Ruben mora

“My saddest moment… What I’m doing right now” – Ruben

Ruben is 52 years old and living on the streets of Santa Ana.  He lived in the LA area before moving here. He can't seem to recall any memories from his childhood; only remembering wanting to become a truck driver as a kid. He explains that the worst part about living on the streets is the weather. The thought of not knowing whether it's going to rain or not gives him anxiety. He says that the saddest moment of his life is what he's doing right now. He says that he is at the lowest point of his life with only God watching over him. Even though the last few years of his life have been tough, he still has hope that one day he can live a normal life. A “normal life” to him is when he has a roof over his head; when he has a stable job; when he has food on the table; when he has someone in his life - whether it's a friend or a significant other. Although life has not been too kind to Ruben, he is still grateful for his good health and smiles through every day.

vanessa, 16

Dreams of being an animator
Important influence: My older brother
Grateful for: All who support me

Before I joined the class, I knew very little about what it is like to be homeless. I always saw the homeless on the street by the Santa Ana public library, but would never notice the horrible conditions they lived in. I was always told to just ignore them and avoid them as much as possible and that it was dangerous to be around them by myself. Despite what others have told me, I still wanted to help them in any way that I could, but I always thought that I could never do anything because I was just a teenager. After joining the class, I realized that I there are ways for me to help while doing something that I enjoy. I chose orange and blue colors because they're complementary to each other.