Jakob Menendez

Although photojournalists and documentary photographers are helping to raise awareness about the opioid epidemic, many of the images they produce are stigmatizing. The countless photographs of slumped-over bodies and those actively injecting fail to convey the humanity of the crisis. In order to amplify the participants' voices and experiences, I took a rare step and invited my collaborators to write their thoughts and feelings by hand on the photographs. In addition you can hear them tell the story through their own words below each picture.