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 mahout watches the Thai animation movie Kan Kluay with his elephant in Ayuthaya province, about 80km (49 miles) north of Bangkok June 5, 2006. The movie tells the story of a young Thai wild elephant who, while looking for his father, becomes the war elephant of the Thai King fighting against Burma and restored Thailand's ancient Ayuthaya empire that existed about 400 years ago. (Photo by Sukree Sukplang/Reuters)

In this April 20, 2017 photo, a woman is aided by fellow demonstrators after falling, overcome by tear gas, during anti-government protests in Caracas, Venezuela. Tens of thousands of protesters asking for the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro flooded the streets again, one day after three people were killed and hundreds arrested in the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

A white whale wears a wreath at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement park complex in Yokohama, Japan, on October 3, 2012. (Photo by Associated Press)

An Indian lift operator stands inside a dedicated lift for people suspected to be infected with the new corona virus at the Government Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, India, Monday, March 2, 2020. Coronavirus has spread to more than 60 countries, and more than 3,000 people have died from the COVID-19 illness it causes. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A./AP Photo)

Policemen detain topless activists of women's rights group Femen, who stage a performance during a protest against Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the government while marking the Day of Dignity and Freedom near the presidential administration headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine November 21, 2017. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

Five-month-old baby elephant Fah Jam swims during a hydrotherapy treatment as part of a lengthy rehabilitation process to heal her injured front left foot at a rehabilitation center in Pattaya, Thailand January 5, 2017. The baby elephant was injured at three months old when she got stuck in an animal snare put up by villagers to prevent elephant intrusions in Chanthaburi province. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Police detain a woman during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government's handling of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, near Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on July 24, 2020. (Photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters)