Brian (Full Episode) — FIRSTHAND: Homeless

there's our cousin right there well this is my childhood home so this is where I grew up hey Nita how you doing cousin to see you you too it's like so many memories here you spent a lot of your years yes yeah almost half your life I really wanted to say thank you for taking over at that time in my life I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't have taken care of it you know I had my issues I just wanted to stop by and just see it you know anytime anytime um it's good to see you it's good to see that you're looking well I grew up and I embrace responsibility we weren't brought up to live the lifestyle that I was living the best of opportunities the best of Family School school clothes yeah yeah at it all yeah I'm glad that uh you were here yeah I'm glad I looked out the window you too care [Music] bye-bye prior to being homeless don't get me wrong I had nice household upbringing and all of that I had a working mom working Grandma loving both caring gave me everything that I needed all the tools to succeed and along the way I misalign values from what I was taught and given to [Music] me oh come on man stop the train doors closing I became homeless by going in and out of the prison system Clinton is next unfortunately my grandmother and mother passed so that left me without a stable housing situation every time I got released but the common thing which led to all of that was not having a place to stay you didn't have a place to stay that's an unstable mindset unstable mindset leads to unstable actions leads to unstable consequences you're going to go back to what you're used to if you don't have the support of a foundation [Music] when I was released and the big city of Chicago was like facing me once again I remember all the other times that I took that same ride and I'm like you know this is something different it's I'm uncertain about it all because I've I've been down those RADS several times and it was a fear of not making it but it was also a part of me that was like you know what you try X Y and Z that didn't work now here's a place that's willing to accept you all you have to do is show up I got out January 4th and how I got to St Leonard's it I'm up time for parole so I reached out to the intake St Lennard was willing to accept me and give me a chance what's happening me go January 4th came and the rest is history I'm here got two keys on here and I'm forgetting which one to put in the door when I got here I was feeling a little anxious a little bit anxiet and I walked in and got checked in got my room and I just walked around the facility okay Mr Mena the next morning came knock knock I started to meet more staff real hey D hey what's going on man all right how's it going how are you man man come on a little tired but I'm okay yeah yeah how's your day so far uh it's going and I'm actually finding out I didn't need anything but to bring myself and to bring the attitude that hey I want to get my life back together man how do you feel about it so far you know I feel I feel great about it yeah yeah I feel great now you know waiting process to hear back from CTA yeah it was a guy named Brandon that was here me and him applied at the same time Mario Mendoza is my counselor here when I first met Mario I expressed to him what I am trying to pursue I wanted to participate in the CTA program uh CTA when they did the job fair over there at the United Senate that oh CTA had their own internal the CTA program is Second Chance program it's for individuals like myself who've been in some type of trouble with the legal system and it gives you an opportunity to get your foot into a reputable company and gives you a chance to start a career it just to send them you can go directly to them but yeah if you need me to be in between and send emails to them on your behalf I can do that for you too probably I like Mar gets involved and he encouraged me hey man if that's what you want to do do it there's nothing stopping you come this far yeah I'm proud of you you're doing all the right things you're putting in all the work so just try to do your best to stay the course and anything you need help with along the way I got your back okay hey man I appreciate the small recognitions yeah I really do man because it kind of pushes you exactly it pushes you yeah you just don't know sometimes that that helps helps me keep going man keep up to good work all right I'm proud of you yes sir all right I appreciate have a good rest of your day all [Music] right all righty well we got about 5 minutes before we officially open up to the public I work with Chicago Coalition of the homeless at about 4:15 Brian is going to share testimony and also his M educating advocating different speaking platforms and panels will you fight with us for permanent Housing Solutions and will you talk to your colleagues right now I'm doing advocating work for bring Chicago home that's a proposal to generate a Revenue stream to help expand our voucher system provide permanent housing thank everybody along with providing wraparound services to help individuals keep their permanent housing how are you how are you little nervous but you know you feeling good yeah you want to practice um that's what I'm about to do I'm just get a feel for it I had no idea the connection and the bond that I would begin to take with the staff I just was like coming and just kept participating with the grassroot leader meetings hey baby how are you I'm just Bridging the Gap about housing situations advocacy work and just getting to learn me start with the bring Chicago home proposal which is increasing other real estate transfer tax properties over a million we know that permanent housing and support of service is a proven solution to keep people in stable housing let me tell my story then she introduces myself and why it was important to me I'd like to introduce our first Speaker Mr Brian Rogers I'm here today to share with you the experience of homelessness from the point of those individuals who have been formally incarcerated I'm also speaking on the importance of stable housing and how it can impact the lives of formerly incarcerated individuals for the better as I rotated in and out of the prison industrial complex the question was what is the con common denominator that keeps me coming back to the prison system each time I had those good intentions and preparedness I had the tools that I learn from different programs I attended and the motivation to match it what I didn't have each and every time I was released from prison was stable permanent housing you see stable housing it provides the opportunity for individuals such as myself to build a stable life step by step remember it took years to get in this position to mess my life up so it's going to take years to fix it [Applause] [Music] wow that household in particular Mr and Mrs Kia my childhood friend Dex she gave me a place to stay one time when I got released she said hey look I know your mom you grew up down the street I know you and she allowed me to stay in her household that was really nice to her when I realized that I did not have a place anymore I reached out to people who were in my community in spite of whatever they were going through they still knew me I knew them and this neighborhood was real tight-knit so all of us knew each other they knew my situation what I was experiencing and they would rather see me there than actually just flat out on the street so I was I was grateful for that the individuals on this block they were all like family this is my Foundation this is what I want my life to be these homes having a home this is where I come from so I know what it feels like to live in one of these houses to have a decent job to get up go to work to have responsibility to live life instead of Ving when you're homeless that's what you're doing there's not much room to live when I got out and as soon as I got off the train I seen that it was a problem soon as I got home I saw that I mean it was just clear as day was no hiding that it was a homeless crisis that problem there has been looming for several administrations now it just was on the back burner homelessness on all different levels all different ages all different races native Chicagoans migrants individuals returning home from prison veterans whether it's people that's in these tents across our communities whether it's people that's living doubled up because they just simply can't afford to be on their own yet and the of sheer affordable permanent housing [Music] period like there are so many people who could use a program like this do we want to focus on like who do we think this is really going to help personal opinion families with children that is a priority cuz it's not only themselves but you know also someone who doesn't really have a say so but it's caught in a situation I never really imagined that I would be a Grassroots leader when I was younger I know I I wanted to do something for a bigger cause but along the way things have changed in my life and maybe that light got diminished you know we identifying so many students in CPS the thing is getting the students to come forward so along the way participating now it's like yeah this is this is the calling this is what needs to be done this is what I need to be doing you know just getting the information to them and their families that the school system knows about Brian these are like exactly the types of questions that we want to think through during the workshop if you might be able to attend or someone else on your team could also be really helpful okay okay whether people feel the need to say hey we appreciate you absolutely no problem but it's it's not about that it's about doing what you have a passion to do and making a difference a real change to help [Music] people okay apartment be nice till I get back [Music] I've had opportunity to seek employment right now I'm in the CTA Second Chance program 2 minutes so I'm I'm working currently with CTA I'm employed so I have the means to obtain housing whether it would be through the housing system or it'll be at fair market price for myself I can do that now so the barriers that once existed especially by me now having credit and rental history it's [Music] better working in advocating it is a lot I mean I work night shifts and that's 8:00 to 4:30 in the morning Monday through Friday well through Saturday morning working a ni shift is is is demanding it can be but I face worse challenges a lot worse [Music] had to eat every day at the shelter where I work we see up to 335 people experiencing homelessness come through each night that's not right that's not right I see and feel the pain of the people behind that number like you know I'm beginning to feel stable I I visited that in my mind the other day and I just took a step and a pause back and looked from day one and I'm starting to see the pieces of my life come back slowly but surely well really hasn't been slowly it's it's been rather quickly homelessness is caused because there is systemic issues that need to be corrected is that right that's right City councel we are calling on you today to pass this ordinance put it on the ballot and bring Chicago home so that people like when I was homeless I didn't feel like I existed to the world and as a matter of fact for the most part I didn't you have a tendency to want to Hype all right this man don't need no introduction John so when you start rebuilding your life that confidence starts to come back I'm going look at the people how's that almost 70% of those who are on house live in communities like mine in Black communities and it is well past time that we prioritize the interests of working people but especially those who have been harmed the most no tricks no divisive tactics are going to separate us in this moment I'm enjoying life again I got this chance grateful to had this chance now it's a sense of hope BR Chicago put it on the I had a counsel that I asked her a question I said what do what do you think my biggest problem is she told me she said why you being scared to walk in the shoes you were meant to walk in and I had to think about that a long time all right y'all let's go a long time and I pondered it what was holding me back every day you wake up you can change whatever it is you want to change and once you get over that fear upstairs once you get over this up here you can you can change that [Music]

Channel: WTTW

Views: 59,855

Keywords: firsthand show, firsthand wttw, first hand homeless, wttw first hand homeless, firsthand homeless, homelessness in america, homelessness, unhoused, documentaries 2024, documentary, documentary series, docuseries, chicago documentary, documentary 2024, firsthand shows, homelessness in america ted talk, full episode, tv shows - topic, real stories, full documentary, chicago homeless, wttw chicago, homeless living in car

Id: 9FrquLURxco

Length: 19min 5sec (1145 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 19 2024