The Young enjoy being together and spending time outside the home without the child.

  • Image 1 of 30

Days

Małgorzata Smieszek | Poland

Natalia at the age of 14 replaced alcohol with drugs. She stopped coming home at night, staying with someone she knew or stimulated by drugs, wandering around the city with a group of peers. She also often cut herself. She did it with a razor blade. She hid her cut arms and legs under her clothes so that no one would notice. At the age of 16, she met Olek, with whom she became pregnant after a few months of knowing each other. The period of pregnancy was a very big change for Natalia. At Olek's urging, she started therapy and changed her lifestyle. On December Mikołaj was born and Natalia and the child live in the house of Monika and Tadeusz, Olek's parents. Olek was adopted as a one- year-old baby. His biological mother was a drug addict. Despite the fact that he received a lot of love and his parents tried to provide him with almost everything he needed, he quickly discovered the power of drugs.Natalia's pregnancy motivated Olek to change his lifestyle...

 

They allowed me to photograph important moments in their lives. I witnessed their determination to cope with their difficult past and their daily efforts to balance parental responsibilities with the needs of still being teenagers.

Content loading...

Make Comment/View Comments