This is a continuing series discussing the reduction of poverty and homelessness in Barrie and how it affects volunteers and those they help.
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From an early age, it seemed that Colette Mesdag saw things differently.
As an instructor for Georgian College in digital photography and imaging she likes to challenge her students to find unique perspectives. When she was asked in the winter term of 2009 to take on a photography project for the David Busby Street Centre she felt it was just the kind of challenge that would bring out the creative spirit in her class.
Colette teaches that photography is the art of seeing the big picture and compressing it to a powerful moment in time.
“What has always moved me is capturing those hidden, elusive and beautiful moments in life that stay with us forever,” she says.
So in 2010 the Busby Centre gave its participants disposable cameras and asked them to capture scenes from their lives while Colette’s students pursued an exploration into capturing those moments from their perspective.
The result was a collection of black and white photos that formed the first exhibition of the “Visibly Unseen” at the Maclaren Art Centre. Now in its fourth year, it has appeared in June at the Edge Gallery for the second time.
I asked Colette what impact the exhibit has had on the community.
“The initial goal was to create awareness of people that we tend to avoid, the visibly unseen in our community,” she explains. “By capturing images of those scenes, it compels the viewer to see the hidden personalities and stories behind the faces of strangers. While dispelling myths about the homeless and others struggling with poverty and social rejection, the images reveal our common humanity.”
After the first year the exhibit evolved to including pictures by students only. Each contributor had to include a written comment. While it has been educational for the public, it has been life changing for many of her students:
“Too much of our lives is about getting caught up in our day to day problems and what’s missing in our lives.
“I found myself wanting to sitting down and listen. I wanted to be an ear for these people who didn’t have many people to share a story with. Each of us has experienced good and bad. It is from our experiences that we are shaped in to who we are and continue to grow to be. I think it is vital that through photography, I capture not only a face, but a soul and a story.
“Asking people to share their story, let alone in front of a camera, is no easy task. What stuck out to me then was not just their individual stories, but the active part that each participant played in each other’s lives, and the sense of community we all felt being there.”
It is that growing sense of community that Colette sees emerging from this project. She, along with the selection committee chooses only two out of 10 images for the show.
“After years of viewing hundreds of photographs, these are no longer anonymous faces to me,” she says. “I begin to understand their back story, the human element in the journey that took them to this moment. It makes me more appreciative of their humanity and my own. I have become more gentle and accepting of others and myself.”
She has not only guided the students but also been the volunteer curator of the exhibit in 2010, 2013 and 2014.
Colette isn’t sure how realistic it is too expect the elimination of poverty and homelessness. She feels that there are so many varied reasons that people find themselves on the margins of society, ranging from economic crises, mental illness and family break-up.
She thinks that what is important is to deal with relieving the immediate suffering any way we can so that perhaps we can then begin to deal more effectively with the underlying causes. For her this means volunteering her time and talent.
“It takes courage to volunteer. Most people feel uncomfortable encountering the unknown. When we confront people struggling with poverty and homelessness our temptation is to look away because it reminds us too much of our own vulnerability,” she explains.
She maintains that our opportunities to contribute to our community are limited only by our imagination. She suggests working around our comfort zone doing what we can.
This can be as simple as serving coffee, donating clothing, personal hygiene items, bus passes or cash to the Busby Street Centre. If you don’t know what to do, she suggests asking the staff what they need help with. Some people enjoy hands on front line involvement but arm’s length help is just as valuable.
“You learn more about yourself and your community when you give back,” she says. “When you see the love and dedication of the staff and volunteers at the Busby Centre, you know that they are the real heroes in our community. But we can be heroes too in our own way by talking about the problem instead of ignoring them. Starting the conversation leads to making it better.”
Being a visual artist, Colette left me with a compelling mental image. Picture a stone dropped into a still pond, she suggested. Then imagine the ripples heading out and encountering other stones that reflect the ripples back to the source and returning again to the giver.
That is how each of us affects one another and become community. We are connected when we see each other and that is the mission of the “Visibly Unseen”.
Alan Atkins is a writer and volunteer on the Community Relations Advisory Council of the David Busby Street Centre. For more information or to get connected to the Busby Centre, email: getconnected@busbycentre.ca or call 739-6916 or visit www.busbycentre.ca If you know of a Community Champion contact Alan directly at aatkins@rogers.com or 705-791-1141.