Sheridan photography student’s latest book focuses on pandemic’s impact on people experiencing homelessness

Sheridan fourth-year photography student Leah den Bok spotlights the increased hardships people experiencing homelessness are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic in her new book Nowhere to Call Home — Photographs and Stories of People Experiencing Homelessness: Volume Four.

Each volume of the Nowhere to Call Home series consists of black-and-white portraits and stories of people experiencing homelessness whom den Bok and her father Tim met on the streets of large cities such as Toronto, Brisbane, Washington, New York City and Los Angeles. Volume Four focuses specifically on disproportionate challenges the pandemic has created for people experiencing homelessness, including a lack of access to personal protective equipment, clean water and shelter spaces. All subjects portrayed in the book were given $10 for their time, and all profits from the sale of the book will be donated to Inn from the Cold, a homeless shelter in Newmarket, Ont.

“You may have no toilet paper, but they have no toilets. You may have to stay home, but they have no home to shelter in. You may have to wait in line for groceries, but they may go days with nothing to eat. You may have to wash your hands more, but they, often, can’t even shower,” den Bok writes in Volume Four. “’We’re in this together!’ we are told, but they are frequently forgotten. ‘Practice social distancing!’ we are told, but they may be crammed into crowded shelters.”

Den Bok, whose mother Sara was homeless as a child in India before being taken into a Mother Teresa orphanage and then adopted by a Stayner, Ont., family at the age of five, began the Nowhere to Call Home collection while she was a high school student. Also inspired by the works of British photographer Lee Jeffries, the series is designed to humanize people experiencing homelessness and draw attention to their plight. It has been featured in a documentary on CBC’s The National and has also drawn worldwide media attention from outlets such as the BBC, CBS, CTV, Toronto Star, Vogue Italia, Toronto Life, Chatelaine and Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

One year after publishing her first volume in the Nowhere to Call Home collection, den Bok enrolled in Sheridan’s Honours Bachelor of Photography degree program and considered putting the project on hold due to concerns about her course workload. However, one of her first-year professors convinced her to keep working on the series during her studies, noting the cause was so important that it should remain a priority — even if her schoolwork was impacted as a result. Den Bok dedicated Volume Four to her Sheridan professors, writing, “To my photography professors at Sheridan College. Thank you for your encouragement and support.”

“Leah’s empathy is profound and her advocacy deserves praise and admiration,” says Honours Bachelor of Photography professor Rafael Goldchain. “We are fortunate to have had her spend the past four years at Sheridan.”

Den Bok will hold a pandemic-themed pop-up exhibit and book signing Feb. 26 from 1–4 p.m. at Toronto's Stephen Bulger Gallery, located at 1356 Dundas Street West. Copies of Nowhere to Call Home — Photographs and Stories of People Experiencing Homelessness: Volume Four will also be sold through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Europe Books and several other distributors.

More information about Leah den Bok and her Nowhere to Call Home series can be found on the Sheridan Newsroom. Further samples of her work can also be viewed on her website (humanizingthehomeless.org) and on her Instagram account (@humanizing_the_homeless).