Honesdale, Pennsylvania - Growing up in a turbulent household marked by her mother’s heroin addiction, Gina learned perhaps too early about the problems impacting her community, “You don’t know how strong you are until you have to be,” she said. Gina’s life took another difficult turn with the birth of her first daughter Grace, who was diagnosed with a rare disease. As Gina grappled with Grace’s medical challenges, her husband turned to alcohol and became abusive.
 
Tragically, Grace passed away at the age of 10 after years fighting her disease at Saint John Children’s hospital. Rather than succumb to her loss, Gina channeled her personal pain into purpose by opening a ‘Mommy and Me’ shop in her hometown of Honesdale, Pennsylvania. But this is not just another second-hand store: it is a sanctuary where woman survivors can start over. “We only employ woman who’ve had to deal with abuse and addiction. We want them to know they are not alone. My daughter gave me the strength to open this place.”

Gina is not only a mother to her two teenage boys, Ronnie and Jona, but also a pillar of support to her community.

Assingment done under the leadership of photographer Sara Terry for the Eddie Adams Workshop, New York, October 2023.