EJ is 18. He told me he has been homeless for 11 years.

- [Interveiwer] E.J. - Yeah. - [Interviewer] You're homeless here on Hollywood Boulevard? - Yah. - [Interviewer] Where'd you sleep last night? - Last night I slept in Universal city's station till about five. And then I got kicked out and I slept in Hollywood in highland till about eight, woke up. Yeah. And the night before that I was under a bridge and then for a week before that I was under that same bridge. - [Interviwer] That's no way to live man. - Right. - [Interviewer] How long you been out here on he streets? - On the streets about 11 years. - [Interviewer] 11 years? - Yah. - [Interviewer] So you're out here, cause you're 18 now. So you're out here homeless when you're 11? When you're nine? - When I was seven. When I was seven. - [Interviewer] Seven? - Yah. I'm horrible at math. I skipped home, like abused shit that I didn't want to deal with. I just booked it. - [Interviewer] Did you go into foster care. - No I booked, well they put me in a foster care, like my parents like died in a car crash and on serious shit I know it sounds cliche but its true and like the foster parents were abusive and I just booked it cause I was sick of like jumping around like that shit. And yeah, I made it to Arizona Phoenix, then I hitch hiked for the next couple years to like Nevada like Las Vegas around there area. And then I hitch hiked to San Fran then I went, trained it, train hopped to Ocean side and then I metro linked it over to Hollywood. - [Interviewer] It just caught me by surprise that you've been out here since seven years. - Yeah. - [Interviewer] That's crazy. - Not a lot of people are out here at all. - [Interviewer] I met one other kid the homeless since five, unbelievable. - You got to fight to survive. Shit happens. - [Interviewer] So how do you survive out here? - Try to get to know everybody but not too well. If you try to be friendly cause you never know if you try to scratch somebody else's back well they might scratch yours you know. - [Interviewer] Alright. - Keep good debts like, keep your word. Don't talk shit behind nobody's back. I mean like its pretty much the schoolyard rules like multiply duh. - [Interviewer] But why don't you want to get to know them too well? I mean why do you say this really. If you're homeless you weren't good at blending in because we don't like to be found a lot of the time. We don't feel comfortable with it. It's just not you know our thing. - [Interviewer] So where are you going to sleep tonight? - Shit if I know. I don't have a sleeping bag. I don't have nothing my shit got jacked yesterday. - [Interviewer] Okay that's why you were saying all of your stuff got stolen. Oh my gosh. [Interviewer] What's your future like? - Army. - Army, I'm in the application process for the army. - [Interviewer] Really, awesome, that's cool. - Its the only way to get off these streets, get some food in your stomach three times a day, seven days a week, 365 Its the only way to get a bed. Shit you do three years,I mean if you like it you could just stay there. [Interviewer] If you had three wishes what would they be? - Money, obviously. To get the fuck off these streets. I'd have to say two, just be like you know, Like obviously. Fuck I don't really know. You know I don't think about shit like that because on the streets you don't wish for things you just wait for them to happen. Cause you cannot control really anything. So I'm sorry to throw off your question like that but it's really difficult to say what it is especially- [Interviewer] I'd rather have you be honest and real bro. - Especially if you've been raised on the streets. I've been raised on the streets. Like I said I've been from Arizona in Nevada all the way down here. I know people in San Fran. I know people in Pheonix. I know people in Las Vegas. I mean Legit people that aint bullshitters but you know like they have a link with us when they went through what we went through or they know somebody we know Pretty much- [Interviewer] It's life on the streets. If I had to give you one piece of advice about being on the streets is make friends and stay the fuck away from anybody you make an enemy of. - [Interviewer] Well thank you very much for talking to me. - Yeah.

Channel: Invisible People

Views: 2,683,379

Rating: 4.9141107 out of 5

Keywords: mark horvath, invisible people, invisiblepeople.tv, homeless, homelessness, hollywood, hollywood blvd, los angeles, homeless youth, foster youth, EJ is 18. He told me he has been homeless for 11 years., invisible people homeless, invisible people tv, invisiblepeople tv, invisible people ej, social experiment, invisiblepeopletv, youth, invisiblepeople, youth homelessness, e.j. invisible people, ej invisible people, ej homeless, foster familes

Id: 3N2z5O2xYKw

Length: 4min 36sec (276 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 10 2013