Poverty in the USA: Being Poor in the World's Richest Country | ENDEVR Documentary

in southern california the sun rises over san diego bay next to a parkway in this parking lot 54 year old maria begins her day straighten my bed this car is her home [Music] this is every day this routine about stretching my bed maria no longer has a place to live she's been sleeping in her van for a year now looks pretty nice you don't you don't see it doesn't seem that you live here but um you do i have seen people with their cars so messy and things all over the place and how can i go to work with my life like that i mean has to have a little order you know because this is what we need to continue it's a it's not that perfect but it's the way i want and makes me feel better [Music] [Applause] just like maria around 30 other people sleep overnight in their car in this free parking lot nevertheless most of them work they're security guards uber drivers secretaries or even computer technicians [Music] maria is a cleaner and a carer exhausting work that she does seven days a week [Music] yeah depends where my car is if it's like this i won't has to be flat because my back hurts if it's like that to provide some comfort for all these people an organization has supplied them with a water point portable toilets and a small outdoor kitchen where maria prepares her morning coffee before going to work this kind of bullock bulletproof coffee it's very famous in the united states [Music] maria's fall from grace is a situation that affects thousands of other americans for a long time she had everything she always wanted she was married and lived in this beautiful house but after five years of living together her blissful marriage suddenly fell apart he kind of dumped me dumped me he said okay it didn't work bye-bye okay bye-bye see you later i said what no i don't have a place no home i'm a homeless nobel no no furniture no house so it's just my car i have a seat here and yeah that's the way it is maria didn't get to keep a single thing she preferred to leave everything to her ex-husband and turn over a brand new leaf but over the last several years in california the cost of rent has risen so much that her salary of 1500 euros was not enough to afford an apartment ever since then every morning before heading to work she goes to this gym she exercises for 45 minutes but she mainly comes for another rather urgent need i had to take this decision because i had no place to shower one time i didn't shower for a week feels terrible let me tell you you feel like a homeless stinky so i thought what should i be doing so i thought oh a gym so i came here her membership costs her 40 euros a month the cost of continuing a near normal life upon leaving the gym no one would notice that maria no longer has a house and that she sleeps in her car i have a wonderful job because of that because if i don't shower nobody's going to hire me i'm going to be homeless no car no nothing my world's gonna go drop you know and what am i gonna be doing i'll be complete 100 homeless oh no kill myself just kidding maria is just one of many middle-class american citizens who have in recent years fallen into poverty [Applause] officially america is great again since the 2008 crisis the economy has never been stronger a record-breaking growth and unemployment has dropped to a historical low less than four percent an upturn for which donald trump has claimed all the credit there has never been a better time to start living the american dream but despite what the president affirms the famous american dream is far from being achieved in the united states 40 million people are living below the poverty line and millions of workers will go to great lengths to stay above it you get money are you familiar with plasma you get okay i do that twice a week becoming homeless overnight is what these americans fear most because here the system is not very kind to those short of cash you better catch up real quick or you're going to have a judgment of possession against you and get addicted in some states being late on your rent is no laughing matter here one by one tenants are evicted at gunpoint where am i going to sleep i can sleep in the hotel if i need to for these americans on the verge of ruin seeking medical treatment can cost a fortune it's hard to eat and take your medicine too because you may not get one or the other so some people are standing up in solidarity making sure they're taken care of free of charge in field hospitals not unlike those found in a country at war and insight into the lives of those who cannot scrape a living in the heart of destitute america [Music] san diego in southern california 300 days of sunshine a year beaches as far as the eye can see an idyllic setting a picture postcard california san diego is also one of the most dynamic cities in the country here unemployment is practically non-existent this dream lifestyle was once an everyday reality for eric he was a successful computer engineer earning 7000 euros a month today at 53 years old this man lives alone in his car and to eat for free he's made an agreement with the employees of a pizzeria [Music] hi hello how are you today good i'm here to pick up something for you thank you what do you take here uh these are the slices that they have in their display that they have them for too long then they put them in the fridge for me so that they donate them [Music] eric comes every evening to pick up some pizza well thank you very much very much appreciate it okay bye-bye he's going to share these unsold slices with other victims of poverty because for a year and a half eric has been sleeping in this parking lot the one where maria the cleaner also lives with his pizza he makes his neighbors very happy there's a lot all right like laurella a 55 year old uber driver looks good you're angry yeah we're hungry did you eat today no no no i had to drive all day today [Music] in his former life eric also worked a lot 50 hours a week but four years ago he suffered a burnout as well as a series of health problems including problems with his heart he could not work and received unemployment benefits for six months and then nothing at all i thought i could handle it i thought it would get better but it took a toll and after several years of just dealing with doctors and going burning through my savings i ended up basically burning through everything and and what couldn't afford to to stay in our apartment any longer eric is trying to pick himself up nowadays he's doing temporary work and is saving up to be able to rent an apartment after her long day at work maria is back are you tired yeah yeah it's uh where i work is a little hard because um uh i have to lift a lady she's very heavy back and forth back and forth but um nine hours it's not it's uh it's a lot of hours but i'm okay thirsty my food my bed i'm ready to jump in my bed because very tired at half past nine at night the gates close from this point onward no more cars can enter the parking lot at night there isn't a security guard and even though there hasn't been any attacks this doesn't reassure maria [Music] i close the door put the windows down like this much and put the alarm if somebody's trying to break in i will know i got my pepper spray and my hemai cutter somebody's trying to break in spray yeah because you never know that's it a few meters away eric is getting ready to spend another night in his car even though the passenger compartment is full to the brim the former computer engineer will sleep sitting behind the wheel certainly far from the comforts of his old life um one thing that i've really found out about this is that you know the typical stereotype of you know the homeless person being lazy and not wanting to work or being a drug addict uh that may be the case in some places and some and some but the people i've come to in this program most of them are very hard-working uh people that want to get ahead that either have some some health issues or have some had a streak of bad luck or for whatever reason um they've you know come into this this this situation some people are able to get out of it quickly some people take longer is a state of stark contrasts despite being the sixth largest economy in the world more and more of its workers can no longer afford somewhere to live but there is another state where the system is even more unforgiving [Music] this state is virginia right next to washington d.c and in particular it's capital city richmond richmond is a former industrial city here a quarter of the population live beneath the poverty threshold [Applause] [Music] [Applause] richmond also holds an unfortunate record this city has one of the highest rates of eviction in the united states there are 3 000 evictions per year that's 25 times more than in paris [Music] the evictions are a routine job for officer loyal from the sheriff's office several times a week he distributes these yellow documents hey how are you does uh candace live here okay this was a notice that i placed on your door it's an eviction notice you need to get in touch with the management property the manager here if you feel that's incorrect but we set an eviction for august the seventh at nine o'clock okay thank you ma'am in the state of virginia the law is strict if the rent is late by five days the landlord has the right to begin the eviction process a few weeks later the tenant receives a notice on their door [Music] do you know what it is you know what it is you have only one week to get out yeah it's not a lot i don't know well we'll figure it out i already know but sometimes carried away by his own enthusiasm officer loyal is not always accurate hey how are you are you are you uh no does she live here no this is yeah this is outs meaning it's me this woman who has nothing to feel guilty about got away with nothing more than a fright i'm sorry ma'am we're at the wrong apartment thank you the threatened tenants have one week to settle their debts otherwise they face eviction by force and officer loyal does not show much sympathy this morning he and his colleague must evict the person that lives in this house sheriff's office and just like arresting a dangerous criminal sheriff's office they enter the home armed with guns okay sheriff's office right now the tenant is not at home and clearly he's not had time to vacate the premises [Music] mr you're okay [Music] as for the landlord he immediately reclaims his property on average in france it takes a year and a half to evict someone whilst here it happens in almost an instant in less than two months everything is settled check everything i'm checking the windows now why to make sure the house is secure the tenant has just arrived and is in shock she had been renting the house for seven years a single mother to a grown-up daughter she works but has frequently struggled to make ends meet she can only pick up her belongings the next day otherwise everything will go to the junkyard at her expense it's just going to be easier on you like the vehicle that's in the backyard or whatever if you have it removed because if he has a tow company remove it and that's an added expense that you'd be looking at yeah that's fine i mean that's fine do you think all this is a little bit harsh do i think it's hard to know he got to do what he got to do and i got to do what i got to do where are you going to sleep where am i going to sleep i can sleep in the hotel if i need to yeah i can yeah thank you so much have a good day she's thrown out on the streets with no room for negotiation this is the only way to make the didn't move that's up to her if that's the only way she said she would move before this didn't move maybe maybe she had nowhere to go uh you know she never did say that to me there are around 10 evictions just like this one every day in richmond as a consequence of this express justice budget hotels on the outskirts of the city have become a refuge for those who've been kicked out of their homes some people stay there for a very long time this is the case for david a 38 year old gardener what's going on man singing all sam new day david has lived in this motel since his eviction two years ago at the weekend this divorced father's children come to stay over in his 10 square meter room for which he pays 1300 euros a month this is it man this is our bedroom living room um family room every room this is the little kitchen which i cooked her eggs last night and made hamburgers so i ain't cleaning the dishes yet you know we hung out played video games and um bathroom you know got a shower but um that's about all during the week david shares this single room which is bursting with things with his new partner is it not too hard to live for two years here oh man i'm like cramped you know like obviously if you put two people in the same room for a long enough time it's there's you're gonna bump heads and have arguments and stuff his girlfriend has a stable job in the insurance business as a couple they could buy themselves a bigger and less expensive apartment yet they remain trapped in this tiny room because their past eviction continues to haunt them but at the time she she was trying at first and then i'm like you get so beat down by going to places and stuff and them not they're not giving you a place because they're like oh you had an eviction um it's you know shows that you didn't pay those just like two months or something like that and um it definitely was detrimental to it you know there was no way of getting anywhere it is almost unthinkable in europe but here landlords are able to access the past of bad tenants with a few simple clicks a systematic surveillance that has been denounced by martin vegbrite a lawyer and defense attorney for tenants [Music] so um this database is a public database i mean anyone can go on to this database and look at it and you can search by name so let's try a common a common american name here we go oh mary gillespie okay um there we go and you can see five unlawful detainers let's see ten years ago this tenant had a series of late payments despite being small amounts like this 291 dollars they can bear heavy consequences so if i'm a landlord i can look at that and say well that was 10 years ago but i think she's too much of a risk i don't want to rent to her if anything bad happens to you whether it's you know you get your hours cut back at work whether you break an ankle and you're off work for a month whether you got that car repair bill or that hospital bill or anything that just throws your budget off slightly you better catch up real quick or you're going to have a judgment of possession against you and get addicted so the tenant really is living under the sword of damocles with such a system it's difficult to imagine how david could one day leave his motel and buy himself an apartment in which he could properly house his children but um yeah um in a situation like this too if you're depressed and you sit in one little room by yourself a lot i don't you end up drinking and or you know doing something stupid and thank god drinking is my only vice right now you know but trying to be a decent person a good dad and david is far from an isolated case 6 300 people are evicted throughout america each day although in the city finding accommodation is the main source of anxiety there is a region where for some the main worry is simply being able to put food on the table [Music] welcome to rural america the appalachia in the eastern part of the country a mountainous region [Music] appalachia was once widely known for its coal production these days almost all the mines are closed down it is often said that the american dream got lost somewhere along the way to here [Music] the appalachian region with a predominantly white population is where the poorest counties in the country are found [Music] during the summer at lunchtime this food truck travels up and down the disadvantaged areas of roanoke loose and stacy are two volunteers that give out free meals to children in the school system you get lunch and you get breakfast so a lot a lot of families depend on that lunch or breakfast that they don't necessarily have to buy if that makes sense because the school system will provide it for them but in the summer from june to mid-august there's no school so then where are those coming from so that's where we kind of step in they serve up to 200 meals a day and every time they arrive they are eagerly awaited how you doing i'm doing good how are y'all oh thank you here big hug big hug there we go you didn't hug me y'all hungry yes i'm starving on today's menu a sandwich a carton of milk and a kiwi in this family both parents do not work they receive 1200 euros of social welfare a month but as a family of five it's barely enough to live on well i try to get in at least two to three but towards the end of the month when the stamps run low i'll maybe eat one i'll eat it for example now we are at the end of the month yes which one i usually skip breakfast to lunch and uh or yeah breakfast and lunch and then i eat dinner so that's all i need to know yes being poor to the point of starving yourself see you tomorrow [Applause] bye this reality is nothing new in the appalachian region [Music] in 1964 during his election campaign president johnson visited appalachia he was horrified by this poverty once elected he launched a master plan to put an end to poverty today here and now declares unconditional war on poverty in america one of his ideas was to create food stamps which were food coupons given free of charge to the poor [Music] still to this day the government distributes these food stamps to 40 million american people in this mobile home park in the heart of the appalachia the majority of families benefit from this food aid with the american flag hanging from the front steps this is the mobile home of 58 year old cyrenia collins a former marine cyrenia no longer works following a long-term illness she receives a pension of 700 euros so every day she tries to get by i alexa everything in here is given to me basically these were tables that were given to me they were really ugly so i'm in the process of painting them and making them a little personal so that's another way of cutting costs this is the queen's chair this is my chair thrown comfort i love it so it's just something that actually when i bought it it was a big expense and it was thirteen hundred dollars so i made payments on it only thing in the house is really expensive for me you know so this is my chair and her financial difficulties have gotten worse since she started to accommodate her niece jennifer an unemployed single mother who has three children to take care of leah lindsey and jaden fortunately jennifer receives food stamps every month on the first day according to how many kids you have in your income they um put you know so much on there and i get every month on the first i'll get like 640 640 just to buy food just for food yeah 560 euros a month to feed five people a tight budget before going shopping the two women check the balance on their card serenia and jennifer can spend their food coupons in any supermarket like this discount store where they regularly go once at the checkout the food stamp card works just like any other credit card and in this shop in the appalachia they are by no means the only ones who use it how many people pay with food stamps here um probably have people coming here it's a it's a it's a lot yeah yeah thank you donald trump is planning to cut down on the amount of people who receive food stamps he risks making an already vulnerable society even poor [Music] but ironically here they voted 80 percent in favor of him and their support for him continues to earn a little extra money serenia does some household tasks for her neighbors for a few dollars she also cuts james's hair who works in the mine he is a loyal follower of donald trump i am a trump fan yeah i do support trump why because he's done everything he said he'd do you know trump is willing to help other countries but his country comes first that's not happened in a long time donald trump is a billionaire donald trump keeps his family everywhere he goes his children his wife are everywhere with him that tells you a lot about a person family's in it family and that's why i work for my family it's been the last so many years maybe 30 years that there's not been jobs now there is our unemployment rate is way down really right now theory theoretically uh every person in the usa can have a job and that what they told us if there is a job for every person with the numbers so if people want to work they can find a job their unwavering support is somewhat difficult to understand because since his election the daily life of individuals in the appalachia has not improved poverty is ever present and has led to some strange occurrences in this small town in the middle of the night dozens of cars enter a showround over here right if you'll turn right right here sold out okay i suggest that you be back here about three or four o'clock well it kind of trips you out because it makes you think it's like it's everybody's lined up like you're going to a concert and you get there just keep your teeth you're done or something you know actually these people are arriving by the hundreds quite simply to see a doctor because every year here for a weekend all you're gonna get in this line is medical only a non-profit organization arranges free consultations oh there is the huge need a lot of their families in this area are the working-class families they're struggling to to choose between paying for medicine that can save their life or you know groceries for the week so it's it's a shame to have to to do it this way but you got to take care of your people and these are our people and this is the way we take care of our people we made it through it even though the health care system improved with barack obama 28 million americans still do not have any health insurance medical services serenia also does not want to miss the event she spent two hours on the bus to come and camp here but during the night a heavy thunderstorm broke out good morning we've had an adventure we had a flood literally a flood it came really dark over and next thing you know we've got a gully washer down through here it nothing everything in there is soaked blankets everything and no sleep last night serenia has arrived with all her family her niece jennifer and her three children they all need to see the dentist but medical fees in the united states are the most expensive in the world beyond the budget for a large section of the population so staying up all night does not bother them i mean you struggle to have medical assistance yeah it's not easy not easy but you have to do it absolutely the alternative is not a good thing so have to the family arrived the night before because here the rule is first come first served at six o'clock in the morning the doors open they announced the running order 125 127. somebody's sound asleep in the car 128 so next time we'll call in groups of 20 again all right [Music] once inside these patients discover a full-scale field hospital a scene that resembles more that of a humanitarian disaster and yet it's really just modern day america here people are treated in turn by a hoard of volunteers nurses family doctors but also specialists who are able to care for more complicated illnesses [Music] the most remarkable part takes place in this sports hall transformed into a gigantic dentist office all day long 60 dentists descale drill fill and remove teeth by the dozen a daunting sight for some arriving upon the scene serenia is overcome with emotions it's beautiful all the people volunteering so many people getting help that need it before my sister passed away she had all of her teeth taken out and she didn't have any teeth to replace her with and she was younger than i am now and she was my older sister so i think about what she went through with health issues because of her teeth and they're important in turns the family are going to be examined jaden the youngest feels a little uneasy i want you to brush even if it's when you come home from school you got to get two times and you can get three that's really good okay in a situation like this prevention is the main goal of these dentists all has gone well for jaden he's eligible for a simple routine checkup but for serenia the medical care that lies ahead is trickier she's already missing five molars and is worried that they'll remove a sixth one that is extremely damaged after three hours of waiting it's her turn to go up feels great ma'am are you ready i think ready or not sir all right i'll take you this way oh my god a young student about to complete his university degree is going to take care of her before treating serenia he's already had time to familiarize himself with the job he spent his morning extracting teeth did you extract today have you extracted um i've extracted about 15 teeth today yep myself yeah a lot yeah pretty good day yeah it's pretty good day yeah he will spend 15 minutes removing cyrenia's tooth his 16th of the day like i have a big mouth but here there's no time to take a breather serenia is escorted to the gym locker rooms for the next stage a dental prosthesis studio which like the rest is led by volunteers and funded by donations let's relax relax nope lay head back just relax your lips relax in this room they take the dental impressions and in the room next door a new set of teeth is created in less than two hours cyrenia's new smile is ready there we go how does that feel awkward okay oh i got it you have teeth all the way back yeah you're welcome darling i want a big smile cheers [Laughter] thank you you know that i can smile and feel it that's what i want that's what i need yeah what happened i got teeth did you got the same thing if the family had paid for all this treatment they would have had to spend over three thousand dollars in the united states there are still some american citizens that are personally taking action to give aid to the poor at the other end of the country a man has embarked upon a mission against poverty which has plagued the sidewalks of his city a legendary city that is seldom associated with poverty [Music] this is los angeles los angeles and hollywood 38 year old punk elvis is furious with what los angeles has become in recent years [Music] it's not a third world country it's one of the richest countries in the world it's almost like a movie prop they don't it's hard to fathom that like every single day this is how people live los angeles is the symbol of the california dream the heart of hollywood cinema and the temple of luxury and yet today los angeles is the homeless capital of america in the last few years the number of homeless people has increased from 33 000 to 55 000 beneath the business towers the situation has become tragic [Music] when i was a kid and lived here it was nothing like it is now i left for almost two decades and i came back a few years ago and it just it just blows my mind it's just going to increase because uh every month the cost of everything keeps going up there's no regulation so uh apartment owners and landlords can raise the money you know the rent whenever they like but nobody's paychecks are getting bigger outraged by the situation of these homeless people elvis gave up his job as a sales assistant he lives on the salary of his partner leia who works at the university in this way elvis can devote all his time to helping the homeless [Music] a little further from downtown a woman has moved in beneath this bridge elvis and leia regularly pay her a visit [Applause] all right baby [Music] has been living here for five years in a small tent that she shares with another woman inside they are at the mercy of the dangers of the street they've already been assaulted several times well just look at it everywhere they just tore it right open and uh now now she doesn't even have a door when she sleeps out here at night there's also no lights right under here so it's very dark and you know especially as a woman that's pretty damn scary even if a guy it's scary because anybody can walk up in the dark walk right in do whatever they want to help these people elvis wants to do more than just bring them bottles of water his major project is hiding in the courtyard of his church he came up with the idea to build small wooden houses for them they're not big barely four square meters but inside elvis and leia have thought of every last thing to improve the daily lives of these homeless people [Music] window arms yes so what does it mean so if someone tries to open the window the alarm will go off this right here allows people to sleep when people sleep they can think they can do better they feel better they want better the house is also equipped with a fire alarm a light and a phone charger all of which is powered by a solar panel uh elvis thinks of everything to the last detail in order to give some dignity back to the homeless he even assigns them an address they're obviously not going to be you know recognized by the post office or you know or something like that but it's it's really just psychological you know my my apartment has an address i'm sure your your place has an address that that's the ultimate goal most of the people anyone that's homeless is treated like garbage you know once once you have that title you're you're screwed because people look at you like a monster or you know like someone bad or you chose to be there or you're crazy or you know and it's most of the time it's not the case and so the the little i mean it's it's so easy to dehumanize people but the little tiny things it's so easy to bring that back to a person each cabin costs 1 000 euros financed entirely by donations collected on the internet but his generous initiative is illegal the mayor of los angeles has banned him from installing his cabins on the sidewalks of the city elvis doesn't care [Music] and this morning he's going to deliver one of them to a homeless couple who very much needed hey hi i'm elvis hi i'm krista nice to meet you this is our dog brownie hi brownie crystal is 32 years old and is three months pregnant she lives on the curb of this sidewalk with her partner andre what's up buddy how are you god man i was i was hoping you weren't going to be gone last night that's the mother of the beast for four years now the couple have been sleeping in this tiny wheeled cart that is swarming with bugs yeah man that's like bed bugging i mean eating meal eating me a lot man like i said you can everything all these little different marks man from mostly not being able to have good hygiene elvis does not feel like hanging around the trick is to get this get this done and off before the cops show up but all the same the small house weighs 400 kilograms and the wheels remain stuck on the street a neighbor and another homeless person from the neighborhood come to lend him a helping hand [Applause] and as soon as the home is set up other homeless people are begging him for a small house i have a couple more almost ready to go so thank you thank you good thank you much appreciate it i'm gonna get a half no more living in a chair but his project does not quite make everyone happy why don't you go back in your house and enjoy the air conditioning a neighbor has come to express her discontent she's against this why she uh she doesn't want it in front of her house she's calling the police and so we need to hurry along and we'll pray that they are allowed to keep their house this is how it goes in los angeles [Applause] a few days after filming the police threatened elvis that they would destroy his cabin if he didn't remove it he decided to move it with the couple onto privately owned land in the end the disgruntled neighbor won her case but some people are trying to fight the snubbing of the homeless people in fascinating ways we are heading to texas to puritan waco this city has around 50 churches for its 120 000 residents here once a month a religious community organizes a strange program people come from all over the united states to take part in it [Music] do you know what's gonna happen for you no no no no no no no idea a little bit what what do you know what um we're gonna be homeless for 24 hours these high school students are going to live eat and sleep like the homeless much like 20 or so other participants all from middle class backgrounds each person has paid 60 euros to take part in this project janet durrell came up with the idea 25 years ago the wife of a minister she's already accepted 30 000 people to take part in this astonishing role play challenge the goal is to create compassionate care for humanity and poverty everybody can get the american dream but when you're trapped in poverty and the cycles of poverty you have to have an advocate to get you out ladies you have 15 minutes according to janet in order to truly experience the life of a homeless person you have to start by looking like them in this secondhand clothes store the participants are encouraged to dress like them i don't know i don't know what homeless people wear [Music] yeah there's a bunch of dodgers over there they're supposed to be on this yeah but i'm a fashionable jeans and these little boots but i think that they'll keep the mosquitoes off of my ankles so that's i'm happy about that for the moment it's not too demanding but it is going to get more complicated with the second stage sleeping out in the open not in the streets but safely in this fenced yard however 53 year old mother marta is slightly concerned she thought long and hard before signing up to the program it was her husband who convinced her to take the plunge it doesn't look like a real homeless situation right right yes yes it doesn't smell like poop it doesn't smell like urine there's not rats running everywhere yeah no this is definitely luxury homelessness yeah for sure a fact that is a comfort nevertheless and it won't be a very long night good morning everyone at six o'clock in the morning janet durrell gives everyone a wake-up call and they don't look particularly well rested come on martha it's not a real homeless situation they're safe they're safer than being on the street but this is not as safe as being in the home with their family so it just gives them a little bit more reality of what living in the environment does on your body so by tonight it takes about 24 hours to really start getting the idea that this this could be really rough for the next stage of the program the participants are let loose in the city center their task is to find something to eat on their own and without any money [Music] you can smell the food so [Music] should we should i ask this guy who can't you cannot beg or solicit people at restaurants in waco like in many other cities in the united states begging is a punishable offense it's also forbidden to rummage through the garbage cans oh there's no food in there they are owned by the city and reclaiming anything at all is considered stealing in order to survive the homeless and waco are therefore forced to break the law our two participants are not going to find anything to eat and after two hours of walking through the streets in 40 degree heat marta feels faint she must resort to calling her husband to the rescue but i feel like i feel like i'm too weak well like i don't care about yourself like i'm too old and fat i can't do it you've learned something about yourself and what it would like what it would be like to be homeless at your age yeah and it'd be hard are americans truly ready to face up to poverty perhaps not their leader donald trump has recently announced that the rate of poverty is falling dramatically despite this 40 million of his fellow citizens are still suffering in its clutches

Channel: ENDEVR

Views: 9,177,785

Keywords: Free documentary, documentaries, full documentary, hd documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), Business Documentary, poverty in the usa, poverty in usa, poverty, usa, documentary about poverty in the usa

Id: f78ZVLVdO0A

Length: 51min 35sec (3095 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 09 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/iisixi]

"The uploader has not made this video available in your country."

All right then America, keep your secrets.

[u/j4ckbauer]

Based on the year, this shows how it was before the latest consolidation of wealth during the pandemic.

[u/thetinkerbelle44]

Dumb question: It's not like this in other countries?

[u/[deleted]]

Do you want to know the biggest reason for that? we sold off the middle class to china. USA was the best for the average work when we manufactured our own goods.

[u/Sad_Year5694]

YouTube description: In 2019, 43 million people in the United States lived below the poverty line, twice as many as it was fifty years before. 1.5 million children were homeless, three times more than during the Great Depression the 1930s. Entire families are tossed from one place to another to work unstable jobs that barely allow them to survive. In the historically poor Appalachian mining region, people rely on food stamps for food. In Los Angeles, the number of homeless people has increased dramatically. In the poorest neighbourhoods, associations offer small wooden huts to those who no longer have a roof.

[u/forevertomorrowagain]

At least we’ve got 20 aircraft carriers.

[u/Fedora_Inspector]

guy dumps a literal shed on the sidewalk in front of someone's house and then they act all pissy because a home owner is upset about it. I'd be pissed off too.

[u/jovejq]

OK, now I get why people vote for Trump. Look at this guy in the video and the abject poverty that these people are living in. Obviously, not the politicians in the past have done anything for them to help get them out of that situation. So along comes a guy, for lack of a better word, that says he will help turn this country around. That's an attractive motive. What have you got to lose. Nothing. You've lost it already or never had it to begin with

[u/ThompsonDB]

The insight into homeless lives and the kindness and generosity of the people trying to help them is great. Constantly trying to make it about Trump is a shame though. This poverty existed before he became president and persists after.