(All photos contributed by Leah den Bok and used by permission)

In February, I explored the streets of Philadelphia, and the Mutter Museum was a must-see site.

One of the exhibits, Unhoused: Personal Stories and Public Health, features photos by the guest on this podcast, Leah den Bok. She is a photographer from Ontario, whom I wrote about years ago when she spoke at a United Way event, Faces of Homelessness. I was intrigued by the opportunity to see her photography and a mural by another artist, Willie Baronet, raising awareness about people experiencing homelessness. 

Her Humanizing the Homeless series of photos and the accompanying stories do a lot to share the personal stories of people who live unhoused. The images have also been collected in a series of books entitled Nowhere to Call Home, which raise money for several charities that do frontline work on the streets of communities across Ontario to help people experiencing homelessness.

She speaks about her experiences documenting the lives of people who are living unhoused, what she has learned through those experiences, and how, although a lack of affordable housing is the main factor leaving people homeless, more needs to be done than simply giving people homes to help solve the homelessness crisis.

The music on this podcast is from a performance by the Dallas Street Choir for the American Choral Directors Association in Little Rock, Arkansas, on March 3, 2022. 

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Humanizing the Homeless - https://www.humanizingthehomeless.org/

Dallas Street Choir - https://dallasstreetchoir.org/

Unhoused: Personal Stories and Public Health - https://muttermuseum.org/on-view/unhoused-personal-stories-and-public-health

Salvation Army Barrie Bayside Mission Centre - https://www.facebook.com/SalvationArmyBBMC

Home Horizon: Transitional Support Program - https://www.homehorizon.ca/barbara-weider-house

Stepping Stone (formerly Welcome In Drop In Centre) - https://steppingstonegw.com/

Inn From the Cold - https://www.innfromthecold.ca/

United Way event shines light on Faces of Homelessness in Huron-Perth - https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/united-way-event-shines-light-on-faces-of-homelessness-in-huron-perth/article_fe2be8a4-59e4-5005-8642-320892a27654.html

The Homeless Experience in North Perth - https://ocnaorg.shoutcms.net/uploads/files/2021%20BNC/PC17_3rd_Listowel%20Banner_Full.pdf