On any given night there are
more than 1500 homeless men,

women, and children in
Hillsborough County.

That's according
to the latest count

by the Tampa Hillsborough
Homeless Initiative.

To put a face to a
few of these names,

the University of Tampa's
Scarfone Hartley Gallery

recently hosted and exhibition
called Fissures and Cracks.

(upbeat music)

- We are exceedingly excited
to host a wonderful show,

Fissures and Cracks
which is visual works of

and by the homeless
of Tampa Bay.

And we have a combination
of artists involved.

We have Tim Kennedy,

who is a professor
of communication here

and he created the
photography series.

And then we also have two
artists who have worked with

The Portico and The Tampa
Museum of Art through art space.

The Portico is
actually a division

of the United Methodists
Church in Hyde Park.

(slow music)

- One of the programs
that we have at our church

that we're really well known
for is our Open Arms Ministry.

It began as a feeding
ministry for homeless

and low income
individuals and families

and it's grown to
serve over 200 people

every Sunday morning on
the Hyde Park campus.

And I began to observed
that we had people

right there every Sunday morning

who have natural artistic
talents and abilities.

And one of my very
favorites is Larry.

(slow music)

- It was just a gift
when I was a little kid.

I drew mostly,

from kindergarten
and high school

and then in college also.

- He can tell you
more about his story,

uh, though I feel like
Larry speaks most clearly

through his art.

And so, we were
approached by some folks

with the University of Tampa
and the Tampa Museum of Art

to develop a partnership where
we could offer art classes

for folks that were
from our group.

And so we started hosting
the classes downtown

at our Portico campus.

So, once a week we
have art classes

for some folks who
don't have homes

but they have artistic talent

and they have a story to tell.

(slow music)

- I worked many years with
the homeless population

and I worked in many,
many homeless shelters

and many, many places.

And there's a regimen,

I mean you need to come in,

you usually have to have an I.D,

which you don't usually have.

Um, you have to be able
to kind of fit into a mold

you're outta the shelter
from nine to five,

you have to follow all
these regimens too.

You know, you have
to be working,

going to school,

you have to be all these things

and it happens very fast.

Here we don't require
any of those things.

We're not there as case
managers or social workers

to make sure all those
things are in place.

What we are there
for is just providing

an hour rest, to come in,

you know, make some art,

talk, connect with other people

about your artwork.

So that's why I think
people keep coming (laugh).

Cause they feel like
they can just come

and just, ah, let me
take a deep breath.

- What our therapy
has been able to do

over its development,

is start to crack
into peoples visions,

to see more about how they are

and help them find
ways of sharing things

they may not be able
to share so easily.

Traumatic experiences,

processes of how they
ended up where they are,

but also just part
of your human soul

can come out in the
visual in a better way.

- The homeless are
important to me

because it was part of my
life when I was younger.

Um, being homeless
myself for a short while

uh, when I was a child.

And um,

I always enjoyed art,

but was never allowed to
do it when I was a child.

And um,

it just was part of what
interested me, you know?

It was two things
that came together,

art and the homeless.

The animals are most
meaningful I think

because um,

when I was being
abused as a child

we had a dog that
also got abused

and it just upsets me so much

when I see an animal
that's being abused.

And when I read my bio,

um, I got a little bit
emotional about that.

- Fissures and Cracks,

I actually helped them
come up with that.

To me it reflected

some phrasing that I had heard

over the long discourse with
regards to homelessness.

That people fall through
the cracks of society.

And then I looked at the
photography that you see

that Tim Kennedy did

and I just sat there

and I'm like, look at the
wrinkles on these peoples faces,

look at the depth that
is just on the surface.

I can't imagine how this
couldn't be more like

a fissure, a way to dive
into these peoples minds

and a way to dive into who
they are, their personalities,

so that we can find out
how better to serve them.

- I don't think
people understand

that you can all be homeless
within a few months.

When my husband lost his
job, and rent one time

it reminded me very much so,

that we were only a
few paychecks away

from being that.

They're not what they
call, bums on the corner.

They are genuine people

who would, most of
them would like a job

and would like to get
back on their feet.

And I think people
need to remember that.

- I love that he
uses art to speak,

when maybe words would limit

what he would have to say to us.

I actually have a
little story for ya,

if you'd like it.

So last year before
hurricane Irma,

you may recall that
everybody here,

we thought it was
coming to get us.

and so, um, I actually
drive a convertible

and I was driving
up Florida Avenue

looking for homeless
folks that I might know

who might not have
a safe place to go.

And I found Larry,

sitting on Florida Ave

with his suitcases.

We piled the
suitcases in the car

and we looked for
public shelter.

But one of the
things Larry asked me

was would I keep his art.

Because he didn't want
to take it with him

into a public shelter and
risk anything happening to it.

So, I took it home and
kept it safely for him.

Larry loves his art
and it's his baby.

(slow music)

- [Dalia] To learn more visit

ut.edu and search for
"fissures & cracks"