A maximum of 12 images compiled in a picture story or essay that reflects the human experience.
Second Place: Maya Galindo
“I’ll be back again for you tomorrow” – Stephen Rosa spent 20 years of his life with on and off addiction, homelessness, and stays in prison, but, a few years after he got sober and got a job as an electrician, he decided to give back to his community and become a homeless outreach worker. Now, he works for three non-profit organizations that aim to help the unhoused and those in active addiction. With homelessness rates on the rise in Rochester, he often finds himself stretched thin and overwhelmed but still persisting on in his calling to help the community.
Stephen Rosa goes to check in on an unhoused woman while doing outreach at Person Centered Housing Options (PCHO) in Rochester, N.Y. on March 23, 2026.Stephen Rosa talks with Domenic Curtis, an unhoused man, during PCHO street outreach in Rochester, N.Y. on March 2, 2026. Curtis was brought on as a prospective client of Rosa’s and is in search for housing.Stephen Rosa checks in on a reported campsite in Rochester, N.Y. on March 27, 2026. The site was currently vacated.Stephen Rosa comforts new client Jenna Salamone after she began crying when asked about her son at St. Peters kitchen in Rochester, N.Y. on March 12, 2026. Salamone has been unhoused for a year in a half after her landlord let the property become inhabitable and the city illegally evicted her. Salamone and her husband Dan then began living in tents on the property and are now looking to get housing. Her 14-year-old son currently lives with his biological father and she wants to be able to see him more often.Stephen Rosa gestures while listening to a prospective clients story and circumstances at PCHO in Rochester, N.Y. on March 12, 2026.Stephen Rosa helps Sydney Marquez complete intake paperwork to bring her in as a client for PCHO at the Father Tracy’s Advocacy Center in Rochester, N.Y. on March 27, 2026. Marquez claims that has been unhoused for a year after being illegally evicted and is currently living in an abandoned UHaul with her partner.Stephen Rosa checks in on a reported encampment while doing outreach at PCHO in Rochester, N.Y. on March 23, 2026.Stephen Rosa tells his story of addiction and sobriety at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Rochester, N.Y. on March 17, 2026.Stephen Rosa receives a hug from a volunteer while doing outreach at Recovery All Ways (RAW) in Rochester, N.Y. on March 22, 2026. The volunteer preferred not to be named.“Stephen Rosa checks in on the campsite of his clients, Jenna and Dan Salamone, in Rochester, N.Y. on March 27, 2026.Cielo Hernandez reacts as Stephen Rosa tells her that she’s officially on the housing list at the Lincoln Library in Rochester, N.Y. on March 23, 2026.Stephen Rosa, Bill Gierchak, and Nazjane Boswell go up to a campsite to see if they need resources or would like to find housing while doing outreach for PCHO in Rochester, N.Y. on March 9, 2026.
Posted: April 29, 2026 by Hannah Murphy
2026 Photo Story Second Place
A maximum of 12 images compiled in a picture story or essay that reflects the human experience.
Second Place: Maya Galindo
“I’ll be back again for you tomorrow” – Stephen Rosa spent 20 years of his life with on and off addiction, homelessness, and stays in prison, but, a few years after he got sober and got a job as an electrician, he decided to give back to his community and become a homeless outreach worker. Now, he works for three non-profit organizations that aim to help the unhoused and those in active addiction. With homelessness rates on the rise in Rochester, he often finds himself stretched thin and overwhelmed but still persisting on in his calling to help the community.
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