Tender Souls is a photo documentary project uncovering the humanity and complexities of the Tenderloin, a neighborhood in the dead center of the innovation capital of the world. Riddled with severe homelessness, mental illness, drugs, violence, and prostitution, the Tenderloin is often characterized as a major blemish on one of the world’s most attractive cities. However, beneath the surface rests a soul unlike any other community in San Francisco. A soul that not only experiences deep suffering but triumphant redemption, a soul that meets the needs of their neighbors with the little gifts they have, a deeply tender soul.

 

Each month we will release a new story of a community member in the Tenderloin comprised of still photos and an audio interview giving an honest look into their lives.

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Our aim is to make the unseen, seen -- the unheard, heard. Our dream is that these stories help bridge the divide between the mainstream and the margins, that Tender Souls can be a mirror, reflecting back our very real fragility, and our immense strength.