Sherry Cole and her daughers

Five and a half years ago, the young mother at the center of this photo was pregnant, living in a recovery-house, and healing from abuse, addiction, and the hardships of being an unhoused woman. Now she has two very happy and well-loved children (draped around her), a step-daughter (wild with delight in this photo), and a male partner. She also supports her mother and at the present time a sister with three children. She has moved up through the ranks of an organization that helps people to recover from all that she has had to recover from. She does a fine job of mentoring others in recovery, and she is on fire with determination and love. 

She is so well-organized that by 9 a.m. on Sunday morning, she had all the children up, washed, fed, dressed in their best outfits, and ready for a photo shoot in their home; she had rearranged the furniture and had hung two blankets as backdrops for the family photos, and she, her mom, and her partner were all dressed in Christmas sweaters and ready to be photographed with the children. She even took the lights from their aquarium and set them up to add more light to the corner where she wanted the photos made. She did all this while her sister’s three children were streaming around her, waving toy swords and shields, and creating joyful pandemonium. 

I’m grateful that I met her when I was doing photography and interviews of unhoused people, and we’ve kept in touch. She inspires me and gives me hope for the whole world.