Leonard 'Lenoose' Martial, has a laugh with his sister Marie Durocher while holding one of his photos which was on display at Boyle Street Community Services in Edmonton, Alta., Tuesaday, December 8, 2009. Martial is part of a program which allows homeless and impoverished people to take control over how they are perceived by telling their stories through photos. (Sun Media/Jordan Verlage)

EDMONTON -- Seventeen months ago, Lenoose Martial huddled on a bench in front of the Boyle Street Co-op after a night of binging on mouthwash.

His sister found him there, hunched over and shaking uncontrollably.

"I can't do this anymore," he muttered as she brought him back to her house. Two days later, Martial was admitted into a rehab program.

Yesterday, he was presiding over a public showing of his photographs.

"Yeah," the 45-year-old said with a humble chuckle. "I've come a long way."

With more than a year of sobriety under his belt, Martial, who also goes by Lenard, is able to look back at his life on Edmonton's mean streets.

He captured that life in gritty and poignant images as part of a project, sponsored by Boyle Street Community Services involving a dozen homeless and poor inner-city residents.

Each was handed a camera and asked to take photographs depicting their everyday lives.

It was launched by two University of Calgary social work students doing their practicums with Boyle Street.

It was based on a British project called PhotoVoice, where people use photography to take control of how they are perceived by telling their own story in pictures.

Boyle Street executive director Julian Daly says "the pictures are a graphic illustration of the everyday lives of our community members as seen by the members themselves. They are a powerful portrayal of life on the street."

"I'm so proud of Lenard," said his sister Marie Durocher, who was at the showing to cheer him on.

"I had no idea he had such a talent for photography."

Martial, the youngest of five children, was born near Cold Lake. He was four when his parents died and he was sent to live with his grandparents.

They died only a few years later and he went to live with other relatives.

The loss of their parents and grandparents had a profound effect on three of her four brothers, Durocher said. Martial was abusing alcohol and drugs by his mid-teens.

For the next three decades, Lenard and his two brothers lived on the streets.

"I've never been a drinker," said Durocher.

"I said to them, you were always allowed to come by and do your laundry or clean up -- as long as you're sober.

"I told them, when you're ready to sober up, I'll be there to help you. I'm a no-nonsense person and they honour that."

For years, she worried about her brothers, fearing that they would end up dead in an alley somewhere.

And when the weather turned bitterly cold like it has this week, she'd spend sleepless nights praying for them.

When she brought Martial home that day in 2008, she doubted his sincerity. But when he came out of rehab, "I just knew he meant business."

These days, Martial has his own place. He celebrated a year of sobriety with his family.

"He's always working on his sobriety," Durocher said.

Watching her brother get his life together has been an eye-opener for Durocher, who started volunteering this year with Boyle Street.

"I've never known the streets," she said. "Now I have a much better understanding about the homeless. They're people, first and foremost, just like everyone else."

ANDREW.HANON@SUNMEDIA.CA