GABRIELA/FOXY

Gabriela and I met in a homeless shelter in New York City. She was living there with her baby, Daryl, while her three older sons lived in foster care. Neither of us knew we would begin a friendship that would span 23 years. What we did know was that I was compelled to start photographing her life, we were the same age, and we simply liked each other.

When her life, already comprised of being homeless, living in a basement of a bar and losing her children, became all the more turbulent she finally admitted herself to a hospital, only to be released back onto the street. Three weeks later when we met up again, she looked completely different. She had been picked up by a pimp and had become a prostitute. Gabriela was now Foxy.

For 12 years Foxy and Prince lived in hotels, condos, and his mother’s house. Foxy was “the bottom bitch at home”. She managed the house, supervised the other girls, shared a bed with Prince and turned tricks at night. Over the years, Foxy left Prince a number of times but always returned, until he took another one of the girls as his bottom.

Through all these years, Foxy and I remained friends. I had the profound experience of witnessing her transform her life twice. The second time, Foxy became Gabriela again. She reunited with three of her sons, her mother and father, got her own apartment, returned to school and became a nursing assistant. Last year, we celebrated our 50th birthdays together.