 1999
Artwork
Boston (When the lights go out in this small Boston shelter, men sleep on cots on one side of the room, women on the other. Tammy and Rodney try to share a tender moment, but privacy does not exist in this crowded environment.)
Boston (When the lights go out in this small Boston shelter, men sleep on cots on one side of the room, women on the other. Tammy and Rodney try to share a tender moment, but privacy does not exist in this crowded environment.)
Betsy Karel 1999
Artwork
Artwork
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Boston (One way in which the staff at the Pine Street Inn tries to establish relationships of trust with their homeless clientele is by encouraging them to have foot soaks at the end of the day. Afterwards, they are given clean socks and, if necessary, new shoes. The nurses have often found that over a period of time, their guests relax enough during these sessions to tell them what is on their minds.)
Boston (One way in which the staff at the Pine Street Inn tries to establish relationships of trust with their homeless clientele is by encouraging them to have foot soaks at the end of the day. Afterwards, they are given clean socks and, if necessary, new shoes. The nurses have often found that over a period of time, their guests relax enough during these sessions to tell them what is on their minds.)
Betsy Karel 1999