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

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women, and children in 
Hillsborough County.

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That's according 
to the latest count

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by the Tampa Hillsborough 
Homeless Initiative.

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To put a face to a 
few of these names,

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the University of Tampa's 
Scarfone Hartley Gallery

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recently hosted and exhibition 
called Fissures and Cracks.

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(upbeat music)

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- We are exceedingly excited 
to host a wonderful show,

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Fissures and Cracks 
which is visual works of

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and by the homeless 
of Tampa Bay.

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And we have a combination 
of artists involved.

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We have Tim Kennedy,

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who is a professor 
of communication here

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and he created the 
photography series.

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And then we also have two 
artists who have worked with

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

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The Portico is 
actually a division

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of the United Methodists 
Church in Hyde Park.

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(slow music)

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- One of the programs 
that we have at our church

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

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It began as a feeding 
ministry for homeless

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and low income 
individuals and families

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and it's grown to 
serve over 200 people

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every Sunday morning on 
the Hyde Park campus.

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And I began to observed 
that we had people

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right there every Sunday morning

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who have natural artistic 
talents and abilities.

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And one of my very 
favorites is Larry.

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(slow music)

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

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I drew mostly,

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from kindergarten 
and high school

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and then in college also.

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- He can tell you 
more about his story,

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uh, though I feel like 
Larry speaks most clearly

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through his art.

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And so, we were 
approached by some folks

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with the University of Tampa 
and the Tampa Museum of Art

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to develop a partnership where 
we could offer art classes

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for folks that were 
from our group.

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And so we started hosting 
the classes downtown

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at our Portico campus.

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So, once a week we 
have art classes

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for some folks who 
don't have homes

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but they have artistic talent

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and they have a story to tell.

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(slow music)

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- I worked many years with 
the homeless population

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and I worked in many, 
many homeless shelters

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and many, many places.

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And there's a regimen,

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I mean you need to come in,

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you usually have to have an I.D,

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which you don't usually have.

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

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you're outta the shelter 
from nine to five,

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you have to follow all 
these regimens too.

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You know, you have 
to be working,

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going to school,

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you have to be all these things

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and it happens very fast.

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Here we don't require 
any of those things.

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We're not there as case 
managers or social workers

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to make sure all those 
things are in place.

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What we are there 
for is just providing

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an hour rest, to come in,

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you know, make some art,

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talk, connect with other people

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about your artwork.

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

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Cause they feel like 
they can just come

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

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- What our therapy 
has been able to do

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over its development,

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is start to crack 
into peoples visions,

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to see more about how they are

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and help them find 
ways of sharing things

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they may not be able 
to share so easily.

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Traumatic experiences,

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processes of how they 
ended up where they are,

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but also just part 
of your human soul

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can come out in the 
visual in a better way.

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- The homeless are 
important to me

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

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Um, being homeless 
myself for a short while

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uh, when I was a child.

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And um,

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I always enjoyed art,

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

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And um,

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

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It was two things 
that came together,

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art and the homeless.

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The animals are most 
meaningful I think

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because um,

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when I was being 
abused as a child

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we had a dog that 
also got abused

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and it just upsets me so much

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when I see an animal 
that's being abused.

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And when I read my bio,

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um, I got a little bit 
emotional about that.

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- Fissures and Cracks,

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I actually helped them 
come up with that.

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To me it reflected

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some phrasing that I had heard

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over the long discourse with 
regards to homelessness.

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That people fall through 
the cracks of society.

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And then I looked at the 
photography that you see

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that Tim Kennedy did

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and I just sat there

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

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look at the depth that 
is just on the surface.

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

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a fissure, a way to dive 
into these peoples minds

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

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

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- I don't think 
people understand

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that you can all be homeless 
within a few months.

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When my husband lost his 
job, and rent one time

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it reminded me very much so,

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that we were only a 
few paychecks away

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from being that.

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

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They are genuine people

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who would, most of 
them would like a job

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and would like to get 
back on their feet.

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And I think people 
need to remember that.

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- I love that he 
uses art to speak,

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when maybe words would limit

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what he would have to say to us.

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I actually have a 
little story for ya,

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if you'd like it.

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So last year before 
hurricane Irma,

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you may recall that 
everybody here,

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we thought it was 
coming to get us.

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and so, um, I actually 
drive a convertible

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and I was driving 
up Florida Avenue

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looking for homeless 
folks that I might know

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who might not have 
a safe place to go.

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And I found Larry,

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sitting on Florida Ave

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with his suitcases.

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We piled the 
suitcases in the car

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and we looked for 
public shelter.

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But one of the 
things Larry asked me

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was would I keep his art.

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Because he didn't want 
to take it with him

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into a public shelter and 
risk anything happening to it.

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

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Larry loves his art 
and it's his baby.

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(slow music)

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- [Dalia] To learn more visit

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ut.edu and search for 
"fissures & cracks"