Roe fell. Ukraine defended. College students protested sexual violence.

Babies also learned to walk and people laughed in the streets.

Our photographers documented some of the biggest news stories of the year and captured intimate moments of grief, resilience, compassion and joy.

Here’s a look at what PublicSource photographers witnessed in 2022.

(From right) Jae Sturnick, 29, of Greensburg and Kelly Victor, 32, of Pittsburgh, at the downtown rally in opposition to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/PublicSource)
(From right) Jae Sturnick, 29, of Greensburg and Kelly Victor, 32, of Pittsburgh, at a Downtown rally on Friday June 24, 2022 in opposition to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/PublicSource)

From the story: Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision nixing Roe spurs protests in Pittsburgh
Teireik Williams, center, laughs during one of his weekly Friday evening hangouts with community members by Dan Marino Field, Friday, July 22, 2022, in his neighborhood of South Oakland. “My vision for Oakland is deeply rooted in the ability to walk down the street and know people,” said Williams, who bought his current home close to the South Oakland house he grew up in. “It sounds kind of cliche, but I do feel like you should know the people in your neighborhood.” (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Teireik Williams, center, laughs during one of his weekly Friday evening hangouts with community members by Dan Marino Field, Friday, July 22, 2022, in his neighborhood of South Oakland. “My vision for Oakland is deeply rooted in the ability to walk down the street and know people,” said Williams, who bought his current home close to the South Oakland house he grew up in. “It sounds kind of cliche, but I do feel like you should know the people in your neighborhood.” (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Public Source)

From the story: Surrounded by university and city development, Oakland residents face and embrace change, vie for a seat at the table
Tiffani Shaffer with her daughter getting ready for bed.
Tiffani Shaffer waits in the doorway for her daughter Kaia, 3, to gather her stuffed animals for bed on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, at their home in Harmony. Shaffer, a police officer with a neighboring township, says she experienced discrimination regarding her pregnancy years prior. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)

From the story: They cut your hours because you’re expecting? A program to curb pregnancy and lactation discrimination expands to Pittsburgh
a woman sits on a chair on her cell phone with a tv in the background with news on about the war in Ukraine. The headline reads Ukrainian land under Russian control.
Seated in the living room of her home in Fox Chapel, Iryna Haak speaks on the phone with her mother who lives in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, on Saturday, Feb. 26. Her mother said she is making Molotov cocktails to defend against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/PublicSource)

From the story: The Russian invasion of Ukraine ignites anger, distress among Pittsburghers from warring nations
At left, Officer X’s Pittsburgh Police uniforms hang in her basement on June 30, 2022. At right, Officer X sits for a portrait as the day’s last light shines into her home. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
At left, Officer X’s Pittsburgh Police uniforms hang in her basement on June 30, 2022. At right, Officer X sits for a portrait as the day’s last light shines into her home. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)

From the story: Validation is what one Pittsburgh police officer wanted from a little-used law meant to curb sexual violence – accusing a fellow officer.
Richard Garland and Angelique Menifee laugh together while out meeting residents in McKeesport’s Crawford Village on July 12. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/PublicSource)

From the story: ‘Change the narrative’: A new crew of ‘interrupters’ aims to curb the violence in McKeesport
Lesley Crawford, director of ABK Learning and Development Center, sits on a colorful rug with trucks and a blue background as she balances a baby on her leg and plays with some of the program’s children during dismissal on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, in Bedford Dwellings. At right, a baby in a bib balances on another caretaker's lap. At bottom, a child plays with colorful blocks. Behind them, toddlers play in the background. In addition to daycare and early learning programs, the center provides drop-in care for children of residents at Bedford Dwellings so that they can attend job interviews, doctor appointments and other life events that arise. Crawford wanted to create a early learning center at the housing community that she was born and spent the first years of her life in, and partnered with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) and Duquesne University to make the center come to life in her vision. “They’ve been a true blessing,” she said of HACP.
Lesley Crawford, director of ABK Learning and Development Center, plays with some of the program’s children during dismissal on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, in Bedford Dwellings. In addition to daycare and early learning programs, the center provides drop-in care for children of residents at Bedford Dwellings so that they can attend job interviews, doctor appointments and other life events that arise. Crawford wanted to create a early learning center at the housing community in which she was born and spent the first years of her life, and partnered with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University to make the center come to life in her vision. “They’ve been a true blessing,” she said. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)

From the story: Second chance for Pittsburgh’s first public housing: Application for $50 million nearly done
Clifford Lau (front) and Captain Evan Clark speed past Shell’s new ethane cracker plant along the Ohio River to capture an air sample of a chemical smell coming off the river’s surface on Oct. 27, 2022. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/PublicSource)

From the story: The citizen scientists of crackerland: Armed with buckets and hunting plastic pellets, neighbors prepare for the petro plant next door
Author Atiya Irvin-Mitchell of Squirrel Hill poses for a portrait for her Purity Culture essay, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)

From the story: The purity movement told young people that ‘you are not your own,’ and the harm from that message persists
Tom Bussoletti looks out over a site near his home where a new pipeline is being built through the forest.
Tom Bussoletti looks out over a site near his home where a new pipeline is being built through the forest. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/PublicSource)

From the story: Since the ‘frack out,’ it’s oily showers, mysterious smells and thirsty pets for residents of a Southwestern PA town
Maria Montaño, press secretary for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, places her hand on the back of Brenda Gregg, pastor at Destiny of Faith Church along Brighton Road, while Gregg addresses the media on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, by her church. Gregg told the media that the church’s planned Halloween activities would go on, despite the multiple-person shooting that took place outside the church earlier that day during a funeral there. At back, City of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey looks on. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Maria Montaño, press secretary for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, places her hand on the back of Brenda Gregg, pastor at Destiny of Faith Church along Brighton Road, while Gregg addresses the media on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, by her church. Gregg told the media that the church’s planned Halloween activities would go on, despite the multiple-person shooting that took place outside the church earlier that day during a funeral there. At back, Gainey looks on. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)

From the story: Funeral shooting in Brighton Heights reflects cycle of violence and spiral of pain, advocates and officials say
Elizabeth stands for a portrait and reflects the dorms where she says her assault occurred. Their back is turned and they are holding a mirror over their shoulder reflecting long rows of the dormitory windows.
Elizabeth stands for a portrait and reflects the dorms where she says her assault occurred. Photographed on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, at the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)

From the story: These Pittsburgh women survived sexual assault on campus 20 years apart. Their experiences shed light on how little has changed.

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Natasha is PublicSource's creative director. She runs the organizations visuals team, edits and produces interactive graphics, data visualizations and web packages for PublicSource. She manages the website...