- [Man] Walter.
- Yeah.
- [Man] We're here in Venice Beach.
- Yeah, yeah, we're here in Venice Beach.
Friday, I'm not too happy about what happened.
They took my tent,
five covers,
all my clothes,
and all her clothes, my wife.
I went to go get a cup of coffee.
I didn't have much money.
I left with my clothes underneath a tarp with
another woman who's stuff was there too, named Alicia.
Whether she wants me to...
- [Man] Both of you have become family to me.
Both of you have been interviewed on Invisible People.
My heart breaks for you guys.
- Thank you.
This is the second time I've had
clothes and taken away,
but this time it was everything.
And Alicia, she,
she got like
get to keep her tent and covers.
By the time I had gotten back from trying to get,
went and got a cup of coffee for me and my wife,
we got back 10, 15 minutes later,
they already had the whole area roped off,
you know, the caution tape,
and already were loading and getting rid of
everything that was over there.
I lost everything.
Alicia lost probably a good 80,
90-something percent of her stuff.
I even pleaded with the
person and the cops, too.
- [Man] 'Cause it's sanitation and the police.
- Yeah, both sanitation and police.
They told me that some article supersedes everything.
Once that caution tape is put up,
by the time I had gotten back,
I'd lost everything.
They put on the wall where I could
go and pick up my stuff.
But while I am there watching,
how can I get my stuff when they took
everything that was clean out of the bags,
threw 'em on a tarp.
You can't find your clothes anymore.
They're gone.
They're mixed up with all kinds of other stuff.
- [Man] 'Cause you guys have to move every day,
and you have things packed up pretty neat.
And you guys clean up after yourself,
but they take everything out of how you have it
packed up and just throw it on the ground.
- Just threw it on the ground and say I can claim it.
Wherever they take it.
No, you can't.
You cannot.
You cannot mix all the clothes up
and say you can claim it now.
You cannot.
- [Man] So, they make mess.
Mix everybody's belongings together.
- Every..., mine, hers, you know.
And I'm supposed to go through it if I can find it.
- [Man] And where do you pick the stuff up?
- Someplace where Chrysalis,
which is a third party that works with
the sanitation department
- [Man] Right.
- where you have to pick it up.
Well, everyone knows around here
when you go there you can't find it
or they say it's not there.
- [Man] Yeah, is it, I mean, you don't have a car.
- I don't have a vehicle
and sometimes I don't even have money to get on the bus.
All right?
So, how the heck are you going to get there?
You don't.
And after you get there,
just like everyone I've said,
they don't know where it's at.
They never do.
How can you claim something that's
been spread out all over the place
when you coulda left it in the bag?
No, no.
And then, my tent, my five covers and two pillows,
all gone.
- [Man] Now, what do you mean covers?
Blankets?
- Blankets, blankets, you need 'em.
You need 'em.
- [Man] And your clothes.
- Yeah, and clothes.
- [Man] I mean, you're looking a little hip today,
but this is a different look for you.
And I don't mean to make light of it,
but this is all you've got.
You don't normally dress like this.
- I bought a pair of pants
and now them are the only ones I got.
What am I gonna do?
I got, and...
I've actually wore these for damn near two weeks.
When you run out of money you run out of money.
You don't have much.
If you buy one pair of pants new,
which you haven't done in years,
and look what happens.
You're gonna wind up having to
fuckin' wear 'em for three, four weeks.
- [Man] Yeah, this is so cruel.
And you begged.
I remember there somebody,
this is how I knew that you lost everything
is somebody had shared on Twitter
an interview and even showed you kind of
pleading with the police and sanitation workers.
- Yes, I pleaded.
- [Man] How, can we get our, you know?
- All I wanted, I just said,
I don't want anything else but just the covers,
you know, blankets, and the pillows, and the tent.
That was all in one bag.
That was all my bedding and all in there,
make it a lighter weight,
and then, the tent and its poles.
No, no, no, no.
- [Man] So, what did you do that night?
- I had right around 60 bucks, that's all I had.
That was it, you know?
I wound up being able to get a tent for,
on sale for $33.
I wound up getting covers for 12.50 and some pillows.
What was left was bus fare there and back and broke.
Like today, I'm lookin' through the trash
trying to get somethin' to drink, somethin' to eat.
My story isn't a story.
My truth is what happened was I turned my back
15 minutes and came back to find out that
the police don't care about that.
They were standing right there.
If I go past that tape,
underneath their article, once that tape is up,
if I go past that I am threatening them
and I can be put in jail.
- [Man] What's the solution?
I mean, this constant sweeps is ridiculous.
- The only solution there is is something that
they started and then stopped.
Well, far as I'm concerned.
I don't know about anyone else.
They were putting up container units
for you to put stuff in,
and then stopped.
They have a container unit over there, but it's full.
Full to the brim with people...
- [Man] So mean a container unit
for when they come and clean?
- No, that's for stuff that
you can exchange in and out if you need to, you know?
- [Man] Got it.
- Extra this or extra that, you know?
But no.
That container unit is full,
and it's big trash cans that they put the stuff in.
That's all there is.
There's maybe about 20-somethin' people,
30 or close to it.
Once you get to that limit,
no one else can use it, you know?
That is one way of doing it,
but the only way to do it is to make us
- [Man] The real solution is to get you into housing.
- human beings. - [Man] Getting your wife
and you into housing.
- Yes, that is, housing is the answer.
- [Man] Right. - But...
- [Man] Until then... - Until then we're screwed.
And I mean capital S C R E W.
I wasn't just the only one that that happened to,
and the other person, Alicia.
I feel more sorry for her because
she has two cats and a dog
and she also had all her clothes,
and I'm pretty sure she's walking around here goin',
you know, women like to change more than once a day.
- [Man] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- So, she is more...
- [Man] You all care for each other,
that's pretty amazing, you know?
- Yeah, I care, you know, I do.
- [Man] I'm here, I'm here this week,
and we'll do what we can to get you guys
tents and stuff and
I think the world of you.
Hamburger party tonight.
- Hey, don't be saying that to me (laughs).
- [Man] I've got it 'til four.
- I know - [Man] You're here now, so...
- Yeah, we kinda like that part.
- [Man] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
If you had three wishes, what would they be?
- Same as last time.
Same as last time.
Help the vets then help the rest of us.
They need it more than we do.
And don't vote Republican (laughs).
You knew that one was comin' (laughs).
I just changed it around a little bit.
- [Man] Yeah, that's all right, that's all right.
Yeah, we won't go there.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.
- [Man] Thank you very much for talking to me.
- Thank you, thank you for listening.
(slow synthesizer beat music)