From 2013-16, I went on outreach rides with Fourth Street Clinic, a Salt Lake City nonprofit that provides medical care to homeless folks and street sex workers. The medical team included a doctor, nurse and former sex worker. We visited motels and met mostly women on the street in need of health care and hygienic supplies.

I met a group of extremely vulnerable women. Forced to live under the radar, these women face endless struggles to survive. Violence from “johns” is regular. As the activity they engage in is illegal, turning to the police for help is not an option, which can sometimes lead to sexual violence as well.

For most, drug use becomes a way to cope with the horrors of life on the streets. These women come from all walks of life and have become homeless due to many different circumstances.

“I’m not scared of death. I’m more scared of everyday life than death.” - Tina

Candyss in her motel room with her partner, Tina.

A local motel temporarily houses many sex workers, who can pay by the day or week.

Tina dreams of being an artist. Her drawing of a dog sits proudly above her bed.

Jessica in her motel room. "My room is a mess. Honestly, I got high last night and I'm not sure what happened in there."

Dr. Joel Hunt, outreach doctor with Fourth Street Clinic, gives Candyss medical treatment in her motel room.

Paige tries to start anew, moving into a cheap apartment with her boyfriend and dog. One month later, she could no longer be found at the apartment.

Donna on State Street, a high-traffic area for sex workers in Salt Lake City. Donna, who grew up in an upper-middle-class family, has been soliciting sex since the late 1990's.

Some of the few pay phones left in the city at a local convenience store attract many sex workers.

Jessica is in the hospital getting treated for abscesses in her arm, a consequence of shooting up. "Once you put a needle in your arm, there's no boundaries."

Friendly reminder in the motel room of a sex worker.

“We have to get out of this motel, and we have to get off heroin. If we don’t get off the black now, we’re fucked. We’re fucked as it is.” - Candyss