- [Narrator] Joseph, we're out here in Anaheim,
next to the Santa Ana river
and there's miles of tents out here.
Tell me about it.
- Well, I don't know much about miles,
but I know there's six or eight city blocks there.
It's nothing but tents and some of us are all right,
some of us ain't.
That's gonna be everywhere, know what I mean?
Some people are out here because they want to be,
some people are out here because they have to be.
None of us, I don't think, really want to be homeless
but this is better than having nothing.
And that's what they want to give us, is nothing.
- [Narrator] So you're, behind us is like a well
and you're getting water like you would in Africa
or something, every day you probably, tell me about that.
- There's seven of us that live in our compound
and somebody different comes and checks water every day
so that we can clean up, do our dishes,
bathe as well as we can, keep it clean.
- [Narrator] This is America.
- Yeah, living the dream.
- [Narrator] How'd you end up homeless?
- I was hurt real bad at work.
I was superintendent of a construction outfit
and I was on Worker's Comp for 12 years.
I lost all my work credits
so I don't qualify for Social Security.
I'm not mentally disabled so I won't get SSI.
They tell me apply anyway because I am physically disabled
but I can get around so they're not gonna give me anything.
I worked for Wells Fargo up until about three weeks ago.
I had a route, I done six Wells Fargos.
Somebody stole my backpack with the keys in it
and I lost my job.
- [Narrator] What were you doing for Wells Fargo?
- Cleaning the banks at night.
- [Narrator] Okay, you were doing janitorial stuff.
- Yeah, and they said I had an unexcused absence
so I don't even qualify for unemployment.
- [Narrator] Oh my gosh, so you were working,
you were doing a regular minimum wage job.
- Seven days a week.
- [Narrator] While living here.
- Yep, and I worked seven days a week.
In stores, the banks in the stores,
they're open seven days a week.
- [Narrator] Oh my gosh.
- You know, and it's crazy.
- [Narrator] So the city took all your stuff, you told me.
- Yeah, that was when I was behind the Vans building.
I was there for three and a half months.
It was wonderful, quiet, peaceful.
The neighbors liked me, the city workers liked me,
but when other people found out about it back there,
somebody tapped into the electricity even,
from the sprinklers, to charge their phones
and all that kind of crap and the cops come
and put an eviction notice.
Give us six days to get out of there.
Somebody stole my trailer and bike
the night before we were supposed to be out.
I walked out of there with nothing but a change of clothes.
Went and got a couple of my friends,
borrowed a trailer and bike, went back,
everything was gone except my stuff.
My stuff wasn't touched.
And I just spent the rest of that day and part of the night
packing and I got my stuff out of there,
because that's what they demanded.
But they left my stuff because I wasn't a dirtbag.
You know, not all of us out here
are dope fiends and alcoholics.
They don't care.
The city folks, most of them don't care,
the police don't care.
We're out here so we're treated like dope fiends
and alcoholics or thieves or rapists
or whatever they want to call us.
- [Narrator] Where else are you gonna go?
- There is nowhere to go.
This is my last reprieve.
My buddy over there in the wheelchair,
that's mainly the reason I'm here right now,
is because he's here and he needs help
and he can't get none.
I gotta give kudos to the City Net.
They do what they can for us.
They're not allowed to do certain things
and they have limits of what they can do.
But Gabriel bought me a pair of boots
because I had a job offer.
But unfortunately, I didn't get the boots,
I got the boots a day late so I didn't get the job.
- [Narrator] If you had three wishes, what would they be?
- I don't know, to be honest.
I don't know.
Work, food and my buddy to be okay.
- [Narrator] Well, thank you very much for talking to me.
(gentle music)