(smooth music)
- I've only been homeless about six years
and it's quite different.
I grew up in a poor family but I went to high school,
went to college.
I always worked really really hard.
I'm still out here though, so it can happen to anybody.
There's so many other reasons other than drugs,
alcohol and mental illness that people are homeless.
Maybe they made a mistake
and they just couldn't get out of it.
It's so hard, especially once you become homeless,
that stigma attached to it.
Nobody wants to hire you,
nobody wants to give you a second chance.
Nobody wants to help you.
They'll throw you a couple of bucks to help you eat
but they don't want you near their homes.
Every time they make structures,
housing for homeless people, they try to get everybody
off the street, all the neighbors complain.
They all sit there and throw a fit,
go to these board meetings
and make whatever housing go away.
And now he pushed her back on the street,
now everyone's complaining.
Living out here, feeling this way,
the way people look at you, the way I have to survive.
I'm dirty all the time.
There's not even bathrooms for me for mail.
It just makes you feel gross.
It makes you suicidal, it makes you give up.
I've had suicide attempts out here,
really really truly have.
Thank God, that none of them have worked.
This place really does just make a good person give up.
And I'm a very positive person.
They have shelters which really
ask any of the homeless people out here,
they're not very well.
You have people, all they do is sit around
wait for you to fall asleep and they steal from you.
They're horrible places.
Even though you read in the papers,
oh they're really wonderful, they're well funded,
but when you get into these places, not like it at all.
I've even had police officers tell me,
why aren't you in a shelter?
Why aren't you doing this for yourself?
Why aren't you doing that for yourself?
I've tried.
I'm still back out here,
and every day I'm still back out here.
But everyone gets mad because
all the homeless people camping,
and they say, "go to these shelters",
but no one will go and see why
we won't go to these shelters.
Why these programs aren't working.
Everywhere I sleep I wake up and something's missing.
Maybe clothes that are expensive.
I like nice clothes and I like to dress nice
even though I'm homeless.
I haven't given that up,
because anywhere else, I woke up
with people's hands in my pockets.
I can tell you so many stories.
People inside my bag.
Wake up and sell stuff for trying to run a store
or just clothes, or just anything, just gone.
You're asleep, you wake up and someone's taken your backpack
and ridding off on a bike.
Fairly educated.
I went to Computer Tech vocational school.
I went to college, I went to high school.
I got okay grades.
I wasn't the best student,
but yeah I did good.
I'm still out here though so it can happen to anybody.
First off, no one hires homeless people.
If they find out you are homeless,
they don't want to deal with you.
They figure it's drugs or mental health,
or something you did wrong.
And not everybody did something wrong in their life
to become homeless.
(smooth music)
Usually I come here after 5.00 o'clock,
it's just out of politeness.
Work day ends and so people are leaving.
And people don't want to see the structure up all day.
It's just out of politeness
and usually I sweep this whole side walk.
Keep it real extra clean, that way DPW
doesn't have any excuse to bother me.
I've known them over the years
and so they tolerate me here.
I'm actually really proud of this little house I designed.
I come here every night and do this.
It just takes a minute or so to put together,
takes even less to put it down.
So I'm in nobody's way.
I'm not blocking the side walk.
Wheelchairs can still get accessible through here.
It's very important.
I use these little plastic sheets.
I use it as doorways but when it rains I put them on top.
They're just little bags, put them on top like that
and it stops the rain real good.
This right here, I'm gonna turn this into a house.
Since I started sleeping here,
I wake up, all my belongings are still there.
I have a little bit of dignity at night.
I have some privacy at night.
I have safety which is so important out here,
'cause night time gets kind of scary.
Instead of staying awake all night to protect yourself,
I can sleep comfortably now.
And I do sleep, there's a big padding's right there,
it's like a bed.
I get wifi from here, keeps the wind off me,
the rain off me, the heat off me.
And it's comfortable to sleep.
It's very very private.
I use my hygiene in here with some dignity.
I don't have to worry about anything.
At the end of the day, I just come and eat
and watch TV.
I'm pretty happy for that.
It's one of the small blessings I have out here.
It's not very big but it suits me right now.
I know it's not permanent, it can't be permanent.
This is me, my representation of making the best out it.
Trying to be positive.
It's just really hard to do sometimes.
Being homeless out here, you don't want this.
Nobody wants this, it's dirty, there's no bathrooms.
To eat costs about two or three times more.
I've calculated this, than just having a home
with a kitchen.
You can't make your food, you can't put your food
up for storage.
You can't shop normally.
You have to live out of little liquor stores
with sandwiches.
They're very expensive.
It's very expensive to live homeless.
It's awful out here.
Very depressing, very very depressing, very lonely.
Sometimes it gets downright scary, it really does.
If I could send a message to everybody,
it's don't believe everything you read in the papers.
See for yourself.
Go and check out places, these shelters.
See why these programs aren't working.
People get so upset, that people leave,
they put tents everywhere,
they just want a little privacy at night.
It's not easy.
Life is not easy in the first place,
and some people just got off the horse
and they forgot, help them out God.
They really need to do something.
A lot of these people out here,
they don't want to be out here.
You get stuck, you really get stuck out here.
(upbeat smooth music)