Day 23 - Jeff Day

Hope Collage - Jeff Day

I have looked for hope as I’ve run around Edmonton with my camera for the last few years. If I am being honest with you, and myself, I’ve felt my macro-sense of hope diminish over those years, both internationally and locally. I don’t know if this can be substantiated as a tangible thing, but it seems to me the complexity of problems we face are piling up faster than the solutions. That imbalance erodes hope, at least it does in me. That said, my work at Inner City does refill my hope bucket a little almost every day — and I do get to see periodic scenes of hope while running in the city in my off hours. I’ve included some pictures of those street moments. Mostly I see hope at Inner City High School. At Inner City, I get to see firsthand people helping others in a variety of ways and I’m in the luckiest position as I get to diarize and share their stories in my role at the school. Helping others is hopeful. A line that resonated with me in recent times was from a statement on the passing of Dr. Jane Goodall by the Dave Mathews Band (of all people). It read, "Hope is an act of resistance when the world is run by cruelty and greed." I wrote that down when I read it. Looking for hope feels like an act of resistance, lately, too. It’s helped me keep on, keeping on – and maybe it will help others do the same.     

Jeff Day, Edmonton, AB

Hope Collage 2 - Jeff Day