I documented the life of some homeless in Milan (Italy). I spent few days with them documenting what their life is on a daily basis with the help of Mia Milano, an association that provides food and shelter for homeless people.
The pictures represent the life of Fabrizio, who has been living on the street for over 15 years, fighting everyday, with cold and hot weather, with a strong alcohol dependency. Even though Fabrizio has some problems, he is beloved by the surrounding community, they help him with what they can and everybody seems to love him. Fabrizio had a tough divorce, he lost his job and was forced to live on the streets.
Fabrizio always smiles and, considering the tough life and the alcohol problems, he seems to be always happy and I’m proud to have had the cache to tell his story.After an entire day, I became friend with Fabrizio and from time to time I pass by to say hi and bring him some food. They taught me a simple lesson: You don’t need money or commodities to be happy, in fact, Fabrizio and his friends always smile and play with each others. Even the “normal” people are happy to spend some time with Fabrizio, because he is funny and easy going.
The goal of this project was to show the hidden life of an homeless, show how the live and how they interact with each others and with the “normal” people, show the people the soul of Fabrizio and his friends that for some unfortunate circumstances are on the streets and event if the life beat on them, they are always happy in their way. I’m fully thankful to have dedicated time to this project, not only because i learn something new, but because I made new friends who taught me that you can always smile, no matter what.
About Marco Mignano
Marco Mignano is a freelance fotoreporter who is active in social themes and travel photography. He spend most of his time traveling and documenting the life of extraordinary people around the world, from the Mongolian Nomads to the Sherpa on the Everest, He likes to point his camere where most of the people canít have access and show the hidden story behind extraordinary people. [Official Website]
