- Ever since I became homeless, it's been an eye opener
because I didn't know what a sweep was,
I didn't even know that they did sweeps
or they existed 'til maybe three weeks in living down here.
And I learned real quick that,
if you wanna play games with them,
they'll take everything that you own
and supposedly put it in a bin down in LA,
but none of us have the transportation
to get down there to find out if our stuff's down there.
So it pretty much just goes to the wind.
But, with that being said,
I guess I'm making this video so the people
who are making these decisions for us
can know what it feels like
and what they're doing to the people,
how it affects the people
that they're implementing it on
which is the homeless, which is us.
And,
for a while, I thought maybe they're getting an idea
with the soft cleanups
and not taking all of our stuff, but,
it still hasn't changed,
the COVID has changed it a little bit
but since it's slowing down,
it's like we're at war with the city or sanitation,
whoever you wanna say is coming
and taking our stuff and hassling us
and having the police give us tickets
and all this stuff.
But what are we gonna do?
Like really, what are we gonna do?
We're doing the best we can,
trying to stay out of the public eye
and out of the community's, not...
It's hard, it's hard all around,
but it makes it harder when you have,
every five days, six days,
a whole crew coming and demolishing where you stay
and how you live, taking everything that you own
and making you start from scratch.
It's gut wrenching, it makes people crazy
and it makes life hard for anyone who's trying to live.
- [Interviewer] For those watching it
who don't understand what a sweep is,
it's where the police and sanitation come in-
- As a joint, they join.
- [Interviewer] Yeah, and it's really disruptive.
They don't-
- Just imagine every single week
you would have to move out of your apartment,
take everything you own,
get out of your apartment,
move it, let's say just across the street.
And then at the end of the day,
move all your stuff back, put all your pictures up,
all that stuff, that's pretty much what it's like.
It's like moving out of your house for a day
and then moving yourself back in
with no help from any movers
or no packing material, nothing.
I was a mover, so I was kind of conditioned to it.
But other people out here, they lose everything.
I mean everything.
And it's sad to watch.
When they give me those two days' notice,
trust and believe I'm using from the time I see
that paper posted, I'm packing about two days early.
And it takes me about the whole two days
to get my stuff organized and then moved
just across the street, it's a hassle,
I probably gotta do, with my bike,
I carry three bike carts.
Three bike carts connected in a train.
So I do about 10 loads of three bike carts.
And I'm telling you, these bike carts can weigh
from upward to a hundred to 200 pounds
and I'm pulling them, pushing them
however way I can move them,
flat tire, whatever it may be.
I do what I have to do.
- [Interviewer] To protect your stuff.
- Yep. - That's all you got.
- And I'm talking structure stuff, food, clothes,
and everything in between, I move on my own.
- [Interviewer] Now, how many times
in three years have you lost your stuff?
Have you lost your stuff?
- Yes, I have.
I've slept on the clock before
and I found out real quick that they don't play.
They will destroy your structure
and take anything that they deem of value
and I've never gotten a receipt
for anything that I've got lost or taken.
But they say they give you receipts or whatever
but I've never got one.
And I've lost bikes, generators, TVs,
game systems, whatever you can name,
whatever you can put in a home, I've probably had and lost.
- [Interviewer] How do you survive out here?
- The community helps a lot,
they come and drop off food.
Granted sometimes they drop off too much food
and it goes to rot and the rats come.
- [Interviewer] There's no refrigeration.
- Yeah, no refrigeration.
Thank God one of my buddies
just dropped me off a mini fridge.
So, yeah I got capability of freezing stuff now, I hope.
But yeah, for the most part, no,
you have no luxuries of home
and whatever luxuries you do have of home
you try to hold dear
and not let sanitation or the city take it.
- [Interviewer] So you survive by the goodness of others.
- Yeah, and I'm a,
I guess you can call a handyman,
I can pretty much work on bikes,
build structures, so people pay me to build
somewhat of a, it's kind of messed up
but as you can see, I built this structure
around my buddy's tent, and this is what,
he paid me about maybe 15 bucks for it.
And you know, sometimes that's how I eat
or get gas for the generator or whatever it may be.
That's...
I probably helped or touched
either their bikes or their homes
in some way shape or form, just about everybody here.
- [Interviewer] People say, well,
why don't you go get a real job?
- Because, okay, that brings me to my next thing.
The whole reason why I became homeless
is because I was born in New York
and I am 31 years old now.
And from 16 to 31,
16 was when my foster mom died
and that was the last time that I had
a copy of my birth certificate
and she tried to take me down to the DMV
and get my ID card
but they wouldn't take it because it was a copy.
So, long story short, she passes away,
all my documents go to the wind.
And if you ever tried to,
pretty much, I'm an illegal alien but I'm legal.
I was born here.
I'm a resident and I was born in New York,
but I can't get to New York
because I don't have the means and plus any,
a train, a plane, anything that you,
besides driving or walking,
you need an ID to get even a train ticket, so I can't.
- [Interviewer] So, how did the mover, you had a mover job.
- Okay, that was by word of mouth.
One of my good buddies had been working for this guy
for about- - So you were
under the table or whatnot?
- No, I was on his payroll
but for the longest time, he was like,
man, I need an ID so you can cash your checks.
And for the longest I would have to sign it off
to my buddy and pray to God that he didn't forget
or feel like being shiesty and take my check
because once you sign it over, it's theirs
and you can only pray that they give you
what you got on your check.
And I've tried through many people,
not just my buddy, but, one second.
(car engine rumbling)
- [Interviewer] The reason why I ask is
people watching are gonna ask those questions.
You know, I get it.
It's extremely hard.
- And I've been out here for the last maybe eight months,
I've been having LAHSA as my, I guess my case,
homeless management worker, advocate pretty much.
And they pretty much are my voice
'cause my voice is not strong enough.
So what they're doing is they're using their legal power
and sway to see if they can get my birth certificate
from New York because other organizations
have tried and failed and they hired a law firm
and all this other stuff, I've been talking to them,
they've been keeping in touch with me,
not to mention they've already put my name down
for this program, I believe it's called the Tiny Homes,
I'm not sure about it, but it seems like
a very nice, going from homeless
and building your own tent
to a place where they I guess house you
in a maybe 8 by 10 room and you got a bed, you got a TV.
Well, if you bring it, but,
running water from what I hear and electricity.
- [Interviewer] If it's a single occupancy, yes.
- That's what I'm hearing. - But after COVID,
they might be starting to put two people
into each one of those.
And they're smaller than a prison cell.
And prison cells have bathrooms.
- Yes, and I don't believe these do.
- Yeah, I'm not a big- - Skeptical about that.
- [Interviewer] They're really shacks meant for lawnmowers,
and for a short time.
You know, for a short-
- Did you say for lawnmowers?
- [Interviewer] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- I got a mini bike over there
with a lawnmower motor on it, so,
in my mind, I'm like, okay, they trumped it up
to be something way more.
Yeah, I've seen the pictures and stuff
but now that you say, it sounds more like-
- [Interviewer] If it's just you,
you get a locked door,
if it's a short time, I'm supportive.
But if they're gonna put two people in those things
for an indefinite period of time.
- That's pushing it.
- [Interviewer] No, that's inhumane.
I mean, even California prisons don't do that!
You know, but it's homeless people let's, you know.
- Yeah, do what you will with them
but we're still people.
And the only difference that separates us
from you guys, or the population is,
we don't have a home.
Otherwise, we put our pants on one leg at a time
and we bleed red just like you do.
- [Interviewer] And I'm from New York.
- Oh, wow.
- I was adopted.
- So was I. - And New York State
has a extremely closed,
I don't know what you would call it
but I know I cannot ever see my birth certificate.
It is locked away someplace
and if I ever lose my ID,
there's no way I could ever get it back.
So I understand the challenge.
- Oh my God, that really scares me
because without that, I'm doomed to the life
that I'm living now because...
Oh, man, I've been trying for a long, long time.
- [Interviewer] Yeah, we've gotta make it easier
for identification, identification for people
is such a roadblock.
And I get it, after 9/11, terrorism,
they're trying to tighten up and I totally get that.
But if you have to-
- To me, if a person can tell you
every single detail of that birth certificate,
either they studied real hard
or they're not lying to you
about what they know, 'cause I know
every single piece written on my document,
on that document, I've memorized it.
Even got a social number that I memorized,
but it was never enough, it was never enough.
- [Interviewer] Where I was going with all this was that
if you were able, if LAHSA or somebody
was able to get you into some housing
for a little time, get back to normal
you'd go back to work.
- Honestly, that's all I wanna do is get back to work
because when I was working
I felt like a good part of society.
I didn't feel like I was just
bringing down, it's not the right context,
but bringing down the property value
or something, I was adding to it.
Even though I didn't have a home,
I felt like when I was driving around
with my baby mama in the car,
I felt like I was doing something
and I was worth something.
But when I'm out here doing menial jobs
for whatever pay I can get, it hurts.
It hurts my soul, it makes me feel like
I'm not good as everybody else
or I just don't have the skills to pay the bills,
but I know I do, I know I do.
I can do just about anything besides paper pushing.
I can't do that, but.
- [Interviewer] Just need a chance.
- Yep, that's all I need.
- [Interviewer] If you had three wishes, what would they be?
- Okay, my three wishes would be to get back
the time I lost with my kids out here,
'cause it's been a long time.
And maybe
get better connected with my family in New York and Vegas.
And last but not least, I would say...
I wouldn't use it. That's all I need.
I'd give it to somebody else.
- [Interviewer] I gotta ask,
normally I end right there
but the American flag is just behind your head
on the top of your home.
- Yes.
I haven't had one in a long time, but...
I don't know.
I'm an American first
and a Haitian-American second.
And I love this place, this place is...
There's no place like it.
That's all I can say, there's no place like it.
I don't care where you go, what you try to say
that this place is, it's the greatest country on Earth.
Really, it is.
Because you can live homeless, but still eat,
have electricity, have water.
And as long as you don't do anything illegal,
you'll be free.
And that's what makes this place
the greatest country on Earth.
- [Interviewer] Well...
I'm always, I don't want to say
I'm attracted to it, but I look at,
you walk through a tent camp
and somebody will have a mailbox.
Or, you know, a welcome mat.
Or, like you have a flag
which is something you would see
in the suburbs on a home and it's your way
of having a bit of normalcy and saying I'm an American.
- Yeah.
- [Interviewer] Even though you're a homeless American.
- Exactly,
I'm still an American. - But shouldn't be.
Well, thank you very much for talking.
- No problem, man.
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