Inside Skid Row | Documentary

had heavy cocaine first week I was here six people died three people found dead inside a building on skid R La fire officials believe all three deaths were due to overdoses raising fears that a new Dangerous Drug may be spreading here in Southern California have you been here at night n [Music] never skid Ro where dreams go to die what was once a Haven for migrants now stands as an open a drug Haven in this documentary I'll be interviewing locals to offer a raw glimpse into their lives brace yourself for eye openening Journey Through the harsh realities of skid R the largest homeless encampment in [Music] America how have you ended up on skid R because I ran away from the San Fran Valley to get off for I got married me and my wife didn't get along and uh I left them out of there came down here had heavy cocaine well uh let's see got out 2017 and was homeless from there um you know didn't have too many people to go to you know parents was gone and everything so I had to make a way from [Music] there I'm in a new story because why I was funny I know I'm sorry I don't what's your accent it's not real the accent is not real it's fake well I lost my job you know my mom and dad they went to the left so it's just me by myself and my son I guess to make it easy uh Bad series or a series of bad decisions what was you on parole for um cuz that's possession on a two strike law that was never voted in never even on a ballot a three strike law was but not a two strike law when you say Poss possession of what uh control substance substance yeah separation from a marriage and which you know was really like a controlling relationship was you working at the time yeah yeah I was um since then I've been laid off um what did you used to do worked in the hotels housing homeless people you used to house homeless people yeah in but I wasn't the only one there were quite a few of us that worked um doing that job which came about the time when Co started um you know people doing that job we're living on the streets as well civiliz welcome to Crocker Street man how long ago was about two years ago and what was your situation two years ago that was it just a normal life sort I had a job what did you used to do it in home care service in home care service yeah IH justs what and then when you say you fell out your wife what were the circumstances behind that uh she's too controlling too bossy you know okay did did you ever think OB see I guess not coming to SK just moving out somewhere else was that not an option that takes money took money I now what was your life like UNC Ro for those four years here and so how long did you say you've been here sorry I've been here about about 3 years we've been going through this about 3 years 3 years and what would you say your life's like been like in those 3 years it's been hard down here this is where everyone comes disappears into the despair known esid row 49 square blocks of downtown Los Angeles an American encampment of 2,000 homeless like no other drug dealers working in the open the effect on users Stark mental illness as rampant as is the trash on the street in the City of Angels you care to retrieve the [Music] discarded fight come fight I mean have you picked up any addictions in those three years oh well I smoke weed now I smoke a little bit more weed than usual smoke cigarettes cigarettes are more of a harder habit qu yeah I'm an addict to a degree I love you know I mean being honest we can do whatever the hell we want we vote for Nicole Mar green tus mayor of La no more no wife is a guy you all you go to hell some people C circumstances like get them here but everybody's going on drugs you know that was my case though I since uh quit what was what was your okay yeah and how long have you been clean uh 8 years well thing about La is that okay I'm a gang member I was a gang member um a lot of us are were were I started going to the jail when I was 13 years old for nothing first very first time I wasn't even jaywalking I stepped out off the curb to look down the street see if the bus was coming and the cop pulls me over and gives me a ticket that started you know my my contact with law enforcement I got ready Toc say h and Mexicans yeah bro do you know what I'm realizing as well the demographic seems to be mainly black males there's a reason behind that the Garden Park different Pockets you know throughout the city were black communities or were uh integrated communities now most of the the police you know because of due to the gangs or due to whatever we're hard on those communities so a lot of people moved out a lot of people went to jail a lot of people passed on and a lot of us stopped having kids that me and my son to get out of here how old are you I'm going to 50 now 50 yeah and how do you I guess raise money for weed and food well sometimes you Panhandle I don't get weed that often so I try to try to hold on to it when I do get it smoke it slowly I'm you the the the dos and don'ts of skro itself now if you if you mind your business and you're not no no no you don't make make make trouble for people you can actually you can get by like that SK is [Music] hard I got two sons are they aware of your situation yeah and how do they feel I mean it is what it is do you see a way out of the situation oh yeah for sure I already took the step forward you know what did you do I'm on my way to getting a voucher a voucher is a piece of paper which allows you to have a home and you don't pay all the rent the government pays the the remainder of the part that you don't pay how long have you been in skid and I say What's led you to Skid how have you ended up in [Music] skid evil evil when you say evil how do you mean that spirits that Spirits Spirits Spirits Satan so what was your life like before SK Ro was uh as an electrician as an electrician yeah let's walk boys let's walk [Music] along can you get out my face please but my SC s is weiring and stuff yeah going man Chang your acent like it's made yeah how have you come from Scotland to Skid cuz it's the darker basement of where my concept didn't come off to um underground and just may have me pay it like oh likeo frenchis or Playstation of GTA London of first one of the the computer types A hacking ha Kirby is the B one and and John what was what what is it like living here true as a gangster of a gangster of of a w of a double time I'm doing okay I don't want to get hurt some man what SL is a h boy I know you enjoy living here yes I do how long have you been here like 20 years 20 years it seems that way how have you ended up homeless John because I started acting like I'm going too bad you want to get to UCLA yes to study what from creative writing you want to do acting you want to do acting yes what are you doing today aggravates the souls so what happens is all the majority of the white people moved to the suburbs to the Valley San Fernando there was a lot of black people here but the all these areas were depressed communities you know there weren't many jobs and people didn't own any business we still don't own any business go down toown right here or look over this way you see all these big buildings you see all these people's names on them you know we're not on any L bu what as well what would you say the worst memory you have from being on you saw a man get stabbed to death that was my worst memory of anything I've seen people shot down here just about every night there gunshots here um there gunshots every night damn near Ando I've noticed with your hand you keep doing this with your right hand what's happened to your hand well I'm not sure but I believe I'm in you scamed up bro what would you say the dos and don'ts of skid rer number one M's your business this is a society of subculture you know I don't run this street I don't I'm not a controller of the street but there are rules on the street guys is come through you know like that recently there was a serial killer in La I don't know if you know that he came right down the street several times and uh he and I had a conversation he he end up ended up shooting like three or four people or something like that when you came to scad what was the first day like just like any other day in regards to living here is there a case of people just buy tents and just put them up and that's I guess home so to speak no you just ain't going to come post up a tent anywhere oh no no so what I guess what's the unspeaking rules about that there's rules and regulations down here it don't look like it but there's rules and regulations that so so if you're homeless you can't just come here and put you can't just come here anywhere and just put up a chance one it's crowded you know two I really don't know you see why do you think this situation so bad cuz in the UK you don't see this I guess not like you see homeless people don't get me wrong but you don't see 10 tense but you don't see any tense economy you know got people getting out of prison going back to their old ways you know there are more than 46,000 homeless in the city of Los Angeles that is a 10% increase from last year in LA county what are you addicted to M asking I'm an alcoholic uh alcoholic ad I smoke crack and I drink do you have desire stoping I know you said you enjoy it oh yeah yeah I enjoy it but I've been doing it long enough to where it just you know it doesn't take over and control me anymore I just don't drop my responsibilities or I supposed to do the better myself I just don't drop it more I take care of that where did you see yourself see in 5 years in 5 years in a place to be in a place in a roof over my head with a bathroom and what would you say is is probably the craziest thing you've seen in skid Ro got stabbed over a crack p is there almost like a hierarchy is there like someone I guess runs skid road so to speak they don't run it they just been here long enough to uh verbalize and have some sort of authority and have some sort of start I wish I could start all over and do it again with the knowledge wisdom and understanding that I have [Music] now hey I honestly feel like this the crack Wall Street feel me you come down here it's all type of hustling and bustling everybody trying to come up everybody trying to win it's just a system of capitalists everybody trying to capitalize on the next downfall you and have people making money here [ __ ] man you know type of way all type of man I ain't going to lie you can't come up out up out of downtown LA you can't come up nowhere everybody down sell everything from t-shirts to pipes to socks underwear hats make a good living and why you reckon it's got to this level why do you think it is this bad this isn't normal man uh I honestly feel like it's this bad because not only the homeless crisis but because of the um the economic downturn you feel me a lot of people done lost their jobs and like that some people been forced to the street and people been forced to the street they' been having to a lot of people turn to drugs you feel me to help cope with that I was just talking to a lady she was a drug counselor feel me and um a lot of the people she was out here counseling she out here doing drugs with because she lost her husband you never know what's around the corner you know what's going to come from around the corner you know I been here done seeing plenty of deaths you know then you say death D what's the thing you've seen while you was homeless on SK people di you know you would sit up here and look up and you got the corner as somebody's 10 picking their body up you know that's a hard thing following up to what the hum was saying like it's all type of people that be down here it's all type of celebrities families that been down here way yeah another type of thing it ain't even everybody doing drugs down here there's some people that just had a Fallout in life and just can't get nowhere else like and you you think you would think that it's easy to get on Section 8 and all this other type of stuff but it's really not and especially for people that's from out of town the people that try to come out here and have these different type of you know opportunities or whatever and they fall out they don't they don't know what kind of programs there is just like the people that from here or a lot of people come here and get stuck here a lot of people in other places of America know about skro and know about the drug epidemic down here and they know that they can get whatever they need so a lot of people come out here and get stuck down here came down here getting high and been down here 10 years years 20 years I know that been down here 30 40 years just a went home just going home got a house wife all this [ __ ] they said everybody they comfortable right here that's why it's a lot of tense out here a lot of people comfortable with staying in the streets versus stay in a in a inside of a building think about rent you feel me rent is at an alltime high can't get housing so [ __ ] come down here you get what I'm saying well that's people who's content but not really striving you feel me in America capitalize off this how would you describe kid Ro to people who don't know it I would say that we live the uh Constitution to the utmost as far as pursuing happinesses we still see it so do you not sleep in the tent at the moment no but I've got a tent because I don't want to sleep in that room no more hey don't be [Music] recording [Music] and deborra it's not deborra where are you from in Virginia Denver Colorado Denver Colorado and how and how did you get to skid p and you reckon you ever be out to stop your addiction I pray goding PR God I'm going to good Christian drug I was RA the B and I know what I'm doing is wrong I play t me asking do you get much support and help do do you get much help from the government yes yes how how much help do you get from the government so in the UK we don't have nothing like this and I'm trying to sh so I'm trying to shine a li on what what why it's so bad does that make sense oh yeah um it's not as bad as you think it is but yeah it's just a lot of you you we hear a lot and read a lot but I guess since I've being here people show nothing but love but online yeah just be careful cuz you know people come down here and they just get stuck down here you know the government help the government that's government and the food banks do they help us well yeah we good we don't will not want no food on SK what you it's going to be a rock can I ask you a question all right so my question to you is what are you trying to now Philadelphia every day is something it's a parade a ride a rally whatever I don't know what you're doing here and this is why I'm going to ask you what what are you doing here so I'm from London I I can tell and that's where I want to go that's how my bucket list but basically what I'm doing is this doesn't happen in London or Europe Kensington and Philadelphia is five times worse and I came I wanted to experience and i' I've had enough and I get my check well I have friends in Laro and you hear a lot of bad things about the Mexican border let me tell you the Mexican people they're poor and they're happy I don't see a lot of Happiness here and you got people handing you things all day long water and food and clothing and everything free you know that I didn't spend any money here all the while I've been here other than if I wanted to buy a Coke have have you handed a PA how have I I on purpose you on peppers on purpose and like you why how did you end up I wanted to see this and I'm telling you it's worse in Philadelphia than this it's called Kensington Kensington Avenue and you no Kensington area and it's infiltrated all it used to be brotherly love I've been there s years it hasn't been brotherly love for the last 3 years y need to expose this and put it out there yeah man oh shoots up this is Paul's tent 24 hours after I interview I returned to kidr on my final day to say thank you to everyone for sharing their stories and when I returned to Peter's tent this is what I saw bro

Channel: The Taboo Room With Aaron S

Views: 598,107

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Id: ZqvzbhfMMm8

Length: 19min 4sec (1144 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 29 2024