New photography book shows living spaces of people experiencing homelessness in Waterloo region

Dougals MacLellan spent the better part of the pandemic taking portraits of people in Waterloo region who are experiencing homelessness and those photos are now documented in his latest book: Making Home.

The Windsor, Ont.,  photographer has had ties to the region. As a student at Conestoga College in the 1980s, he met  Joe and Stephanie Mancini, the founders of The Working Centre.

"In the summer of 2020, Joe gave me a call and said, 'Doug there's something interesting going on called A Better Tent City, I suggest you come see,'" MacLellan told Craig Norris, host of CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition, on Wednesday.

MacLellan said during the pandemic he spent time getting to know the people at A Better Tent City — located in the parking lot of the event space Lot 42 in Kitchener at the time — and made frequent visits to the University Avenue interim housing building in Waterloo, as well as the former St. Andrew's emergency shelter in Kitchener in 2021— all locations supported by The Working Centre.

It was during those visits that MacLellan heard their stories and connected with some of the residents, who eventually allowed him to take their portrait.

"I think the key to it is returning overtime. Whenever I was in Kitchener, I'd go down to A Better Tent City and talk to whoever is there," he said.

'They're just like us'

All the images in the book are in colour, MacLellan said, spread out over 60 pages. Most are portraits of the residents, while others are of the volunteers and workers at the three locations.

MacLellan said he also captured moments in their daily lives and photographed words and poetry written on walls or benches. The book starts with an introduction from Joe Mancini and ends with MacLellan's notes and observations.

MacLellan said one of the biggest take away for him was the sense of community he experienced while working on the project. He hopes people see those captured in the images for what they are: people.

"They're people just like us," he said. "I met Olympic team members who are homeless and boxers, gymnasts, I've met doctors. They're just like us."

At the centre of homelessness 

For Joe Mancini, MacLellan's dedication to get to know the residents is what makes the images and the book so special.

"He was also able to capture their qualities, their character of survival, but also living. Living life in the context, where things don't go well but it's still a beautiful life in how they're making things work," Mancini told CBC News.

Mancini said when The Working Centre opened 40 years ago, it mainly focused on employment services. Now, the organizations is at the heart of the region's homelessness and housing plans. 

Mancini remembers the turning point when he realized something had to be done to address homelessness in the community back in the early 2010s.

"[In 2013] that was when the Out of the Cold closed, but we said there were maybe 40 people who were chronically homeless. To some extent that was true, but bubbling underneath was something going on," he said.

"By 2019, there were 250 people who did not have shelter, who were not in the shelter system, so something happened between 2015. We say synthetic drugs took off in that period." 

That's when Mancini said they started to become more involved in the housing and shelter space, growing a small project into something more permanent with the help from the region.

"The region has provided the resources to make that happen," he said referring to projects like the University Avenue interim housing project and motel rooms the region has offered for those chronically homeless since the start of the pandemic.

The Working Centre has also partnered with the region to support those at the 100 Victoria encampment, run the 24-7 shelter on King Street in Kitchener and soon will be at the helm of the region's hybrid shelter on Erb's Road in Waterloo when it opens in February.

Being involved in the early days of A Better Tent City, Mancini said they will be taking those experiences and lessons learned to run the hybrids shelter.

Mancini said they also have two housing projects on the go, which he hopes will be ready in 2023.

"Through the rapid housing initiative, we were able to purchase the building next door, 58 Queen St., creating 21 units of housing," he said, noting they will be for single, new-Canadian parents.

He adds the second housing project on Victoria Street will have 44 units available and he hopes to start construction in March.