Truman, 25

'Home is Where the Heart is'

“Home is where the heart is. We [Truman and his friend Travis] are … homeless, I guess.

[Growing up in Ogden] was a lot worse than this. I’ve been homeless for 10 years. I was in state’s custody a lot. When I was 15, I decided to run away … I ran away from foster care enough times that the cops were like, ‘We’re not even going to go get him anymore.’

I didn’t know what kind of person I was. It was pretty difficult. And then I found a guitar. It was given to me by my biological mom. She came and visited us. I don’t know if you remember, but Sears used to make a guitar. I had a classical Sears guitar, and that’s what I first picked up. This isn’t even mine – it’s Travis’ (points to guitar).

I taught myself. Through hearing sound and watching a lot of people play on stage, live performances and such. Mainly just jamming with other people … over the years gave me my ability to play. And I still haven’t, like, it will never be mastered.

Hell [life on the streets]. It’s made me more apathetic towards life … which is kind of a gnarly word – apathy. My mom always said, ‘The world’s going to move on without you, Truman, if you don’t change your shit.’ I still don’t know what she means. But hopefully I’ll figure it out one day.

What this tribe means to me (trails off). It’s a lot. It’s what has helped me stay positive. These guys help a lot. They’re like a newfound family, in a sense, because I don’t have family.

I try to be humble and at peace because I don’t like violence. I try to be friends with everybody. If you do me right, I’ll do you right. I’ll even be there for people I should be there for.

Travis means a lot to me. I’ve got a lot of love for that boy. He’s different and unique. But he’s always positive, most of the time. There’s a lot of cats out here... Whether they want to admit it or not, they all have feelings. They matter – they all matter.

This is Squishy (his dog). I got her about a year and a half ago, when she was a puppy. She gives me a reason to take care of something besides myself. Music is indescribable because it means the world to me. If it weren’t for these people and music, I wouldn’t be here.”

Photograph and story documented by Stephen Speckman.