Ernest Roy St. Jean, 58, poses in the Boyle Street Community Services Community Garden. He’s bundled up in multiple sweaters, a coat and neon green trainers. When he volunteered for the photoshoot, he said he’s done this before. I ask photographer Darren Jacknisky why he took the project on.
“They’re part of the community,” he says. “They have humour, they have empathy, they are human.”
St. Jean has been spending his nights at the Edmonton Convention Centre.
“The reason why I go to shelters is because I can’t afford the rent,” he says, his words slurring into each other.
“It’s too high and I don’t make enough money to be able to afford a place.”
“So what I have to do, is just go from shelter to shelter.”
Please watch the video for more:
This article appears in the Winter 2021 issue of Edify
