
This is Jenny. She's 20 years old. I found her while taking the long way home through
Kensington Market. It was her ripped stockings that initially caught my attention.
Jenny has lived on the streets on and off for the last five years. A young beautiful girl, she was quickly welcomed into a life of sex and drugs. Her first boyfriend took her to Montreal and introduced her to heroin. They returned to Toronto and Jenny earned money working for an escort agency.
At the escort agency, she was well looked after. The man in charge of the agency was very respectful. If there was someone that she didn't feel comfortable around, he wouldn't send her out on the call.
I found Jenny sitting on some steps with a friend. I talked to both of them and learned that her friend has been clean for over a year and is now off the streets. But Jenny remains. She sleeps anywhere.
"I know it sounds fucked up", she confessed "but sometimes I sleep under a bridge." Her friend, likely noticing my concern, added "I have been on the streets long enough to know that I can't help people make changes. They must do it for themselves."