ow many of us, engrossed in our daily lives, have walked right past a homeless person on the street as if they weren’t even there? How many of us have looked a street person in the eye and then quickly looked away? I know I have. Two years ago, I decided I wasn’t going to walk right past them anymore. I decided I was going to look them right in the eye. I decided I was going to sit right down next to them on the sidewalk and talk to them. I decided I was going to treat them with respect. What I found out, is they all have a story. Just like me, they wish someone would listen. Some of them have lost everything and wound up on the street. Some of them have made the choice to live on the street. Alcohol and drug abuse are common, and many of them suffer from mental illness. What I found out, is that they are human beings, just like you and me. On the Street is the result of 2 years of sitting down with, talking with, and photographing the people who call the streets of Chicago home. Many, I have come to know by name, and I see and talk with them often. Others come and go like ghosts and I never knew their names. There isn’t any one particular point of blame. Homelessness is a result of governmental failure, of policy failure, of personal failure, and of indifference. I see homelessness as a “Human Race” failure. Maybe, if we all “loved our neighbors” just a little bit more, it might make a difference. Maybe, if we all were willing to give, expecting nothing in return, who knows? My name is Keith Harris-Chicago based documentary and street photographer. I am working on a photo-essay entitled “On the Street.” This essay is a series of images that document the people that call the streets of Chicago home. I have become quite “friendly” with quite a few of the homeless people in Chicago.
