Hospitality and Safety Ambassador, Herman, welcomed guests with warm meals to The Warm Hand Wellness and Resource Center at the SOS Yard. The photograph represents SOS work while including only folks who have been through our informed consent process.

MEDIA - SOS Richmond's media policy prioritizes dignity, respect, and empowerment for all individuals. We aim to create a digital legacy that celebrates resilience, community, and connection while maintaining ethical standards. Our guidelines include capturing images in dignified settings, respecting personal boundaries, and obtaining informed consent. We do not engage in "poverty porn," take photos without consent, or exploit vulnerable situations. Our approach fosters trust, allowing individuals to maintain control over their image and how it's used. We also ensure privacy by not using last names of unhoused individuals in most cases and not revealing locations without approval. We also ask that our guests take photos only of  people in their party  unless we are hosting a special event.  Through these practices, we strive to foster understanding, empathy, and garner support for our work while safeguarding the rights and well-being of everyone involved.

STORY - Some of the stories we tell are composites, blending real details from 2-3 individuals into one narrative. We take this approach to protect the well-being of folks who are still in highly vulnerable situations. Sharing their stories without extreme care can unintentionally cause harm—by triggering painful memories (your mind can sometimes process a story as if it were happening to you), creating power imbalances, drawing unwanted attention, or even jeopardizing future employment opportunities.

Composite stories are authentic, but we prioritize the safety and dignity of our unhoused neighbors over organizational objectives and use individual storytelling sparingly and only in situations where individuals have achieved a measure of stability where we feel confident that raising their story up will be empowering for them. By combining elements from multiple experiences, we ensure the story remains true to what life on the street is  like while also keeping vulnerable individuals out of the direct spotlight.