- [Cameraman] Hey Richard, we're here in San Francisco.
- Alright. I've been homeless for three years.
This is my third year, I'm finally getting an apartment
due to the HOT team and a connection to a man named Kermit.
I found out that I have veteran's representation
and, plus they're helping me get in cause I'm willing to
save my money. I'm not out there spending it every first
like a lot of nuts, but I came out here with my son
who's 31 now. I've raised him from birth,
his mother died when he was 8 months old.
We slept together, the first year together on the street,
by the First Baptist Church on Waller
and it was a very close time. I have a Bulldog
that slept with us. We separated paths, I was very angry
and very self-destructive at that moment.
I didn't know what shelters were or anything
and, I find, you know,
that I feel really blessed at this moment
that the HOT team picked me up and listened to me.
It's very hard to get somebody to listen to you
when you're homeless. Especially when you're unwashed
and you're dirty, you lose your self-esteem. You know?
- [Cameraman] Well that's the first thing you said
while I was setting up the camera, is you're thanking me,
to have somebody to talk to and to hear your story.
- I have looked for somebody for a long time.
The social worker system doesn't work.
There's too many of us out here and a lot of us,
a lot of the people that are out here,
they don't want to go anywhere else but the streets
because they want to do drugs or alcohol, et cetera.
I happen to have been sober for nine years.
- Good for you.
- You know, I had a hard battle,
I got a lot of post-traumatic stress syndrome.
I'm a level four, which is really hard to live in a shelter
with a lot of people.
- Right.
- But, I clicked with the HOT team, with a man named Kermit
who is my hero.
- Right. So as a veteran, you're getting off the streets.
- I'm off the streets...
- In three days.
- ...this weekend.
- Awesome.
- And I'm so happy. I've got an American Bulldog
that's been with me through this journey and kept me sane.
My son and me are reuniting...
- Awesome.
- ...which is good cause we separated for a year
without talking and that really broke my heart.
I have a lot of feeling for what's happening in America.
I'm true blue American, I come from a true blue
American family and I don't like to see anybody,
you disenfranchise from the system that we have here.
I just thank God that you came by and allowed me
to say these things. I was really lucky...
- It's an honor to meet you.
- ...and I say thank you very much.
- If you had three wishes, what would they be?
- I want my home to be domestic and safe, I want to bring
my son back home, even though he's got a girlfriend now,
and my third is, just to live healthy and long.
I have cancer at the moment and it's terminal...
- I'm sorry.
- ...it's my second time around with that.
- Oh, geez.
- On top of that, I have Hep C
so my son's having a hard time talking to me
as a human being. He's angry about it.
- I'm sorry.
- Right now, I'm in a healthy phase of it
- Well, you have a positive attitude.
- I'm very spiritual.
- And then, housing is gonna help.
- Housing will help immensely.
- Oh my gosh.
- You know, and all I can say is, veteran or no veteran,
every American deserves a place to go and be safe.
Not be moved along three, four times a night.
- I agree. Well, thank you very much for talking.
- Okay. I thank you and God bless America.