Dani and Ali lift up their daughter, Kendrik, at their home in Rochester, N.Y. on Nov. 25, 2015. Dani and Ali had been foster parents for Kendrik for over a year, picking her up from the hospital six days after she was born.
Photojournalist Joseph Ressler is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From his project ‘We Belong Together’. To see Joseph’s photographs click on any image.
Ali Beck hugs her girlfriend Danielle Sharkey after they adopt their daughter Kendrik at the Monroe County Courthouse in Rochester, N.Y. on Nov. 20, 2015. Danielle and Ali have been foster parents for many children in the past, but Kendrik is the first to be adopted.
Dani and Ali clean up their daughter, Kendrik, in the kitchen after making a pie at their home in Rochester, N.Y. on Nov. 25, 2015. “We take in. I think that we just have a lot of love to give,” Dani said.
Danielle Sharkey and Ali Beck picked up Kendrik from the hospital six days after she was born. Being foster parents for seven months, they had already had numerous foster children in their home. After all the happiness and heartbreak, Kendrik became permanent. Dani and Ali desire a family more than anything. The day after the couple officially adopted Kendrik, they both proposed to each other. Together they will help each other truly belong.
Danielle Sharkey (left) and Ali Beck (right) take a “selfie” with their daughter Kendrik Sharkey during the Adoption Day ceremony at the Monroe County Courthouse in Rochester, N.Y. on Nov. 20, 2015. Over a dozen families all adopted children at the courthouse for Monroe County’s annual Adoption Day. There are over 450 children currently in foster care in Monroe County, out of over 400,000 in the nation.
Dani and Ali throw a party with their friends to celebrate the adoption of their 16-month-old daughter at a pavilion in Pittsford, N.Y. on Nov. 21, 2015. “We feel like we got lucky. We feel like she’s our good karma for not quitting,” Dani said.
Kendrik Sharkey gets ready for a nap in her crib at her home in Rochester, N.Y. on Nov. 25, 2015. “I just adopted the cutest kid on the planet, who makes my day every day, and that’s what makes it worth it,” Dani said.
