Unfiltered: Tragedy On The Streets Of America

really long and you say helped save my life today I did yeah why cuz I don't know I'd say Saturday Saturday yeah the day I got but my elbow and got Spidey powers like cuz the wind the wind tries to like fly you away yeah so you're trying to just keep the wind out with with all yourself you don't have to take it apart like oh no no we're taking it apart all right what's your name my name Maran just look at me don't worry about the camera hold hold on bro cuz I smell a lot you know what I'm saying I can't stop smelling it's like a like a disease or something yeah you guys you see what's going on here come on give us a break please don't worry about it it's it's all okay thank you um so we sorry guys it just be like another couple minutes and we'll be done I I want um so we deal with [Laughter] that okay what are the questions oh we're just we're just talking about like you know all the questions that people ask about being here and everything now I've brought America homeless stories from 24 different states the following are some of the more memorable conversations that I've had with homeless individuals now I'm going to show you some of those and I've broken Wen them up into segments and added some chapters to it too some of the conversations are very short maybe 2 to 3 minutes and some of them are longer and many of them are uncut let's take a look right now at unfiltered stories life on the streets of America hope what they keep saying it keeps getting smaller and smaller so let me have it I want you to tell me what's going on right now just trying to keep a smile on uh um I don't know my grandma probably old and dead by now and I miss her but if weasel out of the family then ain't no way to got it you know almost like U like they caught the plag you know and he sure as hell can't live there as as some junkie yeah for smoking for smoking weed in high school even how long you been out here uh I know for about I think s years by now seven or eight years do you have a plan to get out to get back in a house and [ __ ] uh I'm going to do yeah but that's like $2 you know $2 a day if you add it up almost something so it's like you catch the jackpot doing something like that or you get thrown in the gutter yeah yeah but I do tattoos you're a tattoo artist I did these and I One code on the mountain range and I did the mountain range under there too so what do you think about the way the country's headed right now well I don't know Co and everything else uh a targeting hm you know what I'm saying well good for me got something out to do but you got to do something where you're trying to stay good in the hood walking around all day you know for free mhm all right public entertainment you know that's not good on a self-esteem try and get a girlfriend or you have to drink out the ground where do you sleep at like do you have a tent around here uh I don't like to I don't like sleeping in tent yeah I used to yeah I don't know I just walk around most of the time so someone says well he's good with a lone more yeah are you going to get some shoes some new shoes I hope so all I don't know they're just too long for me and all right they're not the fancy New Balance you know no or the pants is too baggy yeah all right well the sparkly tattoos I don't know I like say they match the teeth you know and then another bu a hatred toward the Caucasian race saying ain't nothing there you know yep here you go I have a dollar there you go what's your sign say um pregnant and hung help pregnant thank you you're pregnant yes I'm sorry it's okay it's not your fault what's your plan to get out of here um I'm not sure yet um I signed up for Aid and everything but it takes like a month for you to get an appointment with them so that was the first thing I was trying to do are you hiding cuz I was I saw you I thought I saw a cop coming up this way cops don't let you do this no if you if they catch you they'll give you a ticket I've already gotten a ticket before and I don't want to go to jail for signing all right well good luck now downtown Denver was far worse than I thought it would be for homelessness it's everywhere really and I went downtown one day and I found a group that was camped out in a trailer right on the sidewalk in downtown and they pretty much just spent their days dealing drugs and doing drugs and trying to figure a way to get off the streets stand the line my ex-wife did that I know but I have a feeling if it involv ja's life you played a major role in it can't blame that one on her so you I say because you were late you're just in time for our spring cleaning but all right yeah man you I I've been driving all around I think you being late caused us to clean cuz we were looking for something to do want an authentic interview so you need take your shirt back off no man let's just like we do one at a time just like 5 minutes each okay yeah man where do you want to go just right here wherever you want man yeah well tell me first of all like how how did you end up out here um so so so the uh the Catalyst that actually brought me out here would would be this simple little injury um you know pre previous to this if if you look around beautiful downtown Denver I build these things the the these Sky Rises that that's that's what I did previous to this um before I became homeless um well working I got scratched I literally a simple little scratch at work didn't B anything along those lines um became infected within 48 hours I was having a surgery my first SE seven surgeries um that was kind of I wouldn't say the the the the spiral downhill but it definitely led to it um it it obviously no longer working um I had bills things along those lines of Lifestyle um and uh unfortunately no longer bringing in that amount of money I had a little bit of money to uh you know uh a nest egg so to speak that that made it so I was able to somewhat survive for a little bit but what was it about 5 months 5 months after this it's it's we're going on about 11 10 11 months now um about 5 months after the the injury um I can no longer provide I I can no longer you know pay my rent um pay the car payments the gas the food the the simple little things like a damn cell phone like simple little things that a lot of times you know normal parts of society don't even think about um things that I used to overlook without question um so was no longer able to uh live that lifestyle um lost everything so to speak right around the same time unfortunately my wife passed so this is all like a two 3 we thing where you know got hit got hit got hit just one one thing after another um life so to speak trying to get back to work a lot of people probably drive by and think that you're just not trying to work AB absolutely not I even even right now you know out here just trying to maintain this trying to ensure that I have food um but that said too also trying to help other people out make sure they have food I'm still working I'm not working right now not doing what I normally do but I'm still working there there's there there's things behind the pictures that you know a lot of people don't see as us being homeless we majority a very of the the the homeless community that I've met sit on their ass it looks like yeah you might drive by and see him sitting on their ass maybe they're taking that damn break that they need that 15minute break whatever it is um 15-minute break on an 18-hour day that's another thing that a lot of people don't understand being homeless isn't isn't isn't a a [ __ ] parade where you're sitting on your ass doing nothing where people are giving you this and that no you you got 18 hour days you got 20 hour days all day every day people people don't realize that to be homeless is a job it's it's unfortunate you know you're really not out there working at 8 hour day but people don't understand that being homeless is is a job in itself to to literally try to provide for yourself provide for people around you CU it's a Comm Community it's it's you don't just have you know it's like a family it's not it's not just you and your wife and and one or two kids it's it's it's a community that everybody's your family you feel obligated to provide for everybody being home I've sat back and freaking after after like a long week and I could say a long week because like I said I'm out here getting money every which way I can um you know some of it unfortunately you know some people might look down on it and frown upon it um how long until they like get by are going to run you guys out of here like you know what that's for for me that's definitely unknown I I don't have a clue just come by any time and I've asked a couple people and that their their response is you know that's always kind of up in the air um from what I've experienced cuz like I said I'm gr on four or 5 months of being homeless now from what I've experienced um all the other places I've been at uh it seems like it's always been right around two weeks two or 3 weeks they come in and they say hey you guys got to go blah blah blah here it kind of seems like people have been here for not just weeks but months where they are in this spot for for months which you know mean maintain it keep it clean not not a terrible thing can I see inside at all is that I just want to see I I don't know what it like I said this was kind of just gifted to me so literally pulling everything out okay cleaning it up real fast um this is going to be an area where you know I'm going to throw two little couches in there yeah dude um there's probably going to be two three four of us in here every single night it's not just going to be myself um there's going to be a few of us in here every single night if you're the interviewer of like should we do away with the First Amendment just secet yeah I don't have to bet anything I fold okay tell me tell me why you're what are you doing out here today I'm rescuing somebody's family how long have you been in Santa Barbara really long and you say help save my life today I did yeah why cuz I don't know I'd say Saturday Saturday yeah the day I got but my elbow and got Spidey Powers how long have you been out here a couple moments Precious Moments Precious Moments what's your name looking for bait that's your name the bait I'm looking for uh Judge Judy's uh typist mhm because I wonder what she's up to judge my mom loves judge dudy I love Judge Judy no my mom loves her the best yeah no she does all right well because even a CH even one's own parents will sue their child for $100 and so if Jud was alive I'd want her to like tell my mother in spirit the difference between a civil and a criminal case for $100 on child okay cuz she loves I love I think everybody loves but I really love her because are you homeless so far do you like being homeless sometimes yeah no no cuz I have a real estate idea what's that it's based upon uh natural foilage I think people's houses are existentially falling apart non theories now I spent three days driving around San Jose in the summer of 2021 I saw homeless stuff all over and it was a trip because it's the wealthiest place in the country but there are homeless people everywhere there one particular Camp I saw really stood out there were about 5 or 600 people camped this big sprawling area right by the San Jose Airport port and the city had let him live there for 3 years and finally they're like we're coming in we're clearing this all out well the day I was there they had just announced that and everybody was getting ready to leave they were all packing up who is it hey it's me L all big hell no or hell yes no no she said it's hell out oh it's hell it is it is hell yes so it's been no joke now who are you with uh I have a YouTube channel because I'll put them on blast it's called Nick Johnson yeah tell me what tell me what you want to say I don't care what you say you just say it well uh thank you I was in stage one I've been in I've been here almost 2 years right here and it's been hell out there um basically what happened was I've been on all the new stations 2 3 4 5 7 11 value station uh at first we had no riding water the city came out and dug a dug the street up turned off all the water we had we had two bathrooms one of them was still here mhm um it's open as you can see it's open but it's supposed to there's no Plumbing mhm they shut them down we had we had another one but it burnt down that was over here by the other baseball field and we had no P we had nowhere to go to the bathroom we had no water and people that brought out water the people from the streets brought water everybody was fighting physical fighting over water yeah because we had no water how long how long have you been here I've been here two how two mhm okay were you one of the first ones out here no there's there's people that have been out here like 8 10 years on this spot not right here but along the in this area yeah yeah yeah it's unbelievable I basically this used to be my bed right here this is where I used to sleep and then my I got together with my friend after I lost my husband who died of prostate cancer and he was owed $28,000 and the guy says well he's he do says well he's dead I don't have to pay no more I don't have to pay you nothing I was like a year and a half almost two years that we were there you agreed we had a notorized paper with his signature public Nery everybody's signatures on there said I owe you nothing so where are you going to go next um I I have a tiny home but the problem is with the tiny home is um so many rules it's what so many rules oh rules okay for one you can't have no visitors you have to check in by 10:00 at night and there are your case all the time how did you end up out here my husband died out your husband died out here uh he died at four states prostate cancer but he died out here on the streets homeless and um we were offered well when they were doing the section8 list for the homeless we got offered a job in Selena to be manager property manager and assistant manager and when we came back it was closed it was closed why don't you just leave San Jose and go somewhere cheaper well I am actually in the process of hopefully next week I will have my one bedroom one bath apartment that the manager has been saving for almost 70 days so you have somewhere to go I'm just waiting for the clearance um my social security number not a problem I can pass the background check and my R so are you going to get a job then after I mean you're okay good I'm looking at being Santa's helper at the mall okay they said are you are you uh good with customers do are you good with crying kids and I said two No 3 years ago I worked at uh the Jurassic Quest which is Jurassic World Jurassic Park the moving mechanical dinosaurs they said are you good with kids crying kids I said oh yeah so I mean I was offered the job the next year but unfortunately Co hit so how do people feel that they're closing this down it's hard it's very hard because a lot a lot of people their RVs are their homes okay and unfortunately the rats they have some kind of rats out here that eat the wire so where is everyone going to go they're trying to find they're trying to find places like tiny homes um they have a new program that just came out with life well home first is one life moves is another one and I'm in life I was in home first but I'm in life moves now which is rapid rehousing So within a year first they first 3 months they pay 100% of the rent next 3 months you pay 25 they pay 75 So within that year they transition you over to taking it over is there enough housing for all these people out here no not really um life boo program says they have more um like RV parking and stuff than Sano C now Oakland's probably the worst place I've ever been for homelessness it is everywhere there was one particular camp on the edge of town that I went to It's called The Wood Street Camp and there were hundreds of people camped right at the edge of the freeway and at the time all the people were trying to acquire the land from the state so that they could build their own little permanent Eco Village thing there and they were pretty enthusiastic about it so I sat down and talked to them um and then I learned two years after I went um they State came in and said you guys got to leave and their little neighborhood permanent Village thing never got built but when I was there I met some really interesting people I started this thing almost uh can you stand like right here so I can see like the all right go ahead just talk to me ignore the yeah yeah I was I first I started we started feeding people out of my house and then me and my wife ended up separated and I ended up in the streets that was about 15 years ago I ended up down here I was the first one down here the police ran me out of here you were the first one here first one here there was no tense no nothing I had a black Dodge uh Dodge uh Dakota I was sleeping in I was scrapping metal at that time and then uh I got sick from being down here and all this stuff see these people get sick you get sick from not from the co not from that that it's from the garbage that people come dump these aren't the people that's dumping this stuff yeah I mean look yeah you can tell these aren't the people that's dumping this stuff cars are coming in here trucks are coming here loads coming here and dumping stuff here and so the rats are the rat the rat problem that we have are from people that are dumping so I had a tent down here for a long time and then just about a couple of months ago they moved me into my uh apartment how long were you here I was here about 15 years 15 years living in a Dakota yeah and you finally 10 and a Dakota and you finally got out of here after 15 years how did you how did you get out of here huh how did you get out of here focus focus I'm not a man I I could live on the street I could survive on the street but I don't belong on the street none of us belong on the street a lot of these people on the street are productive members of society doctors lawyers dentists secretaries construction workers electricians plumbers um mechanics all these people here have a trade and they're they've been pushed out by these dot commers by how Oakland has took the um took the um rent control and put it on stable so now the people that because they're unstable these guys come in here they build these places and now on a studio cost three grand who a studio come on who pays three grand for a studio a studio cost three grand so that's what happens when you get pushed out and there's no rent control and Berkeley Berkeley has rent control but we don't so what did you you saved up money and and we're able to get a cheap place is that how you got there programs project dignity and back is is a good program to handle to hang with and these programs will help you get out of here as long as you stay focused as long as you stay on their backs they're going to help you get out of here and I stayed on them and I stayed on them I didn't want to survive and I didn't want to live here I didn't want to die here I didn't want to die on the streets that's what I didn't want to do and so I stayed on their backs project dignity got me into a program called safer ground safer ground put me in the days in out there in East Oakland I stayed out there for like 4 months then my housing came through back helped me with housing and get into the program I got into box program then they helped me get into a bow then a bow placed me into a place these programs work if you know how to get into the system so given how how much is it did you have to pay to get a place did the city pay for everything and you just the city basically paid for my first last in deposit and I paid rent every month and the rent's cheaper than it would be if you what's the rent cost my my rent is 276 a month and who's who pays for the rest of that I guess housing does like the city of Oakland or something like that Housing Authority or something like that how long do you get to live cheap like that as long as I pay my rent and as long as I renew my le lease and long as I do what they expect me to do so there's hundreds of people here why don't they because they're still building places for these people now we just don't have enough cheap places for all these people though there there thousand we do but we don't there's a system I'm going to say this one more time with where there's a problem there's a solution there's a solution to every problem just like when you go fishing if that line breaks there's a solution to that line break it you attach it to another line and once you attach it to another line you throw it out there and catch the fish it's the same with the whole homelessness you attach it to another line and fish and catch them and send somewhere else it's a solution to this problem we just don't we just don't use that solution there's a big solution Oakland gets too much money for the homelessness for it not to be for for these people man all these bacon buildings open up a shelter open up many shelters like right here yeah you got all this stuff out here you got all these buildings you got all these lands you got all this abandoned stuff and you talking about there's there there's a solution Oakland has too much money for it not to be a solution there's a big solution and I got a big solution for this problem you can help people you can get them you can get them medical you can get them back to the workforce you can do all that through these programs that they got mhm it's no it's no way that these people should be homeless so a lot of people say homeless people they're they're addicts they they made decisions that they need to if you want to create a situation where you can live like that then you deserve to live like that you made that choice like I don't know is that that's [ __ ] you you tell those people that think that 90% of these people are using dope using drugs that's a lie or like you did and then that's how they became Homeless was no addictions no so what what percentage of the people out here in this place probably 5% of people use drugs used or use use drugs use drugs use whatever situation you want so one out of 20 is an addict the rest are people like yourself that they want to get out of here that want to get out of here yeah it's not in in in in this lifetime they were pushed to the streets these people wasn't addicts these people didn't use drugs some of these people worked in the city some some of these people work with the councilmen some of these you you you have no idea how much how much education is out here on the street so they could they could miss me with that [ __ ] about the drugs and all that [ __ ] that shit's a lie all that shit's a lie don't believe the hype it's not it's not true it's not true at all so you think it's just a cost of living problem yeah it's just too expensive for people to who can pay $33,000 for a studio why don't they just leave Oakland and go somewhere to Oklahoma where it's $700 you got to you got to understand you got to understand this this is their home yeah most of these people were raised here most of these people were born here they shouldn't have to leave where they want to be I shouldn't have to leave and go to Denver I shouldn't I'm from Ohio it's way cheaper in Ohio than it is here but I love California I love California I love Oakland California more than anything so why should I have to leave because you decide that you want to put rent control on hold and push us into the street it's not fair are they going to ever fix it or it seems they're going to have to fix it but it seems like it's getting worse with the cost of living is not going down I mean I just want to say something to all you rich people that have money we're the poor people that need to make you rich so you really need to do something about us that are that are out here in the streets because without us you don't get no money you're going to go bankrupt because you don't have that poor person working into your warehouses and creating that money for you so you better really think about we all need each other and start doing this thing the right way because without the poor people you can't survive and that's reality and that's common sense this man that that that that that runs your plumbing company that digs your hole and you want to get rid of him and hire some other cheap labor that don't do it right you better think about it all you claw rocks people that own these claw rocks you got people that do that runs your lines that runs your Warehouse that you done threw in the street all you people that own these cereal companies you got people that need you need to work Costco you got people that need to run those forklifts you got it's it's millions of jobs that you need these people people to do but you pushed them in the street and now you talking about there's no work there's there's no people to fill the jobs they're right here in front of you these people are think all these hundreds of people here would go to work if if there were um if they had a place go home to yeah but they can't they they they're not going to go to work living here is what you're saying they can't who's going to hire a person that can't bathe every day yeah so a lot of these people don't haven't sh they nutrition is not right they're they're not bathing every day it's it's all all that [ __ ] is is is real it's real in this life if you think it ain't real come live down here for a week and see what it's real it's real yeah let's come over here where it's a little bit like fighter so what's your name dude I'm Mato Mato how long you been out here uh this time I'm going on about 8 months all right I I you were like burning what were you smoking uh fentanyl so you're on fentanyl right now I'm on Suboxone and uh I just recently got diagnosed with cancer so I've been uh dealing with a lot of um other issues my ankles size of freaking cantaloupes right now and just the pain I I I don't do it enough that I'm addicted let's turn this way so they're not like yeah so you're just doing it because I I do it very very small amounts so I don't get addicted cuz the addiction is really the uh withdrawal is very bad I'm on theox on so it doesn't like normally people like KN out from it I don't get I don't get high cuz it's boxing it's just for pain control I really don't feel it at all it's l the only thing it does it takes away some of the pain so I can literally walk I'm stuck on my feet all day yeah and uh even going to the VA I went to the VA building and you know I get from the bus I can call Transportation but the building's so gigantic I I like I my legs are so swollen by the end of it you know I can't even move so I'm just in a tight spot with the cancer and everything else and uh how long have you been on the streets uh8 months this time oh eight months where are you are you here in the tent right here are you no I'm uh flowing around I guess I have I have a lot of good friends so I never I was just some place to stay okay I just try not to be a burden like like some a vet so I'm waiting on housing what does Denver need to do to fix this problem I think they need to coordinate with people that are homeless not people that aren't homeless the people that are giving information to them and doing these most these studies aren't doing what you're doing and talking to homeless people they're just saying this is what's best for the homeless people but they never been homeless how do you know what's best you know they got us scared around I mean it it really sucks when you have to move every two weeks you know and then literally what's the point because 3 days later people are right back in the same spot you know if you let people actually stay where they were or give more housing which as I understand would take time but giving us a place where we actually can stay you know because we lose half of everything we own every time we move you know most of us don't have trailers and stuff like that we have tents and it's just us so we can like carry what's on our back you know and it's not very much when you have a tent and and everything else you know food and stuff like that is that fenel already wearing off that you smoked is it already like no actually fenel last long it does last 6 hours 7 hours 8 hours I I don't do it obviously I'm a high you know you're just I can move though that's why I'm like boun I'm like happy I could just move my legs cuz like before I couldn't move my legs but I should be given medication for that and the only Clinic we have available to us being homeless is doesn't provide medications even close to what I need but food and medical how do you get that uh fight for it you know it's it's uh even the VA um in my situation with the I can't eat certain food and what they bring in is usually expired food I if fits if I get food to take poisoning or something I could get hospitalized so I'm I'm extreme risk for it so it's it's it's extremely dangerous for me to eat random food off the street that even people feed or give out because it seems always be the shelf life is over is f all easy to get out here yeah I mean it's the main ingredient in blues which is the main drug that everyone's addicted to pretty much I could I would 80 to 70% of most people's homelessness out here it's an addiction to it 80 I'm say 70% like so like three out of four people are addicted to fentanyl yeah Blues Blues what's Blues Blues is a is a derivative it's a it's a it's a pill with fenel in it fenel is the main ingredient so what do you get people out here just selling BL it's so easy to get it's easier to get that than find a cigarette I can find I can find a blue before I find a cigarette for dollar something I swear to you it's sad and how much is a blue I most of the country they're like around $20 but here they're only three bucks so you can find it you can a f all pill for three bucks out here in Denver yeah Denver and Arizona the cheapest states and how how long does that last the blue or the the blue like how long would it take how long does it last it's it depends on the person who smokes it you like I I don't smok they're not strong enough like I said just do them for pain so I just need something that's you know quick one hit and and does the trick but people I say they don't have very legs on them so so people were buying them smoking one 5 hours 45 no 45 minutes oh so an hour later they got to get another one yeah it's a mental game too you know what I mean it's the problem is it's so many young people I'm older so I can know how to control things you know a little better than most young people but these kids smoke one after another one after another and it's they see so I me I've lost 31 friends in the last 90 days from BL around the country no around the country you know I'm I don't even I I literally deleted my my Facebook because of it cuz I'm so sick of logging in and just the first thing I see is rest in peace Chris or rest in peace John or you know it's all the same thing it's it's fentanyl blues and they're putting it in cocaine they're putting it in weed they put fentanyl on it I mean 11 people died in uh Del County F CU they got some coke 12 people died from the fentel and the cocaine coming from Mexico yeah okay straight from Mexico and they they're copyrighted there's even a trademark in Fr mon that's why there's a 30 on the they 30 M oxy can I see one I don't I don't do I could probably find one now sadly Charlotte North Carolina has become a hot spot for homelessness now there's homeless people all over downtown well I spent a couple days here and one night I ended up on the edge of down town on a cold windy night in a big parking lot and I talked to a few people there and one of them is probably the most animated homeless person I think I've ever met different all right well hey you can say whatever you want all right so tell me like what what's your situation okay first of all like I don't say homeless that's me Psalms 911 short version God's my habitat but homeless to a certain degree is discriminatory to I'm just speaking for me um cuz I'm in this situation because of not being able to have safe housing I haven't been able to have safe housing for quite a few years um false charges false incarceration and then when I'm gone they say I abandoned my property take my property then it all gets dismissed and you got to follow through had an auto accident I was in a red light got rear ended at the intersection of Sardis and uh Rainbow Road um brain injury like couldn't put my shoe on my foot couldn't figure out how to call Cal anyway it it took years Rehab Etc but anyway I guess it don't matter got put on permanent disability um a post concussive brain injury also have narcolepsy and I don't care so you get like disability checks is that what keeps you afloat I I I get a quote benefits you could say but I I get a lot of medical bills too so medical bills kind keeps me down do you have to pay them though if you don't have the money yeah like they on my credit history like I got probably 25 now that I'm fighting but but like where are you going to be tomorrow like are you I you day by day because like I don't have a quote tent I don't have a tent set up because mine gets attacked Why by um other people or the city the city will te tent Town yeah take it cuz you're not allowed to have a tent yeah but I mean they they they they do waiver like they like go okay you keep a low profile we don't see you but like are they going to come mess with you like here oh no no this well already the park people said they I mean they said something but like okay he didn't appreciate this but this actually isn't a parking spot it's not like there's no number on it yeah can I see inside inside your oh my God can I just see see what it looks like ah it's a mess I'm sure it is you don't have yeah but I was going through it because things got wet can I just like see like what it looks like yeah it's a but I literally took this stuff off the cars cuz it got rained on I guess so go ahead it's real so you have like a bed in here no it's just floor cardboard and floor I mean cardboard and um concrete dang and you're going to you're going to be in here for a couple days no no you can't stay here we got to relocate so tonight you'll be here and then tomorrow you're going to move all the how do you move how do you move all that stuff you got blankets two carts carts you got shopping carts yes two of them that actually I was going to take it apart oh I see okay all right so you're going to move see we got we got we got like okay we have to like put SP cuz there's no tent so I could like go find some place but literally there's like cuz the wind the wind tries to like fly you away yeah so you're trying to just keep the wind out with with all your stuff you don't have to take it apart like oh no no we're taking it apart anyway cuz it got it like this this is old and it's holy and it was leaking oh and I even got a LIF straw you know the LIF straws uhhuh okay so yeah so I go fill these up you can use your LIF straw that with water yeah LIF straw wait what's the LIF straw it filters the water oh yeah those yeah okay because um but yeah see like took everything off but yeah this this is literally like a drawing rack so this is like everything that you own in here no uh-uh I got stuff um in storage okay oh oh this is a good one right here see I even got my doly yeah you got a dolly and everything but this is me I'm not I mean everybody's different see I put on their Inspire awesomeness so tell give people an idea on what [ __ ] you see right Inspire awesomeness give people an idea about what it's like out here homeless what kind of stuff do you see what goes down um I I mean it's rough it's like surviv it's kind of like surviving it's like surviving but you're in the city it makes a little bit different I cuz I've gone to Walmart I bought the tents I mean I bought the I bought the I bought the tent I bought the like basically you you you better like see these they're they're big okay that'll keep you warm yeah yeah just the jacket part I missing but like you don't have like a plan to like get like are you trying to save money so you can get an apartment or are you trying to get a job already signed up it's I'm waiting Wai Wai for a cheap apartment no I'm waiting for something that fits the criteria that I said okay like a cheap like a public housing thing like a um I basically said I want it to be secure like say I want it safe so you're waiting for one to open up no no slumlord place no what is that going to cost a month for you to live in a place I don't know they usually do like 30% say your benefits typically but a place that's safe and secure a place that do get broken into oh and there's another thing with the housing if you call the police because you got a break in counts against you so it's another reason to remove you so how much would it cost for you to get a place that you could live in every night like what's a month like what does it cost I mean the rent went way up here but like I I actually qualify like I there's no the the place is not available there's nothing that you can afford that's available um no I guess not okay according to what I'm being told told how much benefits do you get for being disabled oh I mean I get I get plenty my um my credit score is low cuz of medical bills okay so you you have money coming in but you don't have good credit to get a place I have no credit you have no credit yeah yeah I quit using cars and stuff a while ago so it shows no credit it looks like I just vanished so where are all these people going to be tonight all these people that are you got there's like 30 people over here on the wall where are they all going to go tonight different places but I mean sometimes it's scary cuz sometimes some people don't make it don't make it where I mean they they don't make it to the next day hypothermia um yeah I mean some like it's not yeah this bad all right what's your name my name is Maran just look at me don't worry about the camera hold hold on bro cuz I smell a lot you know what I'm saying I can't stop smelling it's like a like a disease or something yeah so so just talk to me like so in is it getting worse on the streets right now with homeless people I think I think with homelessness it's it's a uh it's an epidemic you know mean uh it's not funny though but I'm really no you're fine dude well tell me like how are you going to get yourself off the streets uh number one making the right decision when you make the right decision it uh it manifest it manifest into something like more more healthier in your life you know what I mean so what are you going to what's your plan my plan is to be more is to be more Thrifty to be more Thrifty like are you trying to get a job like do you have a job so I'm I'm actually working on getting the job like I have the job it's like a aut manage y'all but I have to have my control over over the financial income that's coming in I have to have I have to have control over the the income how much money do you need to get off the streets how much money would a homeless person need what they say and each individual I guess Google gives this uh estimate it says I think it's 10,000 if I'm not mistaken it's 10,000 you need $10,000 to get off the street you need 10,000 to pay for like water lights right uh you know groceries you know where are you going to get $10,000 no you have to be Thrifty that's what it com from so you saving money so you have to save money so best what being Thrifty comes in the place so you have to you have to uh be Thrifty so you have to um you have to save money but a dam I lost my train throw uh you got to save money basically yeah so how do you make make money you got to work where do you work I'm saying uh just got to work yeah but like where would where would you go to work yeah like where would you go to like get a job and work and make money to save up I would want to work me personally that's a good question but I know I know what I would like to do I would like to build like a scotc but I would like to build like the steel frames cuz Iz like welding you know what I mean I like the W I like the feeling of it like you know what I'm saying it's together it's helping the country come together you know what I'm saying it's it's building a Skyline you know what I'm saying actual Skyline I think I think that's cool like like that building right there I think those two building are cool that's that's a cool building those are two cool Condominiums you know what I mean what kind of [ __ ] do you see out on the streets out here man bunch of weird stuff like what stuff that doesn't resonate with me like it doesn't it doesn't it give me stuff you see like on the streets uh know smoking smoking drugs uh just nasty stuff like like uh homo stuff but I'm not I'm not homophobic I just don't like when a person tries to push theirself up on you that it is you know what I mean it is freezing out here holy [ __ ] what's up man I'm is there like nowhere for you guys to go like it's freezing cold out here oh no uh you guys are are you guys camping here [Applause] oh why don't you go in the shelter because me and her um she has separation anxiety okay and PTSD so she has somebody to be there when she goes to sleep so also pregnant yeah you're you're pregant out here yeah why can't you go into the shelter it's just a I can't really sleep without him oh and they're you said they're full the shelter is full yeah most of them have waiting list and there there churches is there anywhere that will take you churches won't really take you unless somebody's there and you can't sleep there at night so you have no options except to sleep out here really though if we have a tent yeah yeah but I mean are and you're leaving you said you're leaving yeah where are you guys going to go we're going to move States we're going to go to Kansas you're going to Kansas to like start a new life yeah really though okay M what's in Kansas I got a house down there oh yeah you have a house in Kansas mhm we're going to go down there right now you just bought it yeah I'm excited bro oh what how' you buy a house in Kansas from here Bitcoin Bitcoin shut up no for real how much did you make on bitcoin about 500,000 shut the [ __ ] up but it's just in Bitcoin I haven't withdrawn it yet so you have a half a million dollars in a Bitcoin account that you just bought a house and you're going to Kansas and you're living in a tent right now yeah that's why we're just giving away our stuff when did you decide to do this yesterday we just got the plane tickets so we got to go up there to the hospital but you've had that money for how long about 3 days the Bitcoin money uh-huh why did it only come because I get it to it set a gold of 500,000 oh so you've been you've been making all this money and you just decided I'm cashing out going to Kansas yep some of them like back there if you go back far back here there's a path okay there's way more people back there beyond the creek don't mess with them that's because they don't want to be messed with because they do illegal stuff like they they're on drugs and stuff okay but these people up here they're friendly just get to approach them right like how many more people are back there um a lot like beyond the creek there 100 I don't know we haven't really been back there we went back there for a second like no we're going to come here it looks better right here so there's way more people back there yes way more I don't think I even want to go over there or do [Music] I yes I do oh my God what the hell [Music] this place is oh my God holy [ __ ] there's nobody here look [Music] I don't give a [ __ ] thanks man uh what's your name oh you tell me your name tell me uh how did you get out here um so I was uh doing Uber Eats for work and um I was staying in hotels and then um I got into a car accident that wasn't my fault but um basically my insurance company said it was his fault and his said it was my fault so nobody got paid my my car was total and his car was pretty much totally fine and so um um yeah so I couldn't work anymore I couldn't make any money and um shortly after that um I have schizophrenia and so I had like kind of a bad episode where I thought that people are out to get me and so I like ran away from like where I was and ended up like spending the last of my money like buying a tent and food and like going and living out like on a bike trail like this was like back when it was snowing back in like January and then um yeah so after that after I kind of like finally figured out that I was just crazy um I kind of like came downtown and I've just been trying to save up money since to get another car and get back to work all right so I mean people they they go by and they think that most of these people have given up you're trying to get back out there you just need to save some money up so you can get back get the car get back to work yeah I'm almost there I've almost got enough to get a shitty car how much you how much do you need like do you have a venm mode by the way uh yeah I do tell tell me your VMO cuz people could might donate to you okay what is it um actually I'd rather not just cuz it's got my real name Mone um well honestly a lot of these people out here have given up and um so I just happened to meet the first two people have a plan yeah I guess I mean yeah that's really the way it is like some people you know like you see them around a lot and eventually they just disappear but there's other people that have been out here for years and you know I was homeless before years ago and there's people that I still know out here that have been homeless the whole time honestly like really something I'm surprised about is like how many resources there are um back when I was homeless before I didn't know about any resources but like now there's like a lot of things that like like a lot of organizations and like groups that'll hand out like free uh like tents and like camping supplies and free food and then other groups or like organizations that'll help you like get into housing and like uh get like registered for Medicaid and registered for food stamps and like they have like showers and I didn't know about any of that um before when I was homeless and I think there's actually a lot more now than back in 2018 when it yeah um when I was last time so how come you don't go take up those people on the resources and [ __ ] um okay so to into housing there's like a 12 to 18 month weight list so I have applied and it's really just a waiting game okay and I imagine the lines getting longer yeah definitely yeah all right they I hear a lot of people turn to drugs to stay up CU like they have to protect their [ __ ] is that and then they get hooked well like honestly during winter like it's cold like doing drugs like stimulants will like keep you like you know like warm and um you know other people like it's money like that's the only way that they get by other people like you know that's that's how they're coping with the situation and like honestly just about everybody out here is on something um but it's for different reason for everyone mhm well I'm kid cuz I'm traveling and I see that there's people that are out here in Boseman they homeless yeah like what why why B why is there is it a cost of living problem out here yes the the cost is like very very high right now so people are just like get M homes and live on the streets so you you got this specifically because you couldn't afford to live in a house right right how long have you been out here uh like couple years like maybe one or two what did rent what was the rent increase what did it go from what to what or what it goes from like a th000 to three to like couple hundred thousands so it's gone up a lot yeah and you have no option but to just get a camper and live out here huh yeah live here or like my sister down the road that I can stay with her sometimes is there a lot more people on the streets here now than before yes are you from Boseman from California okay when did you move here uh like 3 4 years ago okay did you did you used to have a house when we first moved here so we had like apartment yes okay and then the cost of the apartment went up too much yeah so we couldn't stay there anymore how come you guys don't go somewhere cheaper why would you like somewhere that it's you could afford an apartment cuz we have family down here uh yeah and who's in here you your whole family right your daughter and just that's my little sister and my mom and myself yeah all right yeah so it's um how long have you been homeless for uh about a year or two not that long okay what's your plan to get out of trying to look for a place and like Hela or somewhere else what do you think rent would be if you were to move a lot more then here um maybe like couple thousands more okay so you're trying to find somewhere cheaper yeah okay it's just very hard right now since everything's going up on like gases and everything yeah okay all right I'm you going to Stadium right what's that I'm sure you go to a stadium or M Park a what's that I just want I just wanted to interview somebody what what you can I can I interview you um all right so um I I talked to uh Ohio and he said that I mean a misn that people have is that people on the streets it's their own problem and then he said that you come from a good background and I how did you end up here uh the truth yeah uh uh uh drugs and being irresponsible honestly is what landed me here after all these years uh sorry DD just a second um that's just the bottom line right there I got caught up in a lifestyle that I couldn't control and and landed here but it's not as is I don't want to say as as bad seems but it I met a lot of good people out here since I've been out here uh uh learned a lot about myself learned a lot about the community and society and how things really run and where the help is at um learn how to build a little bit uh I don't know it's I don't want to stay here uh but we're in the midst of doing something that could help Lots tens of thousands of people uh Across America honestly if things work out with us figuring out a way to help uh uh curve the the Homeless Problem um and that's uh the biggest thing is housing uh being able to afford housing and stuff and so this may be future home small homes affordable for people that are homeless like maybe um we want to start up with the homeless cuz there's like 10,000 uh homeless in just in uh Berkeley Oakland alone if I'm not mistaken and then Across America you can imagine how many people are really homeless and stuff apartments across the street being built no one here can afford those and you know they were most of them are more than half of them are empty right now and they're building more of them but right across the street you have a bunch of people that are homeless and would love to be uh in a place a warm place but they're not being offered to them anyway so like there's a misn that the homeless population is basically people that made very bad decisions lot of addicts and stuff but you think it's it's an affordable housing thing so anybody watching this and stuff you tell me about when how covert affected you hopefully you're still in a home and maybe you're not and stuff but there's a lot of people that uh everybody knows this is not you know it's a fact that uh basically didn't work for 2 years almost uh and then uh some of half of them didn't go back to work because now the business that they work for was out of business because it had no business cuz they weren't open majority of the time so anybody out there there's so many people out here that lost their jobs or couldn't afford their rent cuz their the job told them you can only work you know from home or or half the hour that you used to work and I have a mortgage though that you know so forth um no it's not because of a it's a CO thing more than anything you think it's it's a it's AUM it's a accumulation of a lot of things some of the people out here yes they they made bad choices and stuff some of the people out here lost their jobs during the the co time some of the people had other hardships and stuff it's not that's the one that's another thing we're trying to um Express to people it's not because of drugs and alcohol that majority of these people out here things happen and if if people out there can't understand or or see that things happen to people in life uh that cause things and then you have a bigger thing that happens that we have no control over like covert add that to this daily life and daily living and and daily situation stuff and then think about uh uh the Bay Area and how expensive, 1800 if I'm not mistaken for Oakland is the as the average one-bedroom apartment $1800 a month so you're thinking uh uh $2 an hour is still only giving you 1,600 before taxes take out your taxes you got maybe 13,00 you still don't cover your rent in one check you have a car not you have car insurance maybe you have just one kid goes to school one parent works or what happen you got to wash clothes you got to pay electricity you got to pay uh uh garbage all this stuff maybe your Morgan stuff so you tell me that you know if you who can really afford minimum wage won't allow people to so like the alternative thought is okay well you decided to drop out of school so that you can't get a good job so I don't feel bad for you because you made your own decisions so like that that's a theory that people have like how do you respond to that it's hard it's hard to explain stuff I tell people why don't you come down here and and and and talk to some of us and find out what the stories are what's your story cuz you so good backr right like you came from a really good background you didn't grow up on the streets and [ __ ] not all not at all middle class people make bad decisions I'm talking for myself with just I made bad decisions and stuff and got caught up in a little a lot of partying and and and didn't want to take responsibility and by the time it was uh realized that I final you know you know the jobs give you chances and stuff and luckily enough I'm a person that you know my job gave me uh numerous chances and stuff uh and I just [ __ ] it off that's me that's me I'm just one person this out of 200 on this out of this area that's my stories but yeah I screwed up and now uh I lucky enough I found something in this group that we have come together to do something to sort of hopefully make amends with who we believe in up there you know and do something uh uh uh uh better than what we were doing before and stuff um that's all I can say is I'm trying to to make up for it anyone I've heard or anything by doing what we're doing and that's why it'd be great if more people come down here and and talk to us about what's going on here because I think they'd be sort of impressed about how far we've gotten with it and where we're going with it it's not what they see what's what's your plan how are you trying to get a job so you can get out of here um I'm hoping that all of this turns into some sort of a pay job right now of course it's not pay we don't have but we want to create jobs along with the homes and stuff there's a lot so many talented people here that uh work on cars who uh uh uh uh paint who do uh electrical work um um I'm a chef uh they do so many different things we want to create jobs here and hopefully the outside Community will solicit those jobs to to to promote more business and stuff um that's we want to keep it sort of here we don't want I can go out there and fight and go back to the hustle and bustle out there but why not try to create something here that can help other people in my situation and make it a little bit easier for them to get back into the workforce and work at a place where they're more comfortable and people accept them for who they are you know House people not unhoused them in a sense you know what I mean so yeah how can you like there's something thousand homeless people in California alone oh wow how LA's got like 50,000 dude LA County yeah um we talked to other little communities and stuff like that and they help us out this is uh Monty uh can I show you can I record okay I'm just I'm just doing a documentary on this and stuff hey little dog is that your dog what happened to your uh the eye the eye thing you know it just it's really a tooth infection now so I got to go back to emergency us um for I've been out here 7 years and um I came out here to die but instead of dying I found Community I really did you mean you came out here to die like you had no hope in life I didn't I lost half my family members in one month same month um my brother he was violently murdered by the police um my father had seven strokes my grandmother's you know they both just old age but it was um devastating for me you know I didn't know how to cope and I made a bad decision that bad decision landed me out here 7 years um but the last couple years not so much you know I'm trying to climb out now you're like nicely dressed and [ __ ] like are you what do you do during the day try to get out of here um well so during the day I'm online I'm filling out resumés and applications um I'm speaking to folks and um I'm getting like Community side jobs like I do a lot of things my father um instilled a lot of different skills in me so here what we what we do is we meet people where they are um with the encouragement to slow down their usage We Don't Force It we don't we just leave by example you know and um fortunately a lot of people have taken up that some doctors out here you know Fresh brand new doctors but doctors nonetheless couldn't afford to rent so there were doctors living here when they first got here cuz they didn't earn enough to pay for rent until they worked for a few months and they could save up mhm and so um a friend of mine is staying with uh another guy that I work with you know I do a lot of um handiwork like I said said uh he's turning his homes into Traveling Nursing homes so the nurses come from abroad M and they rent his space but they're like $3,500 a room a room that's less than 750 ft it's not enough it's not enough so what do you guys do all day like you plan your future well yeah we do that and we we uh we really are trying to find them you guys you see what's going on here come on give us a break please don't worry about it it's it's hard okay thank you um so we sorry guys it just be like another couple minutes and we'll be done um so we deal with that yeah okay what are the questions oh we're just we're just talking about like you know all the questions that people ask about being here and everything are youngsters we try because uh a lot a lot of our youngsters um have not been given the things that they needed uh for survival your counselors out here too for some of the of course we have a lot of people mental illnesses here um and yeah we are We Are Family we look after whoever comes here um we don't ask them to leave unless they get violent um and then they can still can come back you know but they come back without the violence the violence has to stay wherever or they have to figure out another way to deal with it yeah um right now we're focusing on cleaning up the blight still when we got here uh we remediated a lot of it but there were piles as high as that camper over there of other people's garbage you know this was a dump site everyone came here and dumped so we cleaned it up and now that we have now we're faced with the thought of eviction defense so now you the city might kick you out yeah well they might um they are uh highly I heard they in Stockton they came in with bulldozers one day without a warning it wasn't as nice as this it was but came in one day and it was leveled in the end of the day and everybody they're like you got 10 minutes to get your [ __ ] and they were like and then they rebuilt it but like you still lost your no warning right they're not going to do that [ __ ] here right no well it's possible do you know the damage that that causes I mean mentally well I know said you're already barely hanging on and then that's you're starting over right it's yeah so okay let's think about you just moving period you you got your job you and your wife you know you guys are now moving across country that process just that takes you know and you got everything together now you know you you you can pay for the movers to it's still a daunting process so imagine someone just going in and ripping all that from under you and saying have a nice day which is what trans used to do they used to go to the encampments take what they wanted put it into their personal vehicles and Chip everything else um the last car said have a h happy day have a nice day Y and big ass sign have a nice day um the police sent us down here so with amnesty they said if we came down here we'd be okay they would not ask us to leave so we're going to try to hold them accountable for that you know um cuz I've met a lot of other homeless out here that don't drink don't smoke don't do drugs and live in RB and bounce from state to state and love it I mean that's their life but you got a lot of people that are stuck out here they fell upon hard times and getting out here you get stuck into the cycle you get stuck into drugs and once you get stuck in drugs it's for majority of people out here it's a rap here you get in drugs and people don't understand addiction and understand how to fight it and and because of the illegalities of it nobody wants to go seek help because they're scared of getting in trouble so they you know essentially get stuck and uh it can be rough so what's your plan what do what are you going to try to do are you going to just live on the streets till you stop using no I mean in reality probably my hopes no I mean I definitely don't like it out here I mean there there's fun times there's good people there's definitely really good people out here but there's a lot of [ __ ] up people a lot of individuals that are just sick and twisted and having to worry about that con like me I don't have on me now cuz I just woke up but I walk around with the hatchet and a machete on my hip because I need to um not just for tools but you know I've been jumped I've had men try to rape me I've had all kinds of [ __ ] happen and it's a Scary World out here I mean as beautiful as it is is as ugly as ugly as as ugly as it is are there more are there more homeless people in San Diego than you've seen in a while yes why is that you think Co I think helped helped a lot um then they shutting everything down people losing their businesses losing their jobs I think had a big part part in it um cuz that's when I saw the biggest jump is right after the um quarantines is and a lot of it too is people moving in from other places because San Diego is gorgeous I mean you're going to be a bum why not be a beach BM um and I mean it ranges from cost of living you just can't keep up with the bills to devices to people just giving up you know there's no no Society anymore there's no Community [Applause] [Music] anymore that sucks cuz I remember when I was a [Applause] kid you know your neighbors don't know your neighbors anymore as you probably know my hometown of San beradino is a real mess well I drove around for a few days last year and I documented how much s beradino was gone downhill and I talked about the crime and definitely the homeless problem well when I was there I ended up going into a camp right by a freeway and I met some pretty interesting people in that camp well everybody thinks like homeless people are like crazy or on drugs oh most of us are on drugs I can't even lie kind of got to cope some way somehow whether it's alcohol cigarettes meat meth uh PCP um [Music] sh I don't know they have different names for it I'm not I'm not really active in that so um I smoke meat and I cigarettes and I smoke meth every so often um not as much as like everyone as others that I've hung out with it's a little more consistent I have to be productive I have to work I literally getting just like this whole area was still bu the trash but most of the people that are on the streets have a home they could go to if they would just sober up except they' be like come home but they just want to they're addicted and they just want to live on the street and they just want to live on the streets you'll be amazed on how many people live out on the streets and they have homes and I look at them like where's your mom at can I talk to her and be you like cuz Being Sober isn't the hard part being homeless and a drug addict that's the hard part for them mentally like that it's Mind Over Matter like if you really want a home you're going to get the home but if you have just the drug part then you're just going to stay where you're at cuz it's easier to get drugs on the street than it is to be in the house so they CH a lot of the people choose to live that lifestyle and then the ones that don't like there's a there's a group of us like red me Sheena um there's no there's nobody to fall back on and unfortunately in my case I don't have a mother I never had a mother so I don't know what it's I can't relate to people who do have moms but my dad was my my caretaker so anytime I was in a struggle I would go home to LA with my dad and now that he relies on me it was really really hard thing and then the fact that he lost his ability to talk I don't have anybody to talk to to get help know so I miss my dad and being able to talk to him and the fact that I can't even bring him home now is it just sucks so you just can't find anywhere to live like no one will take you nobody would uh well I went and I wouldn't it's happened to me twice now I found a room for wreck and I was um uh they tried to get sexual and like I got sexually assaulted I guess not really great because it wasn't anything where they got they got it um they ended up keeping my deposit and they kept my rent and I couldn't get it back threw you out you know I well I left cuz I wasn't going to stay in somewhere where but when I tried to get my rent back how long have you been out here uh on this part right here I think about three maybe close to 5 months somewhere in 3 to 5 months yeah are you from Texas yeah why my ear is uhhuh why is the homeless problem getting so worse in Austin I don't know uh I don't know there just not much out there and I don't have I don't have any cash you know so I just anybody a rent I don't even want to rent anymore so it's a cost of living huh did the the lock situation that they're locked up and if you break a window something that can get you for you know you have to pay all that or get all them repairs and all that kind of stuff so I don't know do you have a plan yeah I've been trying to get a bus ticket this might sound something but the money's out on the rent so I trying to get a bus ticket to go back to lart and uh I There's No Buses or anything going that way you're just stuck here yeah how much money do you need to get to where you're going uh I think the bus ticket goes anywhere from three from uh3 to $50 why don't you just go in the shelter inside in here they won't let it they won't let you in the shelter I I sat here all this time you know I think I've been here for a month or some trying to get inside this place they kept tell me they were going to open it they going to open it and they're not going to open so you're waiting to get in here yeah I seen them they got the walk off the door and everything the other day and he said this place isn't for uh we're not letting anybody in but he said it's something about the end of December okay and I've been out here this long been put off that many times so I don't think it's going to happen either have you been waiting right here the whole time about right here yeah sleeping right here yeah not since I got here just since we trying to get in this building right here but like how did you end up on the streets um I uh I went to prison in 200000 15 and I got out in 2017 and during that time my mom had passed and my father and my brother brother stole a bunch of money from me uh they took cars they took jewelry they took guns they took two storage Bays um I had my mother um doing things for me while I was in prison you know I'm sending her money from her prison and I sent her over $45,000 in a 5 Monon period and she took it all my father and my brother did once she passed away they took everything from me man so you don't really have a plan yet you're just trying to just survive um I have a plan man you know I'm really I'm trying to get off the street but it's hard for me right now because I'm on the run not for anything that I've done but for not checking in with P so if they found you that you'd be in trouble I'm going to jail so it's kind of me not being able to move how a normal citizen would move in my my position man it's it's it's been slow and it's never taken me this long to get on my feet once uh released you know um I have I have work skills I'm a you know I'm a journey level pipe wether you know um you can't get a job though I can't get I I can go back down to the hall and go to work why haven't I I don't know um I think it has something to do with my lack of faith in the system you know it's you know I know that there's resources available to help us to help people in my situation help themselves which I'm grateful for but because of my because of the warrant I can't take advantage of those um benefits that are offered at this time I would have to go in do do my time and get out and start clean you know um take it from there which you know I really want to do but it's not in me to turn myself in I can't do it man you know so right now um I really want to my goal is to rack up 30 30 40 ,000 on a card before they put the cuffs on me so that when I am released um I w't have to start like this again you know as [ __ ] up as it is you know I I I would I would like to uh get it taken care of and cleared up any way that I can but I can't I can't I can't turn myself in if I can so um you know I'm just taking it day by day man you know for me this is a uh i' I've learned some things man hav been out here you know I was one of those arrogant cats that you know used to talk about homeless people and [ __ ] you know though I would give them money I would still talk about them make fun of them make fun of the situation and you know I was swering down the people around me man that'll never be me you know I would I would take take a penitential chance on doing some [ __ ] before I allow myself to be out here like that and lo and beh hold I'm out here like that man what are you trying to do I'm just I saw this I'm doing a video on YouTube and I wanted to ask like about Sacramento and just the number of homeless people that's growing there's too many out here bro yeah what what is this I've never seen a safe ground okay it's nonprofit organization I'm the manager here okay why are there why is there such a huge spike in homelessness right now in Sacramento nobody has nowhere to go simple as that you're either camping out in the street or you camping out in the river you know people don't have no place to go and then you know your income ain't going to help you get in unless you know somebody going to reach your room but other than that your income is your income and I I say you know you got to fight somewhere to go food shelter it's cold so you just got to fight where you need to go I know this point you know the the mayor governor and who where else dealing with this they're not putting their foot down they're only doing it half halfway and want everybody else to finish rest of it know if you're the mayor if you're the mayor or the governor help the homeless don't help the homeless for so much and then you have no more money what what do you want them to do what would they do like they need to put the homeless in somewhere I mean that's that's mental mental or non- mental you got people out here on the streets that need help you can't give help if you don't know what's going on you know like I said once before when Kevin Johnson was May I asked him I said when you come on here look like we are come on here for a week with a backpack and clothes on not none of your security come on here by yourself and you can see how we live and he looked at me and walked up the mayor did that so did they just not have enough um places to put homeless people or like there's enough places there's enough land out here to go put a homeless camp out there you know they put that highrise on North 12th and 7th stre of the light you can make that to a homeless Camp it's side out of M but you want to put a highrise know then so now you're really chasing homeless away homeless are in homeless are in the river they're kicking everybody off the river now too with that new law that with the new law that came through so nobody has nowh to go if you got a car you sleeping in your car or you sleeping in somebody's Sports somebody's pce property they have they have money and they have land so why won they do it they don't want to do they don't want to do nothing for the homeless I'm not going to cut I'm not going to cuss but they don't want to do nothing for the homeless they want to do what they want to they don't want to help the homeless they want to do what they want to help the homeless instead of coming out here talking to the homeless and seeing what they need or what can they do to help them they're not doing that is majority of I'm going say what I want to say on camera to make myself look good and that's how it is I'm barely surviving but I'm surviving did you ever think you'd end up homeless [Music] no tell me what what just happened all there to go we got to get out of here whye I don't even know man they don't want us out of here again [Music] they're throwing you guys out what are they going to make you go oh we going go why now I get it maybe somebody trying to get somewhere in office I don't know that's I all right we've been here this long while was how long you been out here I've been out here over 10 years 10 years oh it don't make no sense because they put people in housing but then they put all these different stipulations that you have to meet and you it's basically a setup that you're going to get kicked back out what are the stipulations uh things like no drinking okay okay no drug use okay this is other things this is me personally I got put in the housing and it was cockroach infested I I found out I'm allergic to cockroaches I'm allergic to nicotine I found out the place had been condemned um an investment group bought it yeah and I don't even know how they're passing these inspections but the the short version is it was saturated with growing black mold and I was trying to cover up the black mold okay but like a lot of people like I never even knew about black now I know about black mold green mold white mold like all the molds because I'm like no I better keep my mouth shut cuz other people said you better shut up you shut up something breakes fix it light you paint over it paint over it okay a lot of people think that everybody on the streets is like on drugs or drunk is that true no how many people how many people out here are like [ __ ] up on drugs and and booze and [ __ ] probably cuz it's like [ __ ] it e I'm Excuse me but it's eff it eff it eff it I'm already out here they're not providing especially like like I I get um I get benefits and I've done the paperwork and I know how to do paperwork but like some people don't have the ability to even do that like you even get your phone stolen I haven't gotten the vaccine I'm not going to get the vaccine and I and the reason I got narcolepsy narcolepsy cataplexy is for vaccine and I don't know if you know what narcolepsy is sleeping disorders we fall asleep okay I've had my medicine stolen quite a few times and then I just pass out somewhere and I and I wake up to ambulance um the police so you were in a you were in a a wreck and you got brain injury and that's what that's what set you in the pathway you're at right now and then you couldn't get good credit and hold a job and so you ended up on the streets is that to a certain degree but it was primarily false charges and false charges against the police you got thrown in jail oh I got false charges on me what were the false charges what did they say you did stupid stuff so you went to jail jail yeah oh Abduction of children was one abducting children you got accuse ofu abducting children my own child your own kid oh you have a kid wasn't even with me yeah so somebody accused you of stealing your kid yeah the ex-boyfriend who said he was the ex-husband okay briyan Tate HMS sh but anyway I went all the way to Federal I mean uh North Carolina Supreme Court and I won the case to flip it but by then all this damage had been done like they literally like I had my own Salon the helicopter was over the salon they busted down the doors set out imp perior court and I was also fraudulent um cuz I didn't miss the court date that's like $110,000 Bond how long go was that actually all that was 2006 oh but yeah but it's a domino effect of kept going to court court court court I been like probably about a hundred charges against me in 10 in yeah about 10 years 15 years technically I can't work but you Tech you cannot work no cuz nobody will hire you or cuz you can't um your brain I I got too much medical stuff going on okay so you can't even get a job no so you're just going to have to I I I'd have to like the only type of work I can do has to be flexible because I get triggered by like narcolepsy is also is a affected by um strong emotions somebody starts talking I don't know rude to me or somebody starts screaming my my brain like it just like short like I can't I can't handle like but it's the brain injury but it's like um lights like the lights the like I'd have to be like in a place that has to be total silence and then do whatever it is I'm doing there yeah they offer places that are not quote habitable okay like places okay okay here I get I get that's on fit housing right there something like that like where you walk up and it's like Oh blank no uh-uh so that that's the kind of place that you would qualify for and it's not acceptable no you would rather live out here than like yeah cuz I I can't breathe I get sick I end up in the hospital I get more medical bills like that one one place I got housed in for 6 months I thought I was dying I had blood coming out my nose like like are you sad um not no that's just me personally because I mean I guess I could say you could you could focus on the negative or the positive or you can see both sides like ying and yang if you see both sides it's like I'm not the only one that's gone through this and and I and I will speak about it and I do speak about it um cuz a lot of people won't there's there's there's so much hardships and so much things that happen to people that are not quote fair so it's it's a mentality thing cuz he couldn't get in the rooms at the end and I was like haha you couldn't get in you ain't going to get your fancy your MH do you feel are you scared to live out here do you feel threatened do you feel uh not not anymore cuz I've I've been out here and then not and then been out here and not cuz I keep trying to get housing but I I almost I'm to the point like I almost don't want to rent because I am not being treated like like a human being like I was before like there's a difference there's a lot of people I don't know what the news is feeding about the homeless whatever there's people like just that don't treat me like a human being for whatever thing they got and like say somebody's with me and I say make jokes like they're not happy with their own life you know what I mean like why they hating so like I have people come yell at me you don't want any help it's like okay yeah I did sign up I did the paperwork I've done it I've done all the quotes do the Motions I'm signed up with multiple organiz ations but I want fit housing and I'm real cautious or like to us wobbling it's like okay what's up do you have friends and family that you could rely on yeah yeah why don't you going to stay with them cuz I I don't I want my own place I mean but at the same time if you stay with like parents they treat you like a child you try to take over like if you went home to your parents they treat you bad no they just take over they take they do the pan roll again is there a problem with the system that you are frustrated by uh um discrimination and unethical business unethical business they say they're going to do certain things they collect money to do certain things and they're not doing the things so the nonprofits aren't doing enough um I'm not going to say they're not doing enough but like some some were collecting funds and the funds are not being put in the places they're supposed to be put in I've heard that from other homeless people too yeah okay so tell me what your situation is well I'm in a well domestic violence situation with my dude um we currently like we've been going through it I actually we just lost our house right here on Rainbow um we were in the condos and he has an anger issue so he can't like really get a grip of his anger and it cost us our home and at first it cost us our kids being able to stay with us and then I had my dad and my dad had a stroke in 2019 so he had a left-sided stroke uh he lost his cognitive and able he's not able to move the right side of his body and his ability to talk so I became his conservator and I brought him home but him being half paralyzed and upstairs down stair unit and then not being able to go to work I had to put in fulltime with him which cost me money cuz I have my independent jobs I did Uber lift and karaoke hosting and those are all independent so you lost all your jobs pretty much uh taking my dad in and then I used all my savings to buy diapers and my dad would throw fits and the only thing he could say is out no and three Majestic words there I was like we got the cops called on us quite a bit at the house too so the HOA the Housing Authority wasn't happy about it either so um it was just a lot how long have you been out here uh out this way about a month now um I was homeless for 2 years about 6 years ago I was from 19 to 21 I couldn't get a house like I wanted to when I did have enough money because I had to build credit and I had no established credit so they wouldn't even rent an apartment to me and I was like are you serious like I was like damn how did our parents do it and I realized they didn't have credit checks lucky I was like you guys were able to buy houses and do the most and now we have to have credit to establish that so I'm like so how what's your plan I'm actually uh working uh with a worker uh from the welfare and trying to get into the homeless assistance program um I sent my son to go stay with his grandma for the time being um and I'm not sure what the plan is between me and my dude but that it's like I love him but if he wants to stay here in the tent that's going to be on him I'm going to move forward I want to move forward and um get back to where we were with our cars and home and our kids so you're just trying to get back on your feet yeah and right now I can't like really get a job like 9 to 5 because I haven't been able to shout and not going to go into work smelling like foot every other day and then we lit in this dirt so it's been very hard it's wake up to the Sun and it's heat all the time and I'm waking up drench from the sweat so and then at night it's cold and I'm glad it's getting cold now again cuz it was the same at night like we were just drenched and sweat so every day it's just already drained from the start and just to get water like we have to walk all the way to Jack and box to get ice cold water and if we had to all have our food stamps like I got my food stamp stolen I had to do the reevaluation not having a mailbox and not being able to get to and from the welfare became a con like it was a hassle it's still a hassle to go get your checks it was a pain in the butt to go get your welfare checks yeah it it's like um to do the reports the sr7 reports that they need every so often which isn't bad like we can make it down there but we didn't have bus passes at first and then Medical started supplying bus passes now so we have to call it in and they send you a virtual one but if your phone's dead you can't get on can't get on the bus because you can't show that you have a bus pass so just to charge the phones it's a hassle one thing I don't like about being homeless the main thing that only the only thing that really bothers me are the Flies they're everywhere no matter what I'm like homeless or not like they're just there and I'm like I start torching them out like literally just started doing my torch I was like I'm going to get them and then I'll burn them out like sit there just constantly smacking flies off then it makes me feel even more smellier like dang I stink how much do they give you guys in like benefits for um I think it's 220 when you're single just you like it's about 2 my dad gets 270 and I got 430 and that's with me and my son um with my son not being on there I get the same as my dad so it's it's okay but it's not not cuz we're constantly buying water which water's gone up all our groceries gone up and then the top things off we don't have a fridge or anything we usually get like sandwiches or um Subway or fast food and fast food Del Taco uh Taco Bell um Jack in the Box we'll get a couple dollars we'll ask people for a dollar $2 or you know someone one of our friends has money we'll be like hey do you have a couple dollars to spare um usually we all do pretty good and look out for one another like if I make something and someone else doesn't have it then I'll shoot it like it's just kind of like the homeless Community looking out for one another as far as like I see like he's done a lot to help us out over here and he already doesn't have a lot himself so and you got to have a good heart um when you're out this way cuz if you're bitter and you're just angry all the time then it's you're really not going to get a lot of help out like all right you're going to figure it out by yourself and then they realize that it does take a community to help you get back up well I'm pretty bitter about like choices I've made that could have been different and not making me to where I'm at right now but a lot of people they don't blame I don't ever hear anybody blame the system I think most of them blame themselves for not making different choices and then even then it's not like a bitter angry like a lot of people aren't angry they I I say a lot of them are actually happy and high to be honest so and then like the only time I see them angry is when the heat is really scorching down at that point everybody's angry for some reason when it's really really hot just nobody's in a good mood and I'm like dang okay watch out we got the attitude but then you got the heat messing with everybody's head so they're just happy and high on like weed and meth and whatever wandering around whatever I mean we kind of make the best of like you know sarcasm actually kind of helps out a lot I don't know I think I'm pretty sarcastic HED I get I get a lot of people are like oh like what you doing I was like I don't know rolling in dirt trying to stay cool like shoot like is doing too much right now though even making good money things are so expensive here you still struggle on occasion you still have those moments where you're just like damn where where where where where am I going to pull this extra money from to to maybe give the kids something a little something extra to to take the wife out to dinner this month like like little things sometimes you have to bypass because it's so expensive here the simple things in life the things that make you smile and make you laugh that gives you that moment where your shoulders could actually drop down and you could you could take a deep breath it's so expensive here that a lot of times you you you don't have that opportunity yeah uh yo but yo that's I think this is what I think y I think to get out of homelessness you got to just got to pray right you got to you got to you got to believe in yourself you know what I mean I like I like that but that cut it cut itut all right all right all right I'm done no pause it pause it pause are you looking to move and need advice I do Consulting that's right I'll sit down and talk about where the next perfect place for you and your family should be I do it all the time together let's find you a new home that safe and checks all your boxes and I can also help you find your new house too email me and I'll work with you I'm not just helping you figure out where to move but I can help you find your perfect home too that's right I know awesome reliable agents all over the country and I'd love to connect you to somebody who can help you search for that perfect home hey guys if you learned something new about America or what it's like to live in America great you should think about subscribing and turning on your notifications you can also click one of these videos or playlists for more hey YouTube world I'm stage Nicks manager you've enjoyed a Corner House Entertainment production so watch another one

Channel: Nick Johnson

Views: 188,721

Keywords: homeless interviews, homelessness, homeless in america, denver, los angeles, san francisco, oakland, oakland homeless, california homeless, san jose, sacramento homeless, denver homeless, colorado homeless, charlotte, north carolina homeless, nick johnson, homeless crisis, san diego, san diego homeless, life on the streets, homeless solution, los angeles homeless, san francisco homeless, san jose homeless, montana homeless, bozeman homeless, texas homeless, austin homeless

Id: OHopRePMdxk

Length: 103min 0sec (6180 seconds)

Published: Tue May 14 2024