It was a heavy, emotional process, says Valentine, a queer photographer and writer based between New York City and Philadelphia. For his work, he draws on experiences from his previous career—Valentine served as a case manager for seven years, inspired by the social workers who changed his life when he was in foster care or chronically unhoused. “Holding people’s stories is the foundation of my work as an artist,” he says. “It’s difficult to make images about really somber and sad stories when you are personally indicted in them,” but it’s necessary work in the face of such injustice.