STORY: As a young teenager growing up in San Francisco's Hunters Point, Candice Pierson says she "remembers a time when it felt like I was going to a funeral every single Friday." The Hunters Point Projects where she grew up had become a haven for crime and territorial gang activity. "The biggest challenge to growing up there was not really knowing just how far you could go. You see grandmas living their whole lives in the projects and some people get caught up in that, thinking that 'I'm never going to make it out of here, I'm never going to go to college.'"
But with support from her two parents and the Hunters Point Family Girls 2000 program, Candice chose a very different life for herself. She prioritized her higher education and went on to study at San Francisco State, even while caring for her infant son Lumont.
Over a decade has passed and Candice has since moved Lumont and her 5-year-old daughter Malia away from Hunters Point, but she never forgot her roots. Since 2003 she has worked for the Hunters Point Family organization, first as an administrative assistant and now as an accountant, working behind the scenes, supporting half a dozen programs that work with youth and adults in the area. "That's the only reason why I am here," she explains. "You can work for any community-based organization and do great work, but I was one of those girls in this program. I can make sure everything works on the back end and make sure this program can continue."
"Candice took the opportunities that the program offered her and worked really hard," explains her supervisor at HPF, Takai Tyler. "She didn't let becoming a mother young stop her. Instead, she really just expanded her vision to include her children."
Now, at 31, Candice has embraced her role as a single mother. "Being single and free to pursue your career is great, but honestly I think that my life would be pretty boring without these kids. With them it's always something different every day." She explains that the biggest challenge is raising them mostly on her own. "Lumont's dad is still in the picture, but Malia has only seen her dad twice. That is really the only thing that she has going against her, and I am hopeful that that does not jinx her in her life."
"I raise [Malia] like, girl, you are independent, you are wonderful, you are great, you can do whatever you want to do, and it really comes out in her personality." At 5, Malia has the humor and outgoing disposition of someone well beyond her years. Candice's mother tells her that Malia looks and acts just like she did when she was that age.
This mother and daughter enjoy a bond that is perhaps best express through images. This series depicts daily life for Candice and Malia, two young women finding their way in San Francisco.

CAPTION: As Candice Pierson walks to her work at Hunter Point Family, she passes Leola M. Harvard Early Education School, a renamed school that she attended as a child in Hunters Point. "Hunters Point was a toxic environment in so many ways," explains her supervisor at Hunter Point Family who has known Candice for nearly 20 years. "And she made it out."

Candice at home with her daughter Malia. In the mornings before school and the evenings after work, the two are inseparable. "I know I have the best mom in the world," says Malia.

Malia uses her step stool to reach some candy before dinner at her home in Pacifica, California.

Candice shampoos Malia's hair after a day at school. "She is off the hook," says Candice. "She is an amazing little girl."

Malia and Candice's morning routine can be exciting when the two, one sleepy and one full of energy, bump heads. Candice's mother tells her that Malia looks and acts just like she did when she was that age.

Candice dresses Malia in the morning before daycare. Candice says that she tries to "raise [Malia] like, girl, you are independent, you are wonderful, you are great, you can do whatever you want to do," says Candice. "And it really comes out in her personality."

Malia walks in to school at Faces SF, a subsidized day care program in San Francisco, where she learns during the summer while her mother works. Candice explains that the hardest thing is to raise Malia on her own. "Lumont's dad is still in the picture, but Malia has only seen her dad twice. That is really the only thing that she has going against her, and I am hopeful that that does not jinx her in her life."

Candice fixes her braids while walking to work at Hunters Point Family, the program that once helped her as a young teenager growing up in the projects. "That's the only reason why I am here," she explains. "You can work for any community-based organization and do great work, but I was one of those girls in this program. I can make sure everything works on the back end and make sure this program can continue."

Candice works on her computer at Hunters Point Family, where she has worked as an accountant for 7 years. "Candice took the opportunities that the program offered her and worked really hard," explains her supervisor at HPF, Takai Tyler. "She didn't let becoming a mother young stop her. Instead, she really just expanded her vision to include her children."

A craft from Malia's classes at Faces SF day care, where Malia says that her favorite thing to do is art.

Malia negotiates with her mother over finishing dinner. "Really, the only challenges I have with her are getting her to eat and getting her to fall asleep. She is pretty much a perfect kid."

Candice comforts Malia after a tantrum at night. "I cry when I'm afraid of the dark or of spiders or of lobsters or of crabs, and especially I am afraid of the dark," says Malia.

Malia begs Candice for more time to stay up on a late Monday night. The two end their night by leaving a video message for Malia's brother Lumont, who is away on a class trip in Washington D.C. "I love you and I hate when you stay away from here and I know you're going to get homesick," Malia tells her brother. "My kids are the spitting image of me," Candice jokes. "Greatness!"

Candice and Malia watch "Coco" at home, settling down before bedtime.

Single — “What matters to me.” My partner crossed six states to be here and support me in this sometimes silly, sometimes stressful, always rewarding thing that I do called storytelling. “I have always thought that the most beautiful things in life can be said in silence,” she says. “And you show people the feelings of the world in your photos instead of explaining it to them. I admire that.”