November 23, 2014 by sophie green

"I've done so many bad things in my past. I’ve wasted three quarters of my life locked away in prisons or mental health hospitals. I was a problem child, I was always running away, going missing, they wouldn’t even know if I was in prison half the time. Many hazed LSD years passed me by only to be replaced by many more years of heavy alcohol abuse. Prisons and mental hospitals are full of people such as myself who couldn't get a fair deal. If I had stayed in Liverpool I would have been dead years ago. Just to be sitting here is an achievement. I came here to Kent to get away from it all. In rehab I hooked up with a girl more than half my age. No it was not love. The only good thing that came out of this was two wonderful kiddos. I have loved Aston and Lola from their first breaths for air.

A few years ago false allegations were made against me that I assaulted my daughter. I'm restrained from seeing or talking to my daughter for something l did not do. Life means little to me without her. I didn't know where to turn for help. I didn't feel I could trust anyone to treat me fairly. Tomorrow's People stepped in and helped me find support for my mental health issues and helped me to apply for legal aid. I now have a strong chance to get all my concerns put before a court for resolution. Tomorrow’s People put everything in place to save my life, getting me back on the right track again.

Since working with Tomorrow's People, I have become the caretaker of the local church, worked to set up and run a community allotment, and have started volunteering as a driver for Age UK. I'm doing things that, given my history, I never thought I'd be able to do."

Tomorrow's People - Hayley // / November 23, 2014 by sophie green

"I’m not just a number. I’m a mother. I’m a trainer. I’m a dedicated worker. My dream is to create a better life for my kids. I had been with another agency looking for work; to them I was a number. Whereas Tomorrow’s People were interested in me, they cared, it made me feel good! It was ‘let’s get your confidence up, let’s get your CV ready’. I’d been working since I was about 15. I got pregnant when I was 21. I had two babies in just over a year, and a few years break from work. That’s when I went to Tomorrow’s People. They were very good, they cared about us. Because the group was so small, they had time to get to know us and find out what we wanted individually.

I started a cleaning job that I could fit around the children. It felt good to be back at work, to have that independence, to say I had money in my pocket. Anne, who’s the Training Director for the London Cleaning Academy, saw something in me, she gave me the chance to become a trainer. The first time I did a training session was terrifying, I was sweating and shaking, but my confidence grew, and now I hold training sessions for 30 people, all the different personalities - the loud ones, the quiet ones. It’s nice to wake up and know that today I could get one person back into work. The opportunity that Anne and Tomorrow’s People gave me, I can give someone else.

My dream is to make a better life for my children. And now I can see that better future. I’ve got a job, I’m on that career ladder and the only way is up."

Portrait // Hayley, Brixton, London. 27.

Tomorrow's People - Chris // / November 23, 2014 by sophie green

“I became involved in a gang as a form of protection in the early 90’s. We didn’t call ourselves a gang but rather a group that would stick together when roaming outside of our community because of the racial attacks we faced from our white counterparts. This unity quickly turned to organisation by our early teens and with no hope of employment by what we saw as a racist, predominantly white work force, we turned to crime in order to generate money. Older peers exploited our naivety and so my life of crime escalated and opened doors to mass drug and violence problems.

I believe that people are drawn to gang life most commonly to have a sense of family, or a need for money and a desire for protection. Other reasons can involve fear, peer pressure, poverty, a family history tradition or just excitement. I believe in the main it’s down to a lack of identity and love, mostly caused by absent fathers.

If I had a chance I would tell my younger self – ‘There is a better life out there for you’. A few years ago I decided that I wanted to exit ‘gang life’ as I had children and wanted to be a role model in their life. I also saw the younger generation becoming worse than we ever were at their age and I decided to use my negative experiences to help others avoid making the same mistakes. I’ve successfully turned my life around and hope I can serve as an example to others to do the same.

Today I am part of a team of 12 people that work for a company called ‘The Bristol Life Centre’. Bristol Life Centre is open to 16-24 year olds, based in Bristol. We aim to help young people who have had an disadvantaged upbringing, including those who’ve been to prison, who are in trouble with the police, excluded from school or who are NEET. My main role is as a mentor and motivator, helping the young people we work to see that there is another way of life they can choose. We enable them to make better life choices and break away from their current negative choices. We help the young people understand their own potential and that there is another way of life they can choose.

We inform young people of the career and education opportunities available and support them to progress and fulfil their aspirations. We also enable them to explore particular aspects of their life through project-based activity such as photography, film and music. We hope in the next 2yrs to have our own office building and to secure more funding to enable us to do more work out on the streets, in homes, prisons, schools and around the community.

Tomorrow’s People have been a pillar of support, I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. Tomorrow’s People helped me to set and achieve realistic goals. They helped me with my finances and budgeting strategies, as well as offering a listening ear when things didn’t go as planned. I would recommend to anyone who has been struggling to find work, no matter from what walk of life, to get in touch with this life-changing organisation.”

"I feel so uncomfortable in front of the camera, I've spent my whole life avoiding them. Where I'm from, smiling and shyness is seen as a weakness."

Tomorrow's People - Jessie // / November 23, 2014 by sophie green

"When my mum and dad broke up it was hard for me, I didn't know what to do with myself. I was living with my dad, brother and sisters when my mum left, I admit now I went down the wrong path, I never worked, never went to school, none of that, doing stuff I now regret.

I had to step into the mum role. My younger brothers and sisters didn’t have any older women in their life as an influence apart from me and my sister Connie; they looked up to us. It was unexpected when mum left; I knew mum and dad were fighting, I didn’t know stuff was that serious but one thing led to another. All the stress at home made me feel alone, I had no one to talk to but I had to stay strong for my family. It’s made me stronger and wiser learning not to depend on anyone, people can walk in and out of your life in a matter of minutes. You can sit moping around but you have to think forward to the brighter future. Things happen and you have to get on with it.

I was given an opportunity to change when I met my boyfriend and got a place on Tomorrow's People. I got myself a job, got some great experiences and a lot of confidence about working life, I'm now about to move far away from where I live into a new house with my dad and family I can't wait to go and have a fresh start."

Portrait // Jessie, Dagenham, Essex. 17.

Tomorrow's People - Priscilla // / November 23, 2014 by sophie green

"I got kicked out of school and I had to stay at home for a long time which meant I spent a lot of time with my family. My mum would always be getting on to me about different things. I was always being compared to my older brothers and sisters - who were doing great at school and at uni and I felt like everyone was against me. I was really angry about a lot of things, I needed help and I knew it, which is why I agreed to work with Tomorrow’s People.

I changed schools which was a distraction and something to look forward to instead of always going home and arguing with my family. If you focus on school or focus on something you enjoy, in the future it will benefit you and your life. I’m much happier now I’ve started doing art and focusing on it much more than everything else. I’ve made mistakes but maybe if I had listened to my mum more and if I didn’t get myself into all the drama of secondary school then I wouldn’t of had so many problems with my family.

I would most like to do something in fashion design and marketing and I think that if I keep working hard enough I could be really successful. I want to be independent and make my own money and earn my own house. I would like to go to uni, all my siblings have done it and have been successful. I’m much more confident now and much more mature. I can speak out more instead of bottling it in and this gets the problem out the way. I couldn’t even talk to my friends about my problems, I felt like I could talk to my coach more than my friends. Tomorrow's People have always given me opportunities, they always involved me in things and showed me that they really cared and because of that I am so grateful."

Portrait // Priscilla, Edmonton, London. 17.

Tomorrow's People - Aisha // / November 23, 2014 by sophie green

"Before Tomorrow’s People, I felt quite alone without anyone older to really talk to. I had a lot of problems at home where other people were involved. It made me feel worse as everything was kept quiet. I felt very angry and misunderstood and when there were incidents at school I realised that the problem had to be solved. It was hard for me to turn to anyone as I had spent so much time hiding and not showing the way I really felt inside, even with those closest to me.

I also felt frustrated as I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future and it felt like the time was nearing where I had to start thinking about that. As my family life wasn’t going too well, I couldn’t talk to my parents about it. It was a constant battle with them for me to do anything. Although honestly I could say that the biggest battle that I faced was with myself as I was blaming myself for many things from the past, and I could not seem to move on or find ways to solve it. I was depressed and it was even more frustrating that no one knew what was really going on with me, and even though I needed the help, I was very reluctant to get it. All the other organisations that I had been referred to had failed to help me and made me feel even worse about myself; so many strangers knew about my personal life but yet had not gotten to know the real Aisha.

However when I got involved with Tomorrow’s People, they gave me so many skills that I felt I was lacking in order to help me sort out my future. I feel like they have helped me to grow mentally and emotionally and they are helping me to become the woman that I want to be. For me the toughest conflict I had was with myself, I've learnt to accept myself for who I am but I have also learnt from my mistakes. I've come to terms with accepting that I have made wrong decisions but that I can move on and learn from them. There is always room for improvement as no one is perfect but I thank my coaches for given me the encouragement that I needed to keep growing and becoming a better person."

Portrait // Aisha, Homerton, London. 17.

Harley & Yuka // / October 23, 2014 by sophie green

Portraits of couple, Harley & Yuka at home.

Portrait Salon // / October 17, 2014 by sophie green

Very pleased to have my portrait of Lershard selected for this years Portrait Salon. First stop is Four Corners on November the 6th for the opening night.

Feature Shoot // / September 30, 2014 by sophie green

Feature Shoot did a write up on my 'I Am Sophie Green' project; http://www.featureshoot.com/2014/09/photographer-explores-identity-capturing-people-share-name/

A Day At The Races // / August 16, 2014 by sophie green

Rain, more rain, high people, drunk people, drum & bass, dodgy hair, flat caps, tattoos, gold chains, piercings, sun shine, tank tops, topless chests, slush puppies, hot dogs, chips, chicks, fast cars, pimped out cars, racer boy heaven. Snap snap snap, 14 rolls shot. Done - a day at the races. See the full series on my website.

Karlos // / August 11, 2014 by sophie green

I met Karlos at a bus stop. We shot around Ladbroke Grove over two evenings in the most beautiful sunlight ever. Here are some outtakes.

Marrakech Outtakes // / July 13, 2014 by sophie green

Check out the new series on ma website entitled 'Hot and Dusty'.

Prints // / June 9, 2014 by sophie green

Portrait // Jimmy, Tooting, London. / May 5, 2014 by sophie green

I came across a car garage in Tooting, where I met this Polish man called Jimmy. It took a while to persuade him to let me take his picture. Eventually he said yes. I was led up some stairs to the office situated on top of the garage. The 'office' was in fact a bright pink room with just a bed in it. A bit suspicious if you ask me. Jimmy kept posing provocatively in front of camera. He offered to take his clothes off. I was after an interesting portrait. I think Jimmy had a different agenda.

Portrait // Jimmy, Tooting, London, 2014.

Made in Tooting // / April 2, 2014 by sophie green

The boys at Treherne Court.

Portrait // Daniel, Tooting, London, 2014.

Katie // / April 1, 2014 by sophie green

Katie at home.

Portrait // Katie, Clapham, London, 2014.

Bangers & Smash // Shoot 1 - Stock Cars and Bangers Race. / February 22, 2014 by sophie green

This is the first shoot for my new series entitled 'Rare and Exotic'. I have big plans for this project so watch this space. My first adventure took place at the Stock Cars and Bangers race at Wimbledon Stadium...