- [Interviewer] Monica.
- Yes.
- You're homeless.
- Yes, I am.
- You're living in this RV-
- Yes.
- [Interviewer] And you lost your legs
three months ago?
- Yes, I did.
- [Interviewer] Tell me about it.
- Well, it all began when it was really cold
and it was like 30 something degrees
and I didn't have enough blankets to cover myself
or you know, I was living in a tent outside
and my feet started getting purple
and I kind of got worried.
I said, "Oh my God."
'Cause I've never had my feet at that color.
So I let it go.
I let it pass by maybe a week or two.
But then my friend goes, "No,
you have to go to the hospital.
You look like if something's wrong with you."
So I did it, I went to the hospital
and that's when they told me that I had to go to surgery.
And then like a week later is when they took me to emergency
and I got my legs amputated, yeah.
- [Interviewer] What is heartbreaking,
is they let you go without any support.
- Exactly.
I went to emergency, they put whatever they put.
I don't know, I'm not sure what kind
of anesthesia they put on you.
And I went asleep and when I woke up I had no legs
and it was simple as that.
And I don't think they did it the right way.
They should have told me at least, you know what,
we're gonna take out your legs or something.
I think you're supposed to be told, right?
- [Interviewer] Right, I would hope so.
- Yeah, no, it's just, I went in the hospital
and then next thing, you know what,
I knock out and I then wake up with no feet.
So it was kinda painful.
- [Interviewer] And they just put you
back out to homelessness.
- Exactly.
They didn't tell me, you could go here
or people are gonna help you here.
Or anything like that.
- [Interviewer] Cause you've gotta learn
how to go to the bathroom- - Exactly.
- [Interviewer] Go to the store.
- Exactly, go to the store, go to the bathroom,
go to the store, get something to eat,
just things that I need to do.
Maybe a doctor's appointment or a dentist appointment
and I have to go on my own in my wheelchair.
And it's difficult because everything's new to me,
the wheelchair, the being homeless, everything,
everything's just came in one package,
you know? - [Interviewer] Yeah.
- And then me losing my legs well, that was a really,
really, really hard, really hard for me.
It's still is at times, but I try to keep it,
I try to motivate myself and think about the good things,
and I'm still alive that I'm okay that, you know,
and it's never late, too late.
And you know, maybe I could get prosthetics,
well how do you say prosthetics?
- [Interviewer] Prosthetics. - Prosthetics
- [Interviewer] In fact we're here,
so we're here, well, how I first met you
was through a street medicine team
that is helping you, another thing,
well, before I go into that, you were such an inspiration.
- Thank you.
- [Interviewer] Because the street medicine team told me
that even without legs,
and your situation, you're helping other homeless people.
- Yes, I am.
I'm helping them because I really like to help other people,
I've always liked to help people
and see their smiles and see them happy.
And if I could help 'em and I have the ability to help 'em
then I help 'em and I always think about,
I always think about others before I think about myself
and I know it's supposed to be the other way,
but I love helping people, you know, people.
- [Interviewer] And the other thing that's heartbreaking
is that you are only getting food stamps.
- I'm only getting food stamps.
I survive on only food stamps.
And I don't know, for some reason I haven't applied for GR
but I'm only getting food stamps
and I've tried to survive on $250 a month,
which is not a lot.
But I mean, it gets me there, I barely make it.
But something, you know, that's why I wanna apply for SRS
something that's better for me.
- [Interviewer] And the street medicine team is helping you
apply for everything.
And then they're helping you medical wise with other issues.
And then they're helping you with your legs.
Or be able to get prosthetic legs.
- Yes. Yes.
They're helping me with my wounds.
They've helped me ever since I got out of the hospital
Katrina, she's the one that told me to call them
and no, she gave in the word for me
for them to come and see me.
And they came and I really thank Katrina for calling them
and for bringing them to me
because they really helped me out
and they're really, really helpful to me.
I think if it wasn't for them,
I'd still be in pain right now.
Yeah, but everything's going good, I guess.
- [Interviewer] You have such an outlook on life,
I mean, most people are, you know,
get upset at the littlest things
and here you are homeless with severely disabled,
with only $250 a month and food stamps.
And you're saying it's going pretty good.
- And no legs on. - [Interviewer] And no legs.
- Well, I mean, what can I say?
I try not to be so negative.
I try not to, you know, I know it's not good
but I mean, it could be worse.
I'm alive and I wanna keep on being strong
and trying to motivate myself to keep on going.
And not let myself go because there's a lot of people
that for any little, you know, maybe like you say are,
exaggerate over a paper cut or they fell
and they have a bump on their head or they, you know,
and- - [Interviewer] Have to wait
too long in line or - Exactly.
- Gas prices or even- - Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Oh they hired my favorite die is 10 bucks
and it was five bucks before.
Or anything like that.
And that's why I admire myself sometimes too,
because I mean, I went through a lot
and it's not easy coping with not having feet,
having feet one day
and then the next day not having them at all.
But I'm hanging in there, and I haven't got any therapy
or anything like that, but I mean, I give myself therapy,
and I tell myself that I can do it and that I can survive,
and that God's gonna help me day by day.
- [Interviewer] So you live
in an RV here. - Yes.
- [Interviewer] And if it wasn't for the RV,
you'd be on the sidewalk. - On the sidewalk, yeah.
- [Interviewer] And the city is gonna start towing RVs-
- I know. - [Interviewer] Next week.
- I know they're.
- [Interviewer] What's gonna happen?
- I don't know if I'm gonna be one of 'em.
I don't know who exactly they're gonna take.
You know, who's already they're gonna take away,
why are they gonna take 'em away.
But if they do well, I guess, I would have to contact
the nearest shelter that I could go to.
- [Interviewer] But even the shelter, I mean,
are they gonna be able to help you with your disabilities
and the shelter beds are anyways, yeah.
I'll let you explain.
- Well, that's the only option I would have
or the sidewalk either or so,
but they won't help me with my medical
but see, I could also tell the street medicine people
where I'm gonna be at.
I could probably go where-
- [Interviewer] Well, the street medicine people,
I know they work with people to get housing.
So they're probably pushing for you really, really strong.
And I know that the city, when they tow an RV
or they sweep a camp, they're supposed to offer services.
But there's not enough services to offer,
which is why it's putting people like you at risk
and my heart just breaks thinking
about you not having this RV.
- Yeah, exactly I mean, it would be a very,
very, very painful thing for them to take it away from me.
I don't know if they are, you know, if they do well,
there's nothing I can do about it.
But I'm hanging in there
and I'm hoping that they won't take it away from me.
And if they do well, I can't think of anything else
but calling the shelters or yeah, or if-
- [Interviewer] But if you were so,
and just being honest if the shelters were available,
you'd be in there now.
- Yes. Of course.
I'd be in there now and be safer,
'cause being in an RV is not that safe at all.
'Cause it's like, it's not a real, I mean,
it's a roof over your head, but it's not a real house
where you know that you're safe for sure,
that at night, nobody can't go in your house.
This door's not very safe.
I mean, anybody could walk in and you know,
just, you know, there's a lot of people out here
in the streets that are not very nice
and I get frightened at times at night when I go to sleep
because I think, oh my God, somebody could just come in,
'cause I don't really have a lock for the door.
And I just tie it with a rope,
but anybody could just cut it off.
So it's kind of dangerous to, you know being a alone here
as a woman and at night being alone and going to sleep,
thinking oh my God, this could happen
or that could happen, but yeah.
- [Interviewer] What would you want housed people to know
about homelessness?
'Cause the people that are driving by here,
they look, they see the RV on the side.
They see, you know, they don't look at us as humans.
What would you want them to know about homelessness?
- Well, I just want 'em to know
that being homeless is not easy.
It's something you have to deal with.
You have to get to learn how to be out here on the streets
because not anybody can survive being on the streets
because a lot of people, like I said,
a lot of people get scared of other people.
A lot of people don't like to talk
about their problems with other homeless people
and do dumb stuff or have hurt themselves over that.
And homeless, being homeless is very difficult.
It's not easy at all.
And sometimes you eat, sometimes you don't
when you didn't have money.
When I didn't have money, when I didn't have food stamps
sometimes I didn't, wouldn't eat all day.
Sometimes I would eat just once a day,
sometimes at all, because I didn't have money to,
how was I gonna get money?
And it's not very nice and of course I didn't tell nobody,
but I knew myself that I hadn't ate and nothing
but I'm not gonna tell my friends,
"Oh guess what, I haven't eaten."
'Cause I don't want 'em to feel like
obligated- - [Interviewer] Is that pride?
- Yeah, it's and I don't want 'em to feel obligated
to that they have to help me
or they have to give me something to eat
because it's not, you know, I don't know.
I've never been the type that,
"Oh, can you gimme something to eat?"
It's kind of hard for me
'cause I was always used to my mom, be making food for me
and eating my mom's food and have breakfast, lunch,
and dinner, at home is way different.
And this, in the street life is not breakfast, lunch,
and dinner it's like if you eat, in the morning,
and if eat in the night time-
- [Interviewer] If you eat. - Yeah, if you eat,
maybe you'll eat tomorrow, or maybe you won't.
- [Interviewer] And not having legs,
you're not able to go and hustle money like-
- Exactly. - [Interviewer] Normal people.
- Like normal people,
all these people are usually on the streets,
the basic things that they do are recycle cans and bottles.
They pick up metal or whatever metal scrap and they sell it
or you know, and they try to make money that way
or whatever they do or they sell food,
they try to do something. - [Interviewer] Yeah
and you're not able to do that.
- And without legs, you can't really have a do,
you really don't have a lot of options.
So that stops you too from doing a lot of things.
- [Interviewer] Yeah. - Yeah.
- [Interviewer] Oh my gosh.
My heart breaks for you, but you are such an encouragement.
- Thank you.
- [Interviewer] Oh my gosh. - Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
I'm trying to keep motivated and it's hard being alone.
My boyfriend's in jail I don't know
when he's gonna get out, hopefully soon.
But it's hard, being alone is not funny.
Loneliness is very difficult and it's very sad too.
And, but I try not to
let it get to me
and give me a hard time, give myself a hard time.
And I try to keep strong.
Every day I ask God to help me and live another day
and just be with me
and try to stay with me because sometimes people,
they say they're gonna do one thing and then at the end
they end up doing another thing
or they start going crazy or something
but I plan not to do that.
- [Interviewer] Yeah. - Yeah.
- [Interviewer] If you had three wishes, what would they be?
- Well, one is to get my legs back.
(laughs)
Two is
to live in a big house
with all my family.
And three would, three would be,
three would be
winning the lotto.
(laughs)
- [Interviewer] I'm with you. - Yeah,
yeah those are the three wishes, yeah.
- [Interviewer] Well, thank you very much
for talking to me. - You're welcome. Thank you.
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