The Creative Process and Artistic Intersections with Social Research: Narrative Portraits of Recovery from Homelessness.

The article presents eight narrative portraits of homeless African American women in Detroit, Michigan, which were compiled as part of the city's Leaving Homelessness Intervention Research Project (LHIRP), and discusses the process by which the artistic component of the project came about. Details of various factors that contribute to the high rate of homelessness among African American women in Detroit such as predatory lending, lack of access to health and social services, and lack of affordable housing are presented. It is reported that that the narrative portraits were compiled by the artist as part of a multimedia installation which was created to publicize these factors to Detroit residents.