Rosalyn Scott was a then 87-year-old woman who was living alone in a one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side. I documented her life for 4 months. 

She was married to a millionaire named Donald Scott, who left Rosalyn and their two year old daughter Denise, and relocated to LA. Rosalyn was left to take care of her daughter on her own, while working as a real estate agent trying to provide for her and her daughter.

Sixty years later, Rosalyn was struggling to not only take care of herself, but take care of Denise too - who was in the hospital because of mental health issues - as her legal and only guardian.

Rosalyn had no close friends, no other family and most days no one to even talk to. She had a unique and strong personality, and despite all her struggles, especially the struggle of getting in and out of her apartment, she still enjoyed getting out of the house, even if it was to go to the diner down the street.

We live in a very youth-oriented society where the older generation often gets neglected, making them feel invisible. The aim of this project was, through the story of Rosalyn, to tell the story of the many elderly who live alone with no one to take care of them, especially in a big city like New York.

No one knows what’s going on behind closed doors and in some cases, when you find out,

It’s heartbreaking.