The End of Homelessness, in a Snap(shot)

by Josie Raymond · 2010-08-24 10:10:00 UTC
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Start snapping — the National Alliance to End Homelessness' first ever photo contest is going on now. You've got until Sept. 17 to submit the winning image. For inspiration, check out the entries they've received so far.

Here's the prompt: What does ending homelessness look like to you?

How can you convey the end of homelessness in a single snapshot? The face of a particularly changed client? A first set of house keys? A freshly made bed? Young people taking to the streets in protest? The year 3000? One billion dollars in cash? Good luck with those last couple.

This is a great opportunity for a homeless or formerly homeless person, or someone who advocates on behalf of the homeless, to give others an inside look at homelessness and to bust stereotypes. For every photo taken of a scraggly panhandler over the next month, let's snap one of a five-year-old excited for her first day of school or a street paper vendor. There's a lot of hopelessness, yes, but there's also a lot of hope. I think hope is more photogenic.

Beyond that, there's a prize: the winner will get free registration to the next NAEH conference. We heard great things about the last one. (That doesn't include transportation and lodging, but the Alliance told me that it offers scholarships for people in dire need for each conference.) The winning image will also serve as the inspiration for the conference's whole design, from the website to the brochure.

Submit your entries here. You can submit one new entry each day. The winner will be announced on Sept. 24.

Photo credit: See-ming Lee

Josie Raymond is a Change.org editor who has reported from the streets of the South Bronx, written for several magazines that folded (not her fault) and fixed thousands of typos.
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