2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
First Place: Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Now the uncontested rulers of Afghanistan, the Taliban have set their sights on stamping out the scourge of narcotics addiction, even if by force. At nightfall, the battle-hardened fighters turned policemen scour the capitals drug-ravaged underworld. Below Kabuls bustling city bridges, amid piles of garbage and streams of filthy water, hundreds of homeless men addicted to heroin and methamphetamines are rounded up, beaten and forcibly taken to treatment centers. The heavy-handed methods are welcomed by some health workers, who have had no choice but adapt to Taliban rule. We are not in a democracy anymore, this is a dictatorship. And the use of force is the only way to treat these people, said Dr. Fazalrabi Mayar, working in a treatment facility. He was referring specifically to Afghans addicted to heroin and meth. Drug users consume heroin in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 1, 2021.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Afghans gather under a bridge to consume drugs, mostly heroin and methamphetamines in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Drug users detained during a Taliban raid wait to be checked at a police station before being transferred to the Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 1, 2021. At least 150 men were taken to the district police station, where all their belongings -- drugs, wallets, knifes, rings, lighters, a juice box -- were burned in a pile since they are forbidden to take them to the treatment center.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
The body of a dead man lays on the ground in an area inhabited by drug users under a bridge in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. According to drug users at the scene, he was beaten during a Taliban raid and was found dead next morning.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Dr. Wahedullah Koshan, left, gestures as he talks to Sitara, center, after she reunited with her 21-year-old son who was taken to the Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment during a Taliban raid in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. Sitara wails when she reunited with her son, missing for 12 days. "My entire life is my son," she weeps.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Drug users detained during a Taliban raid walk in line on their way to the detoxification ward of the Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Drug users detained during a Taliban raid wait to be shaved after arriving at Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 1, 2021. In the hospital, patients, totalling 700, float around the halls like ghosts. Some say they aren't being fed enough. Doctors said hunger is part of the withdrawal process.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Drug users detained during a Taliban raid rest at the detoxification ward of the Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Drug users detained during a Taliban raid go through a medical check as they arrive to the detoxification ward of the Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
A drug user undergoing treatment gestures from inside the detoxification ward of the Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. In the hospital, patients, totalling 700, float around the halls like ghosts. Some say they aren't being fed enough. Doctors said hunger is part of the withdrawal process.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
A drug user detained during a Taliban raid is shaved after arriving at Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. Soon after the Taliban took power on Aug. 15, the Taliban Health Ministry issued an order to the facilities underscoring their intention to strictly control the problem of addiction, doctors said.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
First Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Drug users detained during a Taliban raid walk to a shower after arriving at Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. In the hospital, patients, totalling 700, float around the halls like ghosts. Some say they aren't being fed enough. Doctors said hunger is part of the withdrawal process.
Felipe Dana / Associated Press
Second Place: Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Bre-Anna Valenzuela,10, looks out from the front door of her grandmothers home as her family fights with one another just days after Bre-Annas family was evicted from their home on Thursday, April 1, 2021 in Fresno, California. Despite a moratorium on evictions due to the coronavirus many evictions are still occurring throughout the state. The Valenzuelas received eviction notices but not under their name and they say they thought it was a mistake. In reality, the owner of the house sold it to a real estate company who plans to flip the house. Following the eviction from their home, the immediate family was fractured. Bre-Annas mother Danetta wanted to move the family to Alabama but her father Brian did not want to go and was worried that Danettas health would fail her because she has kidney failure and heart problems which were complicated further by their eviction.Eventually Danetta left the family behind in hopes of more stability but died of a heart attack two days into the road trip back. Bre-Anna and her father stayed at her grandparents home with an unknown future.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, climbs into a window as her grandmother Sharon Valenzuela (left) guides her and mother Danetta Valenzuela sits on the porch the morning after being evicted from their home on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Fresno, California. Bre-Anna snuck back into the house through an open window to grab cereal for breakfast. Her mother Danetta sat outside all morning because she needed her oxygen to be connected to a power source. Danetta suffers from dialysis and other heart complications.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, looks through a box of her stuffies after being evicted from her home a day earlier on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Fresno, California. Bre-Anna had snuck back into the house through an open window to collect a few of her favorite belongings.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Brian Valenzuela takes a cigarette break on the U-Haul truck after retrieving belongings from the house he was evicted from with his family on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 in Fresno, California. The Valenzuelas received eviction notices but not under their name and they say they thought it was a mistake. In reality, the owner of the house sold it to a real estate company who plans to flip the house.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
(L-r) Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, sits on the front of her mother Danetta Valenzuelas wheelchair while her grandmother Sharon Valenzuela trails behind as they leave the Motel 6 to grab breakfast on Thursday, March 25, 2021 in Fresno, California. The Valenzuelas were evicted from their home a few days prior and barely had enough money to stay at the motel. They had to return a DVD player to stay that evening.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Sharon Valenzuela wraps her arms around granddaughter Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, as they spend time outside the home they had been evicted from a day earlier on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Fresno, California. Bre-Anna loved watching the sunset from the front yard of her home. She said her favorite memory was having a picnic with her mom Danetta on the lawn and watching the sunset.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
The home that the Valenzuelas were evicted from is seen a week after they removed their belongings on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Fresno, California. Since being evicted from their home, the Valenzuela family has been fractured.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Danetta Valenzuela is helped by emergency medical professionals as she makes her way from her room at the Motel 6 to the hospital because she was having trouble breathing on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 in Fresno, California. Danetta suffers from kidney disease and congestive heart failure and has missed many dialysis appointments since being evicted from her home.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Brian Valenzuela begins to yell at his in-laws as they ask where his daughter Bre-Anna (not pictured) is in hopes to have her come with them to Alabama after the Valenzuelas were evicted from their home on Sunday, April 11, 2021 in Fresno, California. Since being evicted from their home, the immediate family has been fractured. Danetta wants to move to Alabama to be with the rest of her family and Brian wants to stay in Fresno. Bre-Anna was left with the difficult decision of whether to choose to go with her mother or stay with her father.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Mother Danetta Valenzuela (left) and grandmother Pat Hopkins (center) try to convince Bre-Anna Valenzuela to move with them to Alabama after the Valenzuelas were evicted from their home on Sunday, April 11, 2021 in Fresno, California. Since being evicted from their home, the immediate family has been fractured. Bre-Annas mother Danetta wants her to move with her to Alabama but she doesnt want to leave Fresno without her father.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Danetta Valenzuela hunches over unable to breathe properly after getting snacks for her road trip to Alabama on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Fresno, California. Since being evicted from their home, the Valenzuela family has been fractured. Danetta wanted the family to move to Alabama but her husband Brian refused to go because he did not think Danetta was in good enough health to survive the trip. Danetta ended up leaving Bre-Anna and her husband Brian behind in hopes of a more stable life. Two days into the trip, Danetta suffered a heart attack and died.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Second Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, hugs her father Brian Valenzuela during a tense moment at her grandparents home where she has been staying on Sunday, April 11, 2021 in Fresno, California. Bre-Annas mother Danetta wanted her to move with her to Alabama but she didnt want to leave Fresno without her father Brian. Danetta decided to leave regardless and ended up dying on the road of a heart attack. Bre-Anna and Brian are still grieving her loss. They plan to scatter her ashes next year.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Third Place: Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
This series chronicles the devastating toll COVID-19 took on Spains elderly population, one of the worst in the world. A patient affected with COVID-19 receives critical care at the intensive care unit of a public hospital of Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Nurse Marta Fernandez holds up a tablet computer over the chest of 94-year-old Maria Teresa Argullos Bove so that she can speak to her sister, children and grandchildren from her hospital bed at the COVID-19 ward at the hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 18, 2020.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
A patient infected with Coronavirus rests in a chair inside an isolated room at the COVID-19 ward of a public hospital in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 18, 2020.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
In this Monday, April 6, 2020, Aurelia reacts next to his husband with respiratory problems in critical condition as he is treated by doctors during an emergency home visit in Barcelona, Spain. The man eventually died.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Wearing protective suits to prevent infection, mortuary workers move the body of an elderly person who died of COVID-19 from an elevator after removing it from a nursing home in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 13, 2020.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Residents look at the street through a window at the Icaria nursing home in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 25, 2020.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
The body of an elderly person is prepared inside a coffin for her funeral at a morgue in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 5, 2020.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
The body of an elderly person who died of COVID-19 is covered with a sheet on her bed in a nursing home in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 13, 2020.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
A man reacts as mortuary workers remove the body of his sister who allegedly died of COVID-19 but also was a cancer patience, at their home in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
A mortuary worker collects the ashes of a COVID-19 victim from an oven after the remains where cremated at Memora mortuary in Girona, Spain, Nov. 19, 2020.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
lvaro Puig Moreno watches television while eating a his Christmas Eve dinner at his home in Barcelona, Spain, Dec. 24, 2020. "The solitude gets to me these days, I often feel depressed," Puig said. "These holidays, instead of making me happy, make me sad. I hate them. Most of family has died, I am one of the last ones left. I will spend Christmas at home alone because I don't have anyone to spend them with."
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Third Place - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Mortuary workers take off their protective clothing at the entrance of a building decorated with a Christmas tree, after removing the body of person who is suspected of dying from COVID-19 in Barcelona, Spain, Dec. 23, 2020.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press
Honorable Mention: Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Kashmir's transgender are often only able to find work as matchmakers or wedding entertainment. Prolonged coronavirus lockdowns, preceded by a strict security lockdown in the region in 2019 when India scrapped Kashmir's semi-autonomous status, left many in the transgender community with no work at all. Sabu Sheikh, a transgender Kashmiri, walks homeward after collecting food handouts in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 27, 2021.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
35-year-old transgender Kashmiri Shabnam Ganie prays at home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, May 28, 2021. Shabnam is one of the few fortunate transgenders who own a home, where she lives with an adopted son. Life has not been easy for many of Kashmir's transgender people. Most are ostracized by families and bullied in society. They face domestic abuse and end up running away from families at an early age. Some lack housing, education and other basic resources.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Transgender Kashmiri Khushi Mir rests in her rented room on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, June 4, 2021. Until the pandemic, singing and dancing at weddings used to earn Mir enough income to take care of her family. Unable to pay for her rented accommodation, the 19-year-old took a job as a construction worker for 15 days that paid $9.60 a day. Mir has set up a charity, along with four friends, to distribute food kits to members of the transgender community.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Babloo Shiekh, a transgender Kashmiri, sits for a photograph at home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, June 2, 2021. Babloo is one of the head transgenders, one of the few who live with family. Most of Kashmir's transgender people are ostracized by families and bullied in society. They face domestic abuse and end up running away from families at an early age. Some lack housing, education and other basic resources.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Hinna Bhat, a transgender Kashmiri, cooks as Naina, face covered to hide identity, stands beside during a special meet of their community members in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, June 3, 2021. Life has not been easy for many of Kashmir's transgender people. Most are ostracized by families and bullied in society. They face domestic abuse and end up running away from families at an early age. Some lack housing, education and other basic resources.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Nadira Haji, a transgender Kashmiri guru, speaks during a special meet of their community members in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, June 3, 2021. Life has not been easy for many of Kashmir's transgender people. Most are ostracized by families and bullied in society. They face domestic abuse and end up running away from families at an early age. Some lack housing, education and other basic resources.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Transgender Kashmiris Azimi Bhat, right, Hinna Bhat, center and Khushi Mir converse outside their guru's house at the end of a special meet of their community members in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, June 3, 2021. Mir, along with four young boys, has created a volunteer group distributing food kits to transgender community members.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Rinki Ahmed, a transgender Kashmiri, smokes while posing for a photograph at home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, June 3, 2021. Rinki, who worked as a model in Mumbai when younger, returned to Kashmir and became a matchmaker. "In Kashmiri we have seen a lot of bad times due to the conflict but that never stopped me from going out. But this time nobody lets us inside their homes. I dont blame them as I am scared myself," Rinki said.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
A transgender Kashmiri Maliaka Sheikh, in tradition attire of Kashmiri dancers, poses for photographs inside the home of a friend on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, June 3, 2021. The 22-year-old transgender left home as an 11-year-old and started living with other transgenders. "At the beginning it was difficult for my family to understand me but fortunately, they have now accepted me for who I am," Maliaka said.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
A transgender Kashmiri Khushi Mir, right, helps her mother in the kitchen set up in the corner of a rented room on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, June 4, 2021. Until the pandemic, singing and dancing at weddings used to earn Mir enough income to take care of her family. Unable to pay for her rented accommodation, the 19-year-old took a job as a construction worker for 15 days that paid $9.60 a day. Mir has set up a charity, along with four friends, to distribute food kits to members of the transgender community.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
A transgender Kashmiri Khushi Mir, left, relaxes with friends at the end of a meeting of community members in the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, June 4, 2021. Khushi, along with four young boys, have begun a volunteer group to distribute food kits to the transgender community.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
0A transgender Kashmiri Manu Babo makes an instagram video at home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, June 9, 2021. Babo is a 19-year-old self-taught make-up artist living who is bending the rules of conservative Kashmiri society. Her instagram account reads "A Proud Transgender". She received assignments even during the pandemic from her instagram and YouTube accounts.
Dar Yasin / Associated Press
Honorable Mention: Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Valley View inmate firefighter Joshua Emerson - Merte waits for instruction before a backburn operation on the North Complex Fire in Butte County, California on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. Joshua Emerson- Merte was haunted by an act of violence he had committed three years earlier, the result of a drug addiction and poor choices. He didnt want to return home the same person he was before. When he heard about the bill that Governor Gavin Newsom signed to expunge the records of inmate firefighters and make it easier for them to become firefighters he knew that was what he wanted to do. What he didnt know was that the bill didnt come with any funding or programs to support the formerly incarcerated as they tried to navigate the new law. Still, Josh knew he had been given an opportunity. And so later that fall, after the fire season ended, he filled out an application to be a seasonal firefighter for Cal Fire. He still had two more months of prison time but wanted to get a jump start. His captains told him to expect a decision in the spring. Firefighting, Josh said, triggered a very different high than drugs: the gratification of hard work, a sense of purpose. He liked being outside, felling trees with his chainsaw and watching them teeter from the sky. When Josh was finally let out, 5 days before Christmas it took him some time to adjust. His house felt unfamiliar. The people greeting him felt overwhelming. He only wanted to wear plain grey shirts, confused by logos and patterns. Instead of his new world, he focused his energy on his Cal Fire applications while working for his familys appliance store. Soon, he started to settle into a routine. Going fishing with his younger brother, spending time with his new girlfriend BobbiLee. But as the months went by, he never heard from CalFire. He would call to check on his application, stop by local fire departments, and email his former fire captains but received silence. After nearly a year, Josh still wants to pursue his dream but hes told to keep waiting.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Inmate firefighter Joshua Emerson-Merte (center) and the rest of his crew walk to dinner at the fairgrounds for the North Complex Fire in Chico, California on Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. Joshua and his crew members had been out on the fire lines for more than 50 days.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Valley View inmate firefighters, including Joshua Emerson- Merte (center, back) cut down trees ahead of a backburn operation on the North Complex Fire in Butte County, California on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Inmate firefighter Joshua Emerson-Merte (left) brushes his teeth the fairgrounds for the North Complex Fire in Chico, California on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Inmate firefighters Joshua Emerson-Merte (right) and his crew work to clear brush on the Zogg Fire in Shasta County, California on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Inmate firefighter Joshua Emerson-Merte listens to the radio as he tries to get rest at the fairgrounds for the North Complex Fire in Chico, California on Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. The radio is one of the only ways Josh is able to hear about the news outside of prison.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Joshua Emerson-Merte walks out of the Ishi Conservation Camp as his aunt Michelle Emerson (left) greets him on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020 in Paynes Creek, California. Joshua served three years in prison and most of that time as an inmate firefighter.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Joshua Emerson-Merte hugs his aunt Kimberly Emerson on the evening he was released from prison on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020 in Redding, California. Joshua served three years in prison and most of that time as an inmate firefighter.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Joshua Emerson-Merte shows off his abs to mom Sharlene Emerson (left) and his adopted father over FaceTime on the evening he was released from prison on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020 in Redding, California. Joshua served three years in prison and most of that time as an inmate firefighter.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Joshua Emerson-Merte watches television as he prepares to sleep on the couch on the evening he was released from prison on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020 in Redding, California. Joshua served three years in prison and most of that time as an inmate firefighter. Returning home was exciting but also overwhelming and took time for Josh to settle in.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Joshua Emerson-Merte works at his familys appliance shop A1-1 appliance on Thursday, March 4, 2021 in Redding, California.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle
Honorable Mention - 2021 Feature Picture Story/Essay
Joshua Emerson-Merte kisses girlfriend Bobbilee Ballinger outside his home on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 in Redding, California. Josh and Bobbilee became serious very fast. He liked that she understood what it was like to be behind bars and that she too was getting her life back on track. Josh was saving up in hopes of rent a place a place with her. He saw a future with her: marriage, children. But not until they were both off parole, with steady jobs and health care.
Gabrielle Lurie / The San Francisco Chronicle