Santa Cruz, California -- Giovanni Jackson was a homeless crack addict who slept in street doorways. Now that she's kicked drugs and found work, she gives huge amounts of hope to homeless people while she donates care packages to the shelter that helped her.

 I told everyone before we photographed them to just wear their normal clothes, don't dress up, we're not looking for anything fancy, we just want you in everyday clothes. And for some reason I forgot or just didn't mention that to Giovanni, and she's shows up with a tuxedo on. It turns out given her personality, this was perfect. 

Talk about somebody who's come from behind and really is using her own hard work and her own life to now inspire and help other people. Think about black tie and tails and then think about someone who's homeless and a crack addict. Showing up in a tux really said a lot about where she saw herself. She's literally moving away from this storefront doorway which she slept in. She knows where she wants to go and she knows how to get there.

Photo Essay by Charles "Stretch" Ledford
StretchPhotography.com