From morals to economics, poverty is everyone’s problem
May 14, 2008
Lisa Marsh, 39, is a South Lake Tahoe resident and a single mother of three. She dreams of a better life for herself and her children, but the realities of everyday living often get in the way of dreams.
“A lot of us don’t like to classify ourselves as the ‘have-nots,’ and yet at the same time you start looking around and going my god there is just no way we will never be able to buy a house,” Marsh said.
Read more or click to watch the slide show.
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Thank you
May 10, 2008
I was recently quoted in a press release that was sent out to 135 media outlets. To say I was mildly embarrassed is an understatement. I don’t want to be famous or have a spotlight shined on me. I have never been good with words and sometimes what comes out of my mouth isn’t really what I mean. For me to be quoted in writing is just as bad as to have my photo taken, or be seen on TV, which I also hate. Is it then a bit ironic that I ask to take people’s pictures for a living?
As a photojournalist I’m not shy about asking people to open up their lives to me and the world. I have always been grateful when people let me into their lives, for a minute, a week or a month. Yet working at a daily newspaper, running from assignment to assignment, I sometimes forget that it is a gift when people share their lives with us. With daily deadlines and routines it can be easy to lose sight of this, turning from asking, to expecting or demanding, access.
So with that I would like to say thank you.
Thank you Lisa. Thank you Anna. For letting me become a part of your lives this spring, for letting me shove a camera in your face when you were tired, or crying, or trying to sleep. Thank you for allowing me to tell your stories—and they are good stories—to the world.
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Voices from the 7-11
May 9, 2008
Every day men gather outside the 7-11 in Kings Beach looking for day labor. Photojournalist Liz Margerum interviewed a number of the men and produced this presentation as well as an essay on her thoughts about the experience.
Design, presentation photos and sound: Liz Margerum
Special thanks to Teri Vance who helped with the interviews.
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Together in prayer, Junto en la oración
April 10, 2008
The First Spanish Mass at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church was held in Incline Village, Sunday, April 6. More than 200 people showed up to share their faith in the church overlooking the lake. I wanted to capture the spirit of the moment in a way accessible to everyone, both English and Spanish speakers. I chose to use a slideshow that uses photos and audio to tell a story. It was difficult for me to edit the sound, as I understand little Spanish. But photos need no translation and I think the slideshow works even without subtitles.
Let me know what you think about the presentation. How would you cover a bilingual community?
Click the photo to see the show.
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Lessons from the 7-11
April 5, 2008
It has astounded me that no one wants to talk about poverty at Tahoe. I know the word poor and poverty can cause shame, but keeping the poor invisible doesn’t help their cause.
As a photojournalist, I am drawn to tell people’s stories. My aim is not to exploit but to really tell a story of the ups and downs of being poor in a place where the wealthy come to play and live. The perception is that Lake Tahoe, this jewel of the Sierra, is only for millionaires. Yet a whole other group of people live there too.
The economy depends on the working class. They are the cooks, the cleaners, and the laborers who keep the tourists and wealthy residents happy. What would a resort be without the kitchen staff? What would happen if they left?
Yet living in Tahoe is hard. Housing, food and gas are expensive. Many people are paying 50-60 percent of their monthly income in rent alone. Many have two or three jobs just to get by.
These are hard working people, who want more for their families. They hold the American dream in their hearts, yet many are stigmatized as immigrants, or God forbid, “illegals” who don’t contribute.
This week I met a man named Mario. He is one of many day laborers who hang out at the 7-11 in Kings Beach.
I have seen these men, both at the Lake and in Reno. I used to see them as sort of untouchable. They were different and hung out in big groups. They didn’t speak my language. How could I possibly relate to them, let alone speak to them? Yet they always intrigued me. I wanted to know why they would leave their families and come to a country that can be hostile to make an unsteady living doing odd jobs, with no stability or security.
This time as I drove by the groups of men hanging out along the road I decided to stop and ask. I understand a bit of Spanish, but don’t really speak it. I felt embarrassed that I couldn’t pronounce words correctly and was afraid I would sound like an idiot. But I thought maybe that is exactly how they feel with English.
I called Teri Vance, another member of our graduate cohort who speaks Spanish, to help me write some questions. I’m a naturally shy person, especially when I don’t have a camera (security blanket) in hand. But I walked up and started talking, with notes in hand.
“No hablo Espanol bien, pero. . .” my spiel began. To my amazement I was well received. I asked a few questions (in broken Spanish) and then took a picture of each man I interviewed.
This is where Mario came in. He was one of the men who agreed to talk and have his photo taken. We were having a nice conversation, as I grasped phrases here and there, when I looked down to see my darn recorder wasn’t on.
“Oh no!” I said. And he said something in Spanish. To my amazement even though I didn’t understand him, I knew what he was saying. He wanted to know if it didn’t work, and I said we had to do it over again, uno mas, and we both laughed and I started again with my questions.
Now he could have said I was a stupid idiot, and indeed that is how I felt. But the magic that happened through the eyes and the hand gestures and the laughing makes me think, if you don’t know anything else about a person, if you can find a thing to laugh about and share a moment together, you don’t need to speak the same language to understand each other. It happens, and it is powerful.
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Getting to know you
March 10, 2008
It’s Monday 8:53 a.m. The sun is just now peaking over the peaks of the snowcapped mountains, making the snow glow against the sky. Lake Tahoe is a steel blue in the morning light.
I’m trying to find Lisa Marsh’s house. After three phone calls and a trip up and back down a mountain I finally find the house. She is outside waiting with two of her three children, Devon, 4, and Lanie,6, on the front deck waving me in. Lisa is a very open agreeable person and for this I’m thankful.
It is hard to barge into someone’s life with two cameras and a voice recorder and still remain inconspicuous. It is hard to get someone to trust you because you say you want to tell their story. How do they know you will tell it right? How do they know they can trust you with their most intimate moments.
But sometimes a person will open up and when they do the stories you can tell are amazing.
After we drop the kids off at school Lisa goes to work at Hope Lutheran Church.
It is now around 10:30 a.m. Lisa is trying to help out a man named Michael. He has called the church office where she works, asking for money because his wife just had a baby, and through circumstances they are penniless. She has never met this man, but is visibly upset. She offers Michael advice with a shaky voice.
“I know, I’ve been there too,” she says to the phone receiver. Lisa is making frantic calls to the pastor, asking for $20 for gas so the family can make it down the hill to the homeless shelter in Placerville.
“If I had my pay check in the desk right now I would give them the $35 for the motel, for one more night, and $20 for gas, to hell with the electric bill this month, I’ll make a payment. Then I could save them just for one night.”
There is no shelter for such people at the lake.
“We are lucky to have the women’s center.” Lisa said. “It almost makes you wonder, this sounds horrible, but it makes you wonder if it is planned that way.”
The rest of the day is filled with errands; the post office, store, pick up Laney and then—a quick stop at the beach.
The view is always free.
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Don’t label me
March 3, 2008
No one likes to be labeled. When people attach a label to something it is hard to think of that object, person, or situation in other terms. Labels like short, fat and stupid are hard to shake.
Labeling in class terms— upper, rich, lower, poor, homeless — can isolate a person or a group and serve as an excuse to dismiss them. “You don’t care about anything but money because you are rich or you must be lazy because you are poor.”
But society uses labels because they are convenient and sometimes necessary. We must put a name to a problem or conflict. We speak of “war, prejudice, poverty…” to give meaning and shape to the world around us.
Once labeled it can be hard to see yourself as anything else. I had a teacher in first grade who told me I didn’t have to do my homework because I wasn’t smart enough to complete it.
I remember the teacher telling me that my drawing of a flower was ugly because it looked like a scribble.
I remember having issues with completing homework until the third grade when the principal told my mother that if she didn’t make me do my homework I would be on drugs before I was 13. My parents pulled me out of the school and enrolled me in another one.
I had gone by my middle name until then but when I changed schools I wanted to use my first name. A new name for a new start. Once the “stupid” label was gone, I began to succeed in the classroom.
Now I know I’m not a genius rocket scientist, but I’m not stupid either.
So these labels that we use can confine us. They can limit the way we think about ourselves and those around us.
Over the next few weeks I hope to dispel some of the labels associated with the poor, those living in poverty or the working classes. Strip away the labels and what can we learn from each other? How can we look beyond surface appearances and really see what animates, brings joy to, oppresses, and challenges us as individuals and not just economic categories?
To do this, I plan to document with photos and sound the lives of those who live at the lake, putting a face to the numbers and the labels. If you have a story you want to share about making ends meet or being priced out of Lake Tahoe please email me, or leave a comment.
Also don’t forget to check back here for updates.
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Community organizer dedicates life to social justice
November 2, 2007
Every week day Emilio Vaca kisses his wife and 3-month-old daughter good-bye and leaves his in-laws home in Kings Beach to go to work as an educator, organizer and community volunteer. More often than not, he doesn’t make it home until sometime after dinner.
Finding strength, energy and support in his family and the feeling of reward that he gets from helping the Tahoe community, Vaca dedicates himself to causes ranging from domestic violence to affordable housing. In his struggle to make the Tahoe community better, Vaca is also struggling to simply create a place for himself and his family.
Vaca, 28, has lived at Tahoe since transferring to Sierra Nevada College in 2003 and becoming the first Latino male to attend the school. After a slow transition to the Incline Village culture, Vaca’s work in the Tahoe community began in earnest when he became student body president.
“I went from helping to organize the largest community college student protest in Sacramento,” Vaca said, “to taking kind of a back seat (at Sierra Nevada College). Once I was elected student body president, I began feeling more satisfied with my political involvement and that’s when things really started working up again.”
He volunteers as a facilitator for a youth organization, sitting on the boards of various planning agencies and organizing community meetings about affordable housing.
Vaca spends his days and evenings working at Tahoe Women’s Services as the prevention project manager.
“We do all the education at the community schools about domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse,” Vaca said.
Out of a staff of 24, Vaca is the only male working for the nonprofit organization.
“Sometimes it can be just a little overwhelming,” Vaca said with a laugh. “But it’s great. I consider it a blessing and a humbling experience to work with 23 women.”
In addition to working in local schools, Vaca volunteers with an organization called Creciendos Unidos (Growing Together) and Creating Alternatives, a group that works to educate Tahoe youth about drugs and alcohol.
“We’ve sponsored several events that are alcohol free for our youth to come and hang out at. We’re trying to promote a healthy environment,” Vaca said.
Vaca also represents Tahoe Women’s Services in the struggle to create affordable housing for Tahoe’s working class.
“I sit on the board of the Workforce Housing Association of Truckee Tahoe,” Vaca said. “But Tahoe Women’s Services is also involved in the push for affordable housing. We have a safe house, and a lot of our clients are there for two months. In those two months they’re required to look for a job and get their feet back on the ground. But after two months they have nowhere to live because there’s nothing affordable.
“How do you even define affordable when the median house price is $500,000?” Vaca asked. “I’m truly fortunate that my wife’s parents have room for us to stay in their home while we search for a place to live.”
Vaca also sits on the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association board, another position that allows him to work to create low-cost housing.
“The NLTRA paid for the publication of a scientific survey we just conducted in Kings Beach to see how the community feels about affordable housing,” Vaca said.
“We’re really trying to make it a community effort. We got the county to give money too because they’re going to use a lot of that study for future housing developments too.”
Though he represents the Latino community by sitting on the boards of many different associations, including the community planning committee for the TRPA, Vaca maintains that he is not a spokesman for all Latinos.
“I was invited to a stakeholders meeting and I (wanted them to) define stakeholder,” Vaca said. “I don’t own a home, I don’t own a business, I’m a stakeholder in protecting my family but nothing else. I don’t want to be the token Latino that (agencies) use to check the Latino community off their list (of people to talk to). Just because I’m Latino doesn’t mean I speak for all Latinos.
“One of my big goals is to create a Latino Chamber of Commerce (for Tahoe). If I’m able to do that then we could bring a section of the community to the table to provide input. (That way) maybe in a year or two it won’t be me sitting at the table representing the community but it will actually be community member(s) representing (themselves). That’s the ultimate goal.”
Despite all of his efforts and all of the time that he contributes to the community, Vaca said, he doesn’t get weighed down by it all.
“My wife asks me every day, ‘Do you feel overwhelmed, overworked?’ No, I don’t because it’s really rewarding to know that I’m able to help shape policies and projects that are going to benefit the long-term welfare of our children and community.”
In his endeavor to create a place for himself and his family, Vaca is also striving to start his own consulting business, which would serve to help members of the community organize their own causes.
In the end, it’s Vaca’s family that matters most to him and keeps him going.
“I’m really glad that I have a supportive wife and family, otherwise I don’t know how I could still be involved in all the things that I am doing,” Vaca said. “My wife and my family are supportive of what I’m doing, of what we believe in.”
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