Van Nuys : Homeless Children Picture Their Lives
About a dozen black-and-white photographs chronicling the lives of homeless children are on display through the end of the month at the Book Grinders, 13321 Burbank Blvd.
The kid’s-eye-view snapshots were taken by children ages 3 and older living at the Gramercy Place Shelter in Los Angeles as part of the Photo Outreach program started by Van Nuys photographer Venida Korda.
The photographs were all snapped by the youngsters during Saturday photo shoots at the 10-unit homeless shelter as a means of building the children’s self-esteem and shattering stereotypes, Korda said.
“People don’t think of the homeless as families and children,” Korda said. “They think of the people in the streets who ask for a handout.” The photo exhibit, she added, “documents a lifestyle people really don’t know much about.”
Photo Outreach began in 1993 with a $2,100 grant from the city Cultural Affairs Department, which has funded the program through the end of fiscal year 1995-96. Since department policy prohibits funding programs for more than three consecutive years, Korda is seeking alternate funding sources for the next year.
For exhibit hours, call Book Grinders at (818) 988-4503.
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