Tic Tac and Tootsie
by Jeffrey Stockbridge
Tic Tac and Tootsie, 2009.
I met Tic Tac and Tootsie also known as the twins, Carroll (left) and Shelly (right) standing on the corner opposite the Huntingdon Park El Station along Kensington Avenue. At the time I made this photograph, the sisters were 20 years old and had been living on the street for one year.
Edited Audio Transcript:
Shelly: The only reason why we pros, we are out here is so that we can get money so we has somewhere to rest our heads. We look out for each other, if I can’t get money she gets it and whatever money we get we share. Our money is together, my money is her money, her money is my money. There’s are a lot of guys that pick you up and then they try to tell you they’re an undercover cop, that if you don’t have sex with them they’re gonna lock you up. We need quick money cause we need somewheres to sleep every day. I mean trust me we don’t want to be out here doing this. This is the last thing I want to do. But I do what I have to do to take care of my sister. Cause she’s all I got and I’m all she’s got.
Extended Transcript:
Shelly: We barely prostitute, we do it once in a while so we can get somewhere to sleep. We do one a day.
Carroll: We mess around with Zanies, once in a while we do Wet, sometimes we do Percocet’s and that’s about it. We don’t do no hardcore drugs, dope, crack, none of that. We don’t drink… We’ve been out here a year. My dad lives in a halfway house and my mom lives with her boyfriend. She gives us money here and there but we can’t live with her. We’ve been raped, tied up, guys try to say they’re undercover cops… That’s why we stick together cause we try to be there for each other as much as we can… cause without each other I guarantee we would have been dead by now. We wouldn’t have made it this far. We were out all this winter. We had nowhere to live this whole winter and we made it, sleeping out on the street… together. And like… we’re twins but like… I’m the older sister. We’re seven minutes apart but still I feel obligated to take care of her and it hurts me that I can’t provide a house for her and stuff like that. So I try to do the best I can to make sure I get money so she has somewhere to rest her head, food, and stuff like that. No matter what I gotta do, any means necessary.
I am sorry to say but these girls, or at least at the time of this photo were doing more than Xanax and Wet, you can clearly see the track marks on their arms. I feel bad for these girls, it seems like they were not given much of a chance in life, although no one forces anyone into that type of life. Seems like their upbringing was not a positive one and they may have just followed the learned behavior they saw growing up. My thoughts are with them and I hope since this photo they have found a better way of life..
I just hope they made it through, I hope they found somewhere to go and a new path in life cuz I feel for them the most , they’re so young , I mean I’m only 28 and I’ve been doing drugs my whole life and have been on the methadone program for a few years now and i have almost went down further onto that path but stopped myself, but if it weren’t for my grandma taking care of me, that would be me, it just makes me think how good I got it , if I didn’t have one person I’d be just like them, I feel for them, and I know me If I lived in that area I would let any young girls like that stay with me every once in a while , there has to be people out there that would open there homes every once in a while to girls like that for nothing in return.
This story breaks my heart the most.. they never had a chance to glow up ..i just hope today they are still alive . I’m very curious to know how they are doing right now
I really truly wish that I knew what happened to these two. If anyone has any updates on them and any others, I’d love to know. I used to hang out in kensington with my ex bf until I decided to get myself clean. Thank God I made it. Unfortunately , he passed away in 2017…
I want to buy the book ASAP. I absolutely love your work .the photos are incredible.
I pray that one day these beautiful souls find recovery. We are ALL WORTH IT
I hope some day they are able to love themselves. To know there worth. The photo is very moving. I hope you continue to shed light on these people.