In pursuit of the American dream
Like so many before them, Bazileo Hernandez (left) and Jeff Williamson came to North Dakota's oil country seeking a better life. They just came too late.
As recently as last spring, unskilled workers could show up in the No. 2 U.S. oil producing state and vie for salaries north of $100,000 per year with guaranteed housing. The steep drop in oil prices has changed that.
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Yet out of despair sprung a bit of hope: After arriving in Williston as friends, Green and Williamson fell in love. They married at the local courthouse.
Later the same day, Green took a bus back to Oregon, where she is from. Williamson followed a few days later. They soon separated.
"In Williston, I was taking a risk and not knowing what would happen," Green said, wistfully. "We knew we had a connection, but it was too early."
Jeff and Bazileo smoke cigarettes outside the Salvation Army office. They hoped to get help finding a place to stay for the night.
Terra, Jeff and Bazileo wait to talk to a social worker in hopes of getting help finding a place to stay for the night.
Terra receives vouchers for food and clothing from social worker Pat Montgomery at the Salvation Army office. Montgomery was unable to help Terra and her friends find a place to stay that night.
Jeff and Terra search for coats in a Salvation Army store.
Terra smokes a cigarette on the roof of a house where the group stayed for several days.
Bazileo lights a cigarette in an RV parked on the streets. A stranger let him and his friends stay in the vehicle with him overnight since temperatures outside were below zero.
Bazileo and Jeff exit an unheated RV.
Bazileo eats a hotdog outside a corner store.
A bail bond company's advertisement, printed to look like hundred-dollar bills, sits on a table in a house where the group stayed for several days.
Bazileo fills out a job application at a Super 8 Motel while searching for jobs.
Terra waits to get registered with a Command Center staffing agency in hopes of finding work.
Terra sits outside a staffing agency.
Shortly after getting married, she holds a voucher for a bus ticket.
Terra and Jeff kiss before she boards a bus outside the station in Williston.
Jeff takes a break from yard work while staying with a friend in The Dalles, Oregon.
Terra talks with her sister Deanna Rapisura in the kitchen of her apartment in The Dalles, Oregon.
