Photo series captures homeless mother, family experiencing challenges and joy
(Editor's note: "Good Morning America" is celebrating Mother's Day in the days ahead by highlighting many aspects of motherhood and the motherhood experience. Mother's Day is May 13.)
The background is different, but the moments captured feel so much the same.
That's the takeaway of photographer Sara Easter, whose new photo series, "Sheltered," documents a family living at the Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth, Texas.
Dallas Henderson, the mom in the photos, told "Good Morning America" that she, her husband, Jared, and four children were "couch to couch, sometimes sleeping in their car," before finding shelter at Union Gospel Mission.
They have lived there for 10 months.
"It’s overwhelming and stressful," Dallas Henderson told 'GMA'. "We are in a room and we don’t have room doing anything, we basically sit on bed and watch movies, color, play cards. There's a little playground outside we go to."
The two older children -- Sadie 8 and Xoi, 5 -- take a bus to school each morning. While Jared looks for work, Dallas watches the two younger kids, Zander, 3 and Mila, 1.
Despite the stress of the close quarters and uncertain future, Dallas and Jared are steadfast in their love for their four children.
"We had a rough life growing up as kids," she said. "We just want to give our kids something better."
Dallas Henderson, who is pregnant, said she dreams of having a house someday. But the family doesn't have a car, making it difficult for Jared to find a job.
"We don't have anything to work with," she said.
The photos, however, show very typical family moments. It shows older children helping the younger ones. Dallas coloring on the bed with a child. Children getting bathed. Hugs. Kisses. Tantrums. Tears.
Easter, a former social worker, told "GMA": "I look through their gallery and, above everything else, I see people who love each other."
Though she said there were unique challenges that come with parenting in a shelter, there are lots of similarities, too.
"The kids have to be with their parents at all times while at the shelter, which means Mom does not get a break or any alone time," Easter said. "But kids are kids despite where they live. They still have meltdowns and sibling rivalries. They still need to know they are safe and loved. They still have good days and bad days.
"Parenting is a great equalizer," she added. "It often looks the same across cultures, history and, in this case, socioeconomic backgrounds."
Dallas Henderson said she loved the "beautiful" photos.
"I'd wanted to have family pictures taken for a long time but we never had the money," she said.
The Hendersons have since left the shelter and are living in a motel financed by her aunt for the next two weeks. After that, she said, their future is uncertain.
"Families are families across the board and that we need to remember that people experiencing homelessness are people first," Easter said. "It’s very easy to assume you know why or how someone is in this situation but we are often wrong.
"Instead of judging or looking for all the ways we are different,"she added, "we should really open our eyes to the similarities."
