Vendor A. Allen on Participating in the Chicago Help Initiative 'After Supper Visions' Program

by A. Allen

My experience with the Chicago Help Initiative’s “After Supper Visions” photography program was very interesting.

It gave staff and less fortunate or marginalized individuals a great opportunity to interact with each other on a personal and up close level. What I mean by that is, staff would help individuals learn the art of photography. They would teach classes from books by professional photographers and then have question-and-answer sessions. At the end, we got cameras, if we needed them. The more experienced photographers would have their own, professional cameras. We would go out and take pictures, and a week or two later, after the pictures were developed, we would choose the best ones for the show.

StreetWise vendor A. Allen poses with his photography at the "After Supper Visions" exhibit in June 2017.

Then we would get a chance to go to “Mary’s Closet” and pick out an outfit for the show, something professional.

The staff and participants seemed to have one thing in common. The word is respect. The staff treated participants with dignity and respect. No one was ever treated as less than or homeless. Participants, alike, treated staff with much respect for their patience, thoughtfulness, time and acts of kindness. This, in a sense, bridged the gap in social statures.

We had fun and it was a way of sharing. So then this initiative program really works if it means bringing people who do not ordinarily mix together and if it is to initiate independence. After the show, which usually started on a Friday and ended on a Sunday, we would find out how many photos we sold. The staff did this on our behalf.

I will not call out names for fear of forgetting someone, but you are all loved and appreciated. May God bless you all. You know who you are. Thank you so much for supporting this Streetwise vendor.

Below, a close-up of Allen's sunset print.