Brenda, 53

'The Fall'

“So, on Oct. 14, 2022, in the morning, we were at a middle school. We had been there all week doing the cleanup. We had been there since Monday. I thought it was Friday, but I guess it was a Thursday. But we were up on the top floor, the third floor. And I don’t know what happened, but I fell through a hole. Yeah, I fell through a hole in the ceiling. I didn’t see it. OSHA says shut the site down due to multiple safety violations. And I broke my back. I shattered my elbow. I have head injuries. I broke eight ribs. Yeah, I saw my husband, and I said, ‘Let me tell you, I want to tell you how I was.’ I saw myself. Yeah, yeah, I died. And then I saw myself. Okay, so, we lost our apartment. We became homeless. Never been homeless before – ever. We’re addicts. I’ve been clean since he went into prison. Yeah, I’m homeless now. I’m, like, looking for a place to stay. And it’s been really rough. My lady – I used to do her lawn in Bountiful. She took me in when he went to jail. I ride the bus. Yeah, I’ve applied for everything. I’m trying to get housing. I need to get a case manager so I can get into housing and be in the house before he gets out. I’ve got a truck that I ordered, that I need to get out of. I bought it last year for $10,000. I paid cash for it. And, yeah, like, I don’t know. It’s just been crazy. Yeah.”

Photograph and story documented by Stephen Speckman.