Vanessa, thirty-five, had three children with an abusive husband. She “lost her mind, started doing heroin”, after losing the children, who were taken away and given to her mother. The drugs led to homelessness and prostitution. She grew up on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, but now spends her time in Hunts Point, “trying to survive everyday. Just doing whatever it takes”.

A folk artist gives a fire pot performance at the foot of Ulan Hada volcano group on November 16, 2024 in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. A tourism festival themed on ice and snow opened in Ulanqab on November 16, which will last for five months. (Photo by Wang Zheng/VCG via Getty Images)

Mohammed Al-Shinbari, 24, balances objects using what he calls a mix of mind and body, in his family house in Beit Hanun town in the northern Gaza Strip, 30 November 2019. Al-Shinbari says he can put almost any object in balance. (Photo by Mohammed Saber/EPA/EFE)

Guests attend the Hollywood Forever 2023 Dia De Los Muertos Celebration at Hollywood Forever on October 28, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Over 30 Douglas C-47 Skytrains (Dakotas) making final preparations for flight formation practice before the 75th D-Day Anniversary flight to Normandy in Duxford, England on June 4, 2019. (Photo by UK Air Force Images)

In this Thursday, May 8, 2014 photo, guests look down from the Tilt!, a new tourist attraction that provides guests a unique view of the downtown area from the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building, after it was unveiled in Chicago. People hold onto handrails as the glass and steel facade tilts forward 30 degrees. (Photo by Ashlee Rezin/AP Photo/Sun-Times Media)

Pope Francis meets Spider-Man, who presents him with his mask, at the end of his weekly general audience with a limited number of faithful in the San Damaso Courtyard at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 23, 2021. The masked man works with sick children in hospitals. (Photo by Andrew Medichini/AP Photo)

Russian Police academy female cadets march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, May 7, 2014. Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, is Russia's most important secular holiday celebrated on May 9. (Photo by Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo)