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”.

James Castrission, “Cas” and Justin Jones “Jonesy” ski across an ice staking rink with two “You Can” patients on August 2, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. In 75 days, the Aussie adventure pair will attempt to cross 2,200 kilometres of Antarctic ice to the South Pole and back on foot to raise money for youth with cancer. The journey will require the two to trek with all the supplies for approximately three months of walking. Cas and Jonesy became the first to kayak unassisted over 3,300 kilometres from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Izelle Nair, 39, the instructor at the Merschool poses for a portrait in her mermaid attire at the centre in Kayalami, Midrand, South Africa on June 3, 2022. Mermaiding is a fast growing sport world wide and includes several skills such as monofin swimming, sculling, tricks and breath hold. (Photo by Marco Longari/AFP Photo)

English-French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg and her son Ben Attal attend the Saint Laurent Womenswear Spring/Summer 2020 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on September 24, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Swan Gallet/WWD/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Jennifer Lopez stars in the spring-summer 2020 campaign for fashion giant, Versace. The 50-year-old actress appears in the eye-catching campaign, shot by fashion photographers Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, described by the brand as “a provocation on the power of the internet“. (Photo by Versace/The Mega Agency)

Carnival revellers take the metro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 19, 2023. Shaking the ground to the beat of their drums, Rio de Janeiro's famed carnival parades returned Sunday in a swirl of glitter, sequins and samba, the festival's first full-on edition since Covid-19 and Brazil's bitterly divisive elections. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

Revellers take part in an annual block party before Carnival in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, January 16, 2016. The Rio de Janeiro Carnival will be held from February 5 to February 9. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

Arcelia Aguilar, a resident of “Hogar Jardin De Los Abuelitos”, receives a hug from her niece Maria Aguilar through “El muro de los Abrazos” (The Wall of Hugs) which is a wall made from plastic sheets to protect against the coronavirus, in San Salvador, El Salvador on September 1, 2020. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters)