Standing outside the Iron Gate, a soup kitchen and food pantry in Tulsa, Okla., a hard rain fell. When it turned to hail, people experiencing homelessness and hunger crowded under a small overhang to avoid getting pelted. I stood with them. Other times I’ve covered the local shelters, I’ve always felt so much different than the people I was covering. On this day, my feelings changed, as I, too, was furloughed from my job as a staff photographer. 

I was scared about where the economy was heading and wondering how anyone was going to keep a job. I wasn’t going to eat when they started handing food out, but I felt kinship with the people I was waiting with. When I’d explain to them that I was furloughed from my job, everyone seemed to welcome me with open arms. They felt a kinship with me, too. Very few people told me, “no pictures.”

 When I found out I would have to furlough two weeks in the first quarter of 2020, I was upset and scared. In the end, I am glad I spent those two weeks furloughed. My family had money saved and never really struggled because of it, but I learned about need. I learned about how it feels to pull out your unemployment debit card at a gas station to pay for items. “Do people notice? Are they judging my purchases?” 

The experience will help me cover people with more dignity and compassion going forward.