Sekourtney and her friend Kandace have been friends through the good times and bad.

Jacque worked at a motel while her husband drove a truck. Now she has a carton of milk and a streak of blonde hair. It’s natural, she says.

Jesse is homeless, alienated from his parents. He’d like to travel, but tonight he’ll sleep in his van in an AutoZone parking lot. His parents bought the van for him, but its front end soon failed and he’s waiting to be able to afford the parts. “Here we are…..,” he says. Sometimes he volunteers at the Food Kitchen where “I can give away a lot of smiles.”

Sean regrets having been on psychotropic medications since he was five because they made him fuzzy and forgetful. He tried to find a new life in Canada, but retreated because life there seemed just as dangerous. He feels creative and, now that he is back in the US, he wants to be a writer or artist or musician. But first he might move to Japan.

Robyn and Ronald met in Flagstaff, she from Texas and he from northern California. They’ve been here for three years, living in a shelter during winter and camping in summer. With eyes on Ronald, she said, “He may be homeless but I still love him.”

Robert works as a quality control inspector. But when his wife walked out, he was left with little more than three children and the clothes on his back. Now he and his kids are regulars at the Food Kitchen. His son clung happily to his left leg. Robert was infinitely patient with his two daughters as they carefully picked through a bin of toys in the reading room. He worries what the upcoming divorce will do to their spirits. In the meantime, at least they have food.

Isidro has been coming to the Food Kitchen for four years, long enough to observe that “I can’t say enough good things about the people here.” He’s leaving Flagstaff soon, though, heading to Prescott to get knee replacements. Perhaps he will be back.

When Ronda bought her van a few years ago, it came with a dog – Pepper. She and a friend now live in that van.” She joyfully recalls summertime camping in the cinder hills near Sunset Crater. Once she pulled into Ft. Tuthill and impulsively jumped out to roll on the ground with Pepper amid the cinders and pine needles.

Ondria left Houston to camp in the shadow of the San Francisco Peaks. She came with her friend Jessie to find a comforting spirituality amid these mountains. She wanted to be with him. “You are my home,” she said, gazing into his eyes.

Brock can’t help but smile. He’s happy to have a job at Walmart. When he’s not working there, he’s saving souls as a preacher.