For Leo Gonzalez, life is a project, "We're all humans going through different struggles."
Those struggles are stories. Stories of people, tragedies and hope. He captures it all on camera, "I see a lot of sadness, sorrow and regret," he added, "I see a lot of people trying to survive."
He spends most of his time on the streets of Hanford, documenting homeless life. But on this day, he ventured out to Fresno. Within minutes he met Mark, a man who has been out here for seven years.
Mark told him "You want to talk about struggles? I've had some struggles."
Down the road, he met Juan Herndandez. Another man willing to share his story. "I ended up out here suffering you know...learning the ropes," Hernandez said.
Leo sets up a camera and records their voices with his phone. The interviews are short but powerful. In Leo's words, they're eye opening.
"I can easily tell my own story on video but it's much more interesting to know the stories of other people because I begin to appreciate my life just a little bit more," Leo said.
It's the reason he's out here. He listens and shares the stories on YouTube under "The Life Project" to help others appreciate life. "All I hope is that the life project impacts someone by listening to someones story."
Hernandez, one of the men Leo interviewed on the street said, "that's showing compassion to people who don't have a whole lot."
All the sadness, sorrow and regret Leo captures, it's all part of the project. Leo's way of being human.
TXT 24
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