- [Interviewer] Anthony.
We're here in Washington, DC.
You're homeless, tell me about it.
- I've been homeless for two years now.
I've been going place to place for now,
by now, about a half a year now.
I used to be at Second and D shelter,
stopped going there because lots of things happened.
They can't watch but so many people.
People steal your things, stuff like that.
I've been going place to place, street to street.
I've been sleeping right here in Union Station.
- [Interviewer] So you sleep right here.
- Yes, right here.
- [Interviewer] At night.
- At night when everything close.
It be me and a couple other homeless people.
I lost my mother to colon cancer.
That's how I originally became homeless.
- [Interviewer] You're telling me your mom was paying rent,
and when she passed away, you ended up on the streets?
- Yeah I wound up ending up on the streets.
I still fight 'til today to get my own place,
you know what I'm saying, hopefully I will.
I'd just say the simple fact that
it be outreaches programs that come out here and help us,
but most don't give us enough information that we need
to really get us on our own two feet.
It's good they got Central Union Mission
and all that out here, because they do give you a voucher
to get your own ID and birth certificate when you need help.
You know what I'm sayin', you try and get a job.
That's all I'm trying to do, I'm trying to get
back on my two feet and be able to take care of myself.
That's it, that's all.
- [Interviewer] Do they let you sleep in here
or do you gotta sneak in?
- Yes, they let you sleep in here.
They don't physically put us out.
They let us know, they call the shelter vans for us
and stuff like that, you know what I'm saying.
Things like that, other than that,
besides calling the shelter van,
they either ask us do we wanna stay right here,
and we sleep right here, or we go on a shelter van,
where we can go on a bed that's more comfortable.
But some people don't like going to the shelter
because of the things, and what
happened to them at certain shelters.
Because every shelter not the same as the ones
that might be now, you know what I'm sayin?
- [Interviewer] So there's a shelter van
that comes around at night?
- Yes, every day between 11:30 up until one o'clock,
1:30, yeah, the last van come 'bout 1:30.
- [Interviewer] Now is that just during the winter?
Or is that summertime or all year?
- Well at night I really don't know because
I was, like I said, I wasn't here, so...
- [Interviewer] Right you just started sleeping here.
- Yeah, it's like the winter, see like the winter how I know
is because I go outside and get a
blanket from that shelter truck.
When it gets here, I go outside and get a blanket.
And I might get me a little spot here,
and I might go lay down for a minute.
Or I might sleep outside or walk
around for a little bit longer.
- [Interviewer] That's no way to live.
- Nah, it's not, but being as though I said,
you're a person, only a person can take but so much.
You gotta take one step at a time,
before you achieve something and get to your goal
where you gotta go at, you know what I'm sayin?
- [Interviewer] So what's your future like?
- Hopefully, once I get myself together,
like I tell people, I wanna build
an orphanage or something like that.
A three house orphanage, you know what I'm sayin?
Free open house, for kids, adults, whoever.
People that don't have nowhere to go
or people that's been neglected.
I wanna give back.
And I also wanna build a program, like a feeding program
for homeless youths, and feed kids.
- [Interviewer] Good!
- I wanna also, in my time if I have the money
or have the people to help me,
build a recreation or get a recreation,
to help me build a program for after-school kids
that need help with work and stuff like that,
studying, searching for jobs, things like that.
- [Interviewer] Well you almost answered my next question.
If you had three wishes, what would they be?
- Have a house, that's over my head.
Be able to give back to others.
And a nice job, that's it.
- [Interviewer] Good wishes.
Thank you very much for talking to me.
- You welcome.
(inspirational music)