By Kaitlyn Dolan
Images by Brittany Greeson
In the wake of the Flint, Mich., water crisis, the city has new concerns — how do they serve the influx of students in the special education system that may have been caused by elevated lead levels in the city’s water supply. Two mothers, Maxine Onstott and Ebony Dixon, have struggled to find the support their children need from the local schools.
Photographer Brittany Greeson spent time in the Onstott and Dixon homes to capture images of life in a still recovering Flint.
Maxine Onstott, 26, hangs out with her son, Maximilliano, 7, who has been diagnosed on Autism Spectrum, at their home in Flint, Mich.
Getting the appropriate services for Max through the local education system has been a challenge, according to his mother .
Children’s drawings hang in the hallways at Educare, one of the Flint-area preschools experiencing a surge of children with special needs.
Ebony Dixon, 33, poses with her daughter, Alexus Smith, 6, right, and her son Torea Gibson, 7, left, at their home. Like Onstott, Dixon has had difficulties getting the appropriate special education services for her two children through the public education system.
Max plays in his home.
Torea and his sister, Alexus, play with their drawings in their home.
A school portrait of Max adorns a wall the Onstott home.
Ebony helps Alexus put on up her shoes.
Max touches noses with his mom.