I first met Julie in the lobby of a single room occupancy hotel, and she was holding her 8 day old baby Rachel in her arms. Julie was 18 years old and the baby's father, Jack Fyffe, was 19 years of old. They were both HIV positive. They said Rachel “gives us a reason to live.” It was February 1994. Julie Baird has been on her own since she was 14 years old. She ran away, lived on the street, used drugs, picked up the AIDS virus had four children (Rachel, Tommy, Jordan and Ryan). For the last eight years I have been photographing Julie as she has struggled to stay off drugs, moving from one dilapidated residential hotel to another.

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