Today we went to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. At the center, we saw an exhibit about the Safe Haven Family Shelter in Nashville. A local photographer and the the outreach educators wanted to teach the families through cultural enrichment and photography. The exhibit shows some of the photos that the participants took and tells a little background story and a quote. It was interesting to see something from the homeless families perspective.
All of the pictures had something positive about them. With the people being homeless you would have expected that the photos would be sad and depressing. However, they weren’t. The people in the photos, or taking the photos, showed an inspirational and hopeful side of themselves. They told us how they still had hope and knew that one day things would be better. Some people decided to show the importance of family in their lives. For most of them, family is all they have, and they protect it. For most of the children, they showed their goals and ambitions. They took pictures of their interests and career goals in life. One of the kids showed his interest in science while others took pictures of basketball. The kids also took pictures of things that inspired them. One of the pictures was of the workers at the Safe Haven. To the children, the people are real inspiration and motivators for them. Another picture was of the dog that stays at the shelter. It keeps the kids company and is a companion to them.
It made me smile to see that these people were so positive about their circumstances. Even though they didn’t have a house or place to stay to call their own, they were still strong and happy with themselves and their family. My family has not had a place to stay before and one lady let us stay with her for a little while. We weren’t depressed about it or felt sorry for ourselves but we made the best of it. These people are doing the same thing. No matter what happens to them, they are happy.
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