Trump's America

A cross painted with "It's not about religion! It's about relationships" stands in a yard along West 6th Street in East Liverpool, Ohio on Sept. 15, 2016.

Courtney Lally, 23, stands with her daughter, Gianna, 2, at her home in  Munhall, Pa., home on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016. Lally's sister, Jessica Lally, 25, and her boyfriend, Christopher Dilly, 26, were found dead by police after Jessica's 7-year-old daughter alerted a school bus driver that her parents were blue and she was unable to wake them. The two had overdosed on heroin.

Vacant business are reflected in an empty storefront in McKeesport, Pa., on Oct. 25, 2016.

Harrold Nelson, 60, stands in the street in front of his home in McKeesport, Pa., on Oct. 25, 2016. Few homes remain on Nelson's block, many of those that do remain are abandoned.

Donald Trump supporters cheer at a campaign stop at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena on October 21, 2016 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton continue to campaign as Election Day nears. 

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena on October 21, 2016 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 

Andy Stafford, a vendor from Sarasota, Florida, holds a Trump flag as he sets up his stand in the parking lot of the International Exposition Center prior to a campaign stop by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on October 22, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. "I'm a Trump lover," says Stafford. 

Students on a bus shout obscenities as they give the middle finger to Trump supporters lined up outside of the Cambria County War Memorial Arena prior to a Donald Trump campaign stop on October 21, 2016 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 

A Trump supporters yells at members of the media during Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign stop at the International Exposition Center on October 22, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Bill Hummel, 69, who has worked as a tow-truck driver since 1959, sits in his tow truck in Youngstown, Ohio on Oct. 26, 2016.

A sign stands in a vacant lot in Youngstown, Ohio on Nov. 23, 2016.

A Trump supporter shows off his t-shirt as he stands in line outside of the Cambria County War Memorial Arena prior to a Donald Trump campaign stop on October 21, 2016 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 

A billboard advertising protection for people losing their homes stands above a small car dealership in Youngstown, Ohio on Nov. 23, 2016.

A crew works at a demolition site of a historic building in East Liverpool, Ohio on Sept. 15, 2016.

A painting sits in a window in Downtown, Youngstown, Ohio on Nov. 23, 2016.

A supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens on as he speaks during a campaign stop at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena on October 21, 2016 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 

A Trump sign sits in a window in Youngstown, Ohio on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016.

Sam Cappelli of Boardman, Ohio watches the demolition of a historic building in East Liverpool, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is on a television at the Golden Dawn in Youngstown, Ohio on Oct. 26, 2016.

Phillip Naples stands behind the bar at the Golden Dawn in Youngstown, Ohio on Nov. 19, 2016.

East Liverpool, Ohio sits on the edge of the Ohio River on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016.  The town, once a bustling steel and pottery town, now has a population of about 11,000 people and like many towns across the United States is facing a growing opiate problem.

Antonio Lake, 6, walks in front of a Trump sign in Youngstown, Ohio on Nov. 23, 2016.

Jean Barefoot, 58, reflects on the loss of her daughter, Jessica Lally, to a heroin overdose as she stands near her Munhall, Pa., home on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016. Lally was found by police after her 7-year-old daughter alerted a school bus driver that her parents were blue and she was unable to wake them.

Tom Brophey, 77, sits in his barber shop along West 6th Street in East Liverpool, Ohio on Sept. 15, 2016.  Brophey, who worked in the Crucible Steel plant, opened his barber shop after losing his job in the mill in 1982. "Everyone knows there's a problem, but no one knows how to fix it," he says speaking of the heroin problem the town faces. "Drugs are the economy now. It's like an infection. It spreads," he says.

Carl Venzeio, 77, a self-proclaimed supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, stands in front of his trunk in Youngstown, Ohio on Oct. 26, 2016.

Steps lead to a vacant lot where a home once stood in McKeesport, Pa., on Oct. 25, 2016.

A giant statue of Donald Trump stands in a yard of a home along Route 982 just up the road from the Tin Lizzy, a 266-year-old tavern in Youngstown, Pa., on Sept. 26, 2016.

A closed sign hangs in front of a flag in a storefront in East Liverpool, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016.

I spent quite a bit of time traveling through West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania documenting the presidential election, communities struggles with the opioid epidemic, and life in America's Rust Belt. The images were published a variety of publications including STAT, The Daily MailThe New York PostThe Dallas Morning NewsThe Washington PostThe Chicago Sun Times, The Times of Oman, The Boston Globe, The Oregonian, Forbes, Folha de S. Paulo, BBC and many others. 

Justin Merriman

Justin Merriman, a freelance photojournalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has traveled the world to cover politics, wars, natural disasters, civil unrest as well as covering assignment throughout the United States. His work has appeared in leading national publications and he has received multiple top journalism awards.   

After covering the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – including the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania – Merriman committed to chronicling the U.S. military and its war on terror.  He has followed this story across the United States and into the conflict zones of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He also has covered life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 2002, India’s efforts to eradicate polio from its population, the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012, the 2013 conclave and election of Pope Francis in Rome, the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution and subsequent unrest, Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the international political crisis that unfolded in Ukraine in 2014, a look inside of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2015 and its uncertain future, and most recently, traveled the entire U.S. border with Mexico documenting issues on immigration. 

Merriman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Time, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and other publications across the globe. 

He has been recognized with numerous regional, national and international awards from organizations including Pictures of the Year International, Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association, the Society for News Design, the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, the Northern Short Course, the Southern Short Course, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Military Reporters and Editors Association, and the Western Pennsylvania Press Club. He was awarded Photographer of the Year by the News Photographer Association of Greater Pittsburgh four times and most recently was honored with the Keystone Press Award’s 2016 Distinguished Visual Award from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

Born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Merriman graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Writing. In 2009, the university awarded him its prestigious Alumnus of Distinction award. 

Currently Merriman lives in Oakmont with his fiancé, Stephanie Strasburg, a photojournalist with PublicSource. 

http://www.justinmerriman.com
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