A Saint John anti-poverty group helped mount an exhibit of photographs by eight women who want people to understand what it's like to be poor in the city.

The women photographed scenes and items that represented their wants, needs and dreams, and their exhibit was on display at the Saint John Arts Centre on Thursday.

This photo was part of an exhibit by Saint John women living in poverty, accompanied by the quote, "I wish I had a stove with four working burners."
(Courtesy Saint John Urban Core Support Network)

Tammy Garnett, who contributed photos for the show, is a student and single mother raising two boys. She said her favourite image is of the Saint John Energy building.

"You need electricity, you gotta cook, you gotta have lights. It's a basic necessity, but they make you pay an awful lot just to have it."

Garnett also photographed one of the luxury cruise ships that regularly dock in Saint John Harbour.

"All I kept thinking is, 'I wish I was one of the ones on it, going to wherever it was heading.' But it's a big wish."

Rev. Bill Thomas of the Saint John Urban Core Support Network helped conceive the project. He said the photographers were asked to pay attention to the sources of joy in their lives, and the things that challenged them most.

"Some of the ones that I was really caught [and] struck by was the photograph of a power bill, or the photograph of a refrigerator door, just what people living in situations of poverty, what they are forced to live with, and live on."

The women hope to find a way to share their photos with an even larger audience. Their exhibit was only on display a short time on Thursday.