
Two Rome-based photographers have captured gripping photographs of some of the estimated 500 hundred families who are living in Florida motels.

Nadia Shira Cohen and Paulo Siqueira moved into a room at the Remington Inn near Orlando to share the stories of the families impacted by struggles including personal tragedies, mortgage crises and illness which forced them out of their homes and into a life of paying daily or weekly to live in the motel not far from Disney World.

From a father unable to work after undergoing brain surgery for injuries suffered following a car accident to a family impacted after a relative fell ill with diabetes - Motel America documents the struggles and every-day life facing the motel residents.

Florida is home to one-third of country's homeless families, and Cohen and Siqueira reported that homelessness had gone up 12 per cent during their two-week stay at the motel in Florida in 2012, according to Feature Shoot.

In the midst of hardship and grief though, the photographers found that among the families there was happiness too as they discovered the children, who had hobbies and dreams, to be particularly strong.

For some of the older children, those dreams include wanting a future not like their parents, but together, the families survive the best that they can until they can find a stable home of their own.

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The exterior of the Remington Inn off of Interstate 4 in Northern Orlando. The Remington has become a home for many homeless families in the area who cannot afford standard rental apartments

Connie Cruz (left), her mother, father and two brothers are temporarily living in the motel as they were evicted from their apartment when her parents car broke down and they were unable to get to work. Preziyana Presy, 8, and her family were rear ended by a bus, sending her father to the hospital for emergency brain surgery

Jake Cruz dresses himself in his ROTC suit in a motel room at the Remington motel where his family is temporarily staying

Tyrone Washington is shown above with his three-month-old daughter Ritcheousness in the motel room that he is sharing with his family. Due to poor health, he was unable to work and the family quickly found themselves homeless and only with the help of a local organization, Families In Transition, they have been able to stay in a motel until they get back on their feet

Juan Cruz, a diabetic who has recently suffered from a foot infection, cleans out his IV in the hotel room he shares with his family. The couple who are currently living in a motel room at the Remington motel with their 3 kids, met while they were both working at Disney World. Juan worked night security and Janet was a janitor

Preziyana sits in the motel room that she shares with her 4 brothers and sisters, mother and father

John Cruz takes a swim in the pool at the Remington motel where his family is temporarily staying

A cupcake shown left stands alone at Anabelle Noguera's sixth birthday at the Remington motel. Jake Cruz's ROTC shoes, pictured right, lay on the bed he shares with his brother in a motel room at the Remington motel where his family is temporarily staying

Soup cans line the shelves of Families in Transition, an organization funded by the department of education in Seminole County which helps families without a home get back on their feet and make sure their children stay in school throughout the process