The Cost of Living

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Del (left) and Bev (right) sit on the edge of their tent on February 7, 2009. Shortly after becoming homeless in August of 2008, the couple decided to give up a life long struggle with substance addiction in order to get back on their feet. "We was homeless and gave it up," said Del. "It was a struggle for me to learn to be a person again, sober and be without alcohol."

The Cost of Living

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Del stands by the fire at the campsite on January 11, 2009. When Del was 16, Del's mother was incarcerated which left Del and his siblings to fend for themselves. After a short stint in college, Del joined the military where he experimented with crack cocaine After his service, Del became involved in drug dealing, transportation and personal abuse. Since then, Del has struggled with addiction and stability. "I was spending every dime I had to get high," said Del. "I had to find my worth."

The Cost of Living

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Del cooks a meal on the fire at the campsite on January 11, 2009. The fire provides warmth, heat for cooking, and a central gathering place.

The Cost of Living

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Steve (left) and Del (right) dig through a neighborhood dumpster near Victorian Village in Columbus, Ohio on January 11, 2009. The residents do not mind dumpster diving as long as the divers are respectful and do not spill trash on the ground.

The Cost of Living

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Steve (left) and Del (right) dig through a dumpster in a neighborhood off Fifth Avenue in Columbus, Ohio on January 11, 2009. Del and Steve look for tin cans to recycle and anything else that is salvageable. By selling or trading any found item that has value, dumpster diving provides them with a little income. "It don't bother me if I don't have no money because that's not my worth," said Del. "Money is just something to help you get by. Your worth comes from your heart, not your wallet."

The Cost of Living

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Theresa Johnson (left) prays with Bev (right) at the campsite on February 7, 2009. Johnson was at the campsite with fellow "Soul Searchers" to give the residents of the campsite food and supplies. Soul Searchers is a non-denominational Christian biker gang that gets together to travel and help out the homeless.

The Cost of Living

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Del shaves at a friend's apartment on January 24, 2009. Because Del is homeless, he does not have access to running water so he must come to the apartment to shower, shave, brush his teeth, and perform basic hygienic acts. The friend, Kat Coulter, allows Bev and Del to use her apartment frequently, as well as seek shelter during really cold weather.

The Cost of Living

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John Patchins (left), Kat's boyfriend, shares a marijuana cigarette with Grady (right) in the bathroom of Kat’s apartment on January 24, 2009. The two smoked in the bathroom so that Del and Bev, recovering drug addicts, could not smell the smoke and be tempted.

The Cost of Living

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Del smokes a cigarette after eating breakfast at Fruit of the Vine food pantry on February 7, 2009. The pantry serves the needy meals several times a week and allows the homeless to take groceries with them once a week. Although Del is homeless, he often takes the food for others who need it more than he does.

The Cost of Living

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Steve (left) and Del (right) sweep up debris while working on renovating a room at the Garden Church on January 25, 2009. In exchange for their work, the church agreed to provide them with a free meal.

The Cost of Living

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Del and Bev wait for breakfast at the New Life Church early morning on February 8, 2009. Every Sunday morning, the church offers the "breakfast ministry" which provides about 175 poor and homeless people with a warm breakfast and a sack lunch to take for later in the day.

The Cost of Living

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Bev and Del throw dirty laundry into the washer at Wash 'N Tan Laundromat on February 7, 2009. The Laundromat is the only opportunity they have to wash their clothes.

The Cost of Living

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Del puts a hot rag on Bev's face to ease her discomfort from an eye infection on January 31, 2009. Bev was in the hospital for an extremely bad eye infection she got while volunteering at the Garden Church. She accidentally got some cleaning chemicals into her eyes and woke up the next day with her eyes swollen shut. Because Bev is homeless, she will not be able to pay the hospital bill that she accumulated over her five-day stay, which forces the hospital to pay for all of the expenses.

The Cost of Living

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Del jokes with Bev while putting a hot rag on her neck to help ease the discomfort of her infection on January 31, 2009. While in the hospital, Del left her side only to smoke cigarettes outside. He told the hospital that he was her husband so that he could spend the night in the room and have a warm place to sleep for the nights.

The Cost of Living

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Bishop Nick Scarberry (center, red cap) leads a prayer outside the campsite on February 7, 2009. Scarberry is a member of Potters Church of God and visited the site to give supplies and pray for the residents.

The Cost of Living

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Del looks on as Bev signs paper work at the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority in order to be approved for section 8 housing on March 9, 2009. Because Del served several years in the United States military, he was eligible for a voucher from the Housing Underdevelopments Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD VASH) voucher program. Other programs to help house the homeless couple fell short. "We kept getting broken promises," said Del. "Nobody did nothing for us," added Bev.

The Cost of Living

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Bev calls a realtor she found in a newspaper classifieds page in anticipation of receiving the section 8 housing voucher on March 9, 2009. In order to move in, the realtor must accept the voucher.

The Cost of Living

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Del carries a trash bag of his belongings up the stairs to his new apartment on March 25, 2009. The voucher got approved and now the couple has a year's free rent provided that the neither of them breaks any of the stipulations set by the HUD VASH. "I can't believe it," said Del. "We're finally moving in."