- [Interviewer] I've heard a lot of negative things
about shelters today.
- Oh yeah?
- [Interviewer] Yeah.
- I mean, I found a human poop in the shower.
(laughing)
But, like, at least I get to sleep indoors,
you know, it's like give and take.
(mellow electronic music)
- [Interviewer] How old were you when you were
kicked out of your house?
- 17.
- I was 18.
- I got kicked out a total of seven times.
- [Interviewer] Why?
- My aunt threatened to kill me.
I'm sorry, it's just like,
I don't really think about these situations anymore.
I kind of tried to like block 'em out,
it's very hard to, like,
bring these memories back out.
- Whenever we have to move in with somebody,
it's obviously money issues,
and I've kind of slept in weird places,
like I had a room in a garage twice.
- I got embarrassed to ask my friends,
so for a week I went to a women's shelter,
but my mom doesn't know that.
She thinks that I went to my friends.
- [Interviewer] What's a word you think of
when you think of shelters?
- A place to live.
- Warmth.
- Relief.
- [Interviewer] Why do you say that?
- It's a safe spot.
- [Interviewer] Shelters.
- Hmm.
Unsafe.
I don't wanna say all shelters are bad,
but how they run,
they don't make me feel safe.
That's why I never went to one, because I had the option.
- I've definitely had conversations with my mom before
about like maybe having to stay in a shelter,
especially when I was younger.
- [Interviewer] What do you remember about
that conversation?
- Just being scared, like,
you hear about all the terrible things
that happen in shelters.
- I did it for a week and I literally never left
'cause I was always scared
someone was gonna steal my things.
- My iPod got stolen, but I got to sleep inside.
(laughing)
I didn't get guacamole chips, I had to eat regular chips,
but I got to sleep inside.
- I think it is important to think about gender
in this situation or like, you know, just age and stuff,
because they just put you all in one room,
and I don't think that's really safe for anyone.
- [Interviewer] Shelters.
- Shelters.
Dirty.
- Dirty.
I get the staff does the best that they can
to make sure that everything is clean and sanitary,
but that doesn't mean everyone around you is,
and it just makes you feel gross.
- You know, everybody who's there
is kinda beaten down by the world,
so it's pretty infectious to sit there
and not want to do nothing.
- I know shelters pretty well.
The earliest I lived in a shelter
was between second and third grade.
We went to live in a women's shelter,
me and my mother and my siblings,
while my stepdad had to go to the men's shelter.
- My younger brother and I, after we were evicted,
I considered going to a shelter,
but it was mostly women's shelters,
and I couldn't get my brother to be with me.
- There's a few that are very nice,
but they're very hard to get into.
- There are a couple that suck,
like, they didn't have mats,
they gave me like a blanket
and I slept on like a cold church floor.
They had no stalls, there's blood on the wall.
(laughing)
So, I mean, that was terrifying, I didn't sleep that night.
- [Interviewer] What are the positives about shelters?
- Food.
That's my main objective throughout the day,
I gotta eat somehow.
So if I have food,
I don't have to go think of ways to go make money
where I have to bust a jug to eat.
- I'm really grateful for them.
From what I remember, it was a cool place.
There were other kids there,
they had like a den,
there were books and games and toys.
They took care of us.
If it wasn't for them, we woulda ended up in the car
with a small baby, you know?
- Youth care is definitely the best in Seattle.
Youth care gave me opportunity.
They're literally paid for like half of my down deposit,
they gave me like Eddie Bauer jackets and socks,
and they really help bear the elements out there
and just give every kid a second chance.