Bokeh
B.T, age 18, MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility, Woodburn, OR
B.T is being held in the crisis intervention unit, on 24-hour supervision. All of his clothes have been taken away as a safety precaution and he is in his underwear. Half of the staff is female and thus they will supervise a male. He is combative and self-abusive.
Focus on Youth: The Naked Truth of Portland Through the Eyes of Teenagers
See some of Portland at its homely best in the work of a few dozen youth from the city that are part of an effort called Focus on Youth. These are what director Donna Lee Holmes calls low-income, high risk youth. The project uses professional photographers to give them the “creative outlets to make positive […]
H.M, age 15, Caldwell Southwest Idaho Juvenile Detention Center, ID
“I’ve been here for a week, I am in a observation cell, I don’t read. I was supposed to go home today I thought but my Aunt didn’t come… I don’t know.”
N, age 12, Douglas County Youth Services, Lawrence, KS
“I get all As in school. I’ve been here a week, but I’ve been here before. I got in a fight in school, he was making fun of my mom. My mom and I live with my grandpa, she doesn’t work.”
T.C, age 16, Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center, Mendota, WI
“I wanna be a R&B singer, I write my own songs [proceeds to sing, thumping against his chest for a beat]. I’ll send you my lyrics”