1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,800 Speaker 1: Our first guest. This episode aired on June fourth of 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:08,159 Speaker 1: twenty twenty one. It was episode forty five and the 3 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:12,319 Speaker 1: guest was mister Paul Broden. The episode is titled The 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: San Francisco Hell and I feel like this trito apropos 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: to the reality of the situation of houselessness, not just 6 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: in Los Angeles, but all across the world. And mister 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: Broden creates a creative insight and gives a historical background 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: that is lacking sometimes and understanding how deep and deeply 9 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: entrenched this crisis is. We see what the end results 10 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: of it is, but it just did miraculously start for nowhere, 11 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: and mister Broden graciously tells us how it started and 12 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,879 Speaker 1: what we can do to basically try to turn this 13 00:00:47,920 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: thing around. Take a listen, Cisco Shod Clubs. It's Cisco, 14 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: you go gitube me. This is Ceo Henderson from WiDi 15 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: and House and we are here in San Francisco to 16 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: one of the earlier creators and one of the founders 17 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: who have had lived experience of being done house. He 18 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: is right now. We're in one of this very elaborate 19 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: and very creative art space which activism is married into it. 20 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: So without further ado, here we are with mister Paul Brodon. 21 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: Thank you for having us. Yeah, thanks for having me. Brother. 22 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: So tell us a little bit of what's your inspiration 23 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: and how did you get into twine with this kind 24 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: of work you do. Well. I was homeless, but I 25 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: was homeless in a really different way than most people 26 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: in terms of I was homeless the old school way. 27 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: My mom died and my father was an asshole and 28 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: kicked us out. So it was a realization that it's 29 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: no bullshit to say there's two Americas, Like there's the 30 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: America that you see on TV and that they try 31 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: to convince us exist and we're all created equal and 32 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: we all have an opportunity, and that's the rich guys 33 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 1: and well even the upper middle class guys like I was, 34 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: And then there's the reality for poor people, and they 35 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: just ain't the fucking same. And as somebody that experienced both, 36 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: up until I was fifteen, I was one of the 37 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: privileged white class, and then I became one of the 38 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: broke ass white class. I was still white class, that's 39 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: for goddamn sure, and I just got really fucking pissed off. 40 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: And maybe it's because I grew up so entitled. I 41 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: couldn't believe that this was how we were treating motherfuckers 42 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: in this country. And I got pissed off. And I've 43 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,799 Speaker 1: been pissed off ever since. And now it's been thirty 44 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: seven years and I'm still just as fucking pissed off, 45 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: and I'm still going to fight till we deal with 46 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: this shit once and for all. I have to say, young, 47 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: when you stated this, what was the shock when you 48 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: because you stayed, you lived a privileged life. What was 49 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: the shock when what shook you when you became unhoused 50 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 1: and out on the street. What the ships you have 51 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: that made you very aware that there was a two 52 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: different American When I started helping people do the food 53 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: stamp application forms, when I was coming up off the 54 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,839 Speaker 1: street and I realized I got kicked out of three 55 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: high schools. I never finished this shit, and once my 56 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: mom died, I was bouncing all over the place. And 57 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: because of the elementary schools that I went to, because 58 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: of the junior high schools I went to, I was 59 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: hanging out with friends that had high school degrees and 60 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: couldn't fill out those fucking applications. And that's just one example. 61 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: It was also like, you look at who's running poverty 62 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: programs and homeless programs, and you look at who's sleeping there. 63 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: It's two different worlds. What I'm qualified to earn you 64 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: money by being homeless, but I'm not qualified to get 65 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: any of that money in my pocket. So I ain't 66 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 1: fucking homeless no more. When we first started out in 67 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 1: the early eighties, everybody working in homeless shit was home 68 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: with the paychecks worth ten thousand dollars a year. We 69 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: were trying to put ourselves out of a job. We 70 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: were like, what the fuck's going on? What are all 71 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: these people doing in the streets. You know, hospitality house 72 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: had been around for years and they used to close 73 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: at eleven o'clock at night. All of a sudden, they're 74 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: closing at eleven o'clock at night, and their people, their 75 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: community members are standing there and people are like, well, 76 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: why aren't you going home? Well I don't got a 77 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: fucking home. Well, crash here, brother, Like that was the mindset. 78 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,039 Speaker 1: Crash here, and let's fight together to end this shit. 79 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: Now thirty seven years later, it's you know, fifty thousand 80 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: and sixty thousand, eighty thousand dollars paychecks to document it 81 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: and to do intakes and to do vulnerability index and 82 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: homeless management. That's not gonna end homelessness. Addressing racism and 83 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: classism and neoliberalism in America that will end homelessness. But 84 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:29,719 Speaker 1: you think you're going to life skills train me, you're 85 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,159 Speaker 1: going to rehabilitate me to fit back into society like 86 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: Saint Vincent Depaus's. No, it's society that's fucking broke, not 87 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:41,720 Speaker 1: the people. The human beings are human beings. They ain't 88 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: broke or not broke. They're just human beings, and we 89 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:49,039 Speaker 1: need to recognize. You know, prior to eighty two, we 90 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: didn't have massive contemporary homelessness. We had racism, we had classism, 91 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,599 Speaker 1: we had addiction, we had mental illness, we had all 92 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: that shit, yeah, at every economic tier, but we didn't 93 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: have massive homelessness. Eighty three, we were opening shelters across 94 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:09,240 Speaker 1: the country and FEMA was funding our fucking homeless programs 95 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 1: direct connection to neoliberalism, part of the Reagan Revolution, wiping 96 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 1: out affordable housing funding. And now we're eight hundred thousand 97 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: units of affordable housing less than we were before we 98 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: opened our homeless programs, and we're wondering why the fuck. 99 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: Our coordinated intake system isn't ending the problem because your 100 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:33,360 Speaker 1: coordinated intake system is the fucking problem. I do have 101 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: a question too, because you've touched on some things that 102 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: I want to take a step back and examine a 103 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 1: little more. Is because I've noticed like that it's been 104 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: seen to be the panacea for dealing with people that 105 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: are on house is that they are believing that if 106 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 1: they get jobs, if they stay off drugs, or if 107 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,720 Speaker 1: they stay on their medication, that magically unhoused people are 108 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: going to be on house. Or I hear another argument 109 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 1: is that they are using broken systems like the shelters 110 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 1: and telling people just to stick it out, swallow your pride, 111 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,599 Speaker 1: and to deal with what the abuse or the toxicity 112 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 1: that allows or that is thriving in these places instead 113 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: of dealing with the systematic errors. What is your insight 114 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: on that that when you look at poverty, when you 115 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: look at our welfare system, when you look at our 116 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 1: food stamp system, you look at our whatever like Goodwill 117 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: United Way. Like this goes back to the sixties and 118 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 1: the War on Poverty, when the five oh one c 119 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: three nonprofit monsters were created in the first place, When 120 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: the federal government wants to ignore an issue or they 121 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: want to kill a revolution, they funded And when people 122 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: started organizing to fight back about the fact that homelessness 123 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: was emerging in the early eighties, the government did what 124 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: the government does. The government started funding homeless programs. And 125 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: as soon as the government started funding homeless programs, first 126 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: it was the local and FEMA money and who gets 127 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: it and who doesn't get it and how much and 128 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: what do you have to do to earn it. Like 129 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: in the old days, we didn't do intakes for a 130 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 1: shelter bed. I don't need to know your data birth, 131 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: I don't even need to know your real name. Quite 132 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: fucking frankly, we don't need that for a shelter bed. 133 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 1: But now you in San Francisco, you got to give 134 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 1: a finger image so you can be tracked through the 135 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: homeless management system. And shit and the Vulnerability Index Coordinated 136 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:35,200 Speaker 1: intake bullshit is everywhere because the FEDS are mandating it, 137 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: the FEDS are funding it, and the FEDS are controlling 138 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: what's happening at the local level. It has an element 139 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: of criminality to it. It's like they look like they're 140 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 1: tracking people in like a criminal kind of setting, like 141 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: if they can pull your fingerprint or your personal information, 142 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 1: they can hunt you down if they choose to. Well, 143 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: I mean, think of it, thirty seven years after the 144 00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: advent of contemporary homelessness, and we're still sweeping people sleeping outdoors, 145 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: and we're still calling it camping like hell, even calling 146 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:09,200 Speaker 1: it sweep. It's an attack. You're displacing people from where 147 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: they are. That's not a sweep, that's an addiction. That's 148 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: an attack. It's oppression, you know. And so we use 149 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:22,679 Speaker 1: this language, Oh they're camping, I'm surviving, motherfucker. I didn't decide, oh, hey, Bobby, 150 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 1: let's go camping like that's bullshit. But the language is 151 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: from the dominant culture. The dominant culture is the rich 152 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: white motherfuckers, and the system works really good for them. 153 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 1: And so if something's fallen out, if there's a problem 154 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: somewhere in the way the system's functioning, it's got to 155 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: be the problem of those who are being oppressed. And 156 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: if the system ain't working for you, it's because there's 157 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 1: something wrong with you, and we have to keep reinforcing that. 158 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: And what's the first question our person gets when they're 159 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,680 Speaker 1: homeless and they go to an agency for help, name data, birth, 160 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 1: social Security number, and then the very first question is 161 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: what's wrong with you? What's wrong with me? What's wrong 162 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: with me is I was born in a country of 163 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: colonizing motherfuckers that are implementing systems that are oppressing me. 164 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 1: That's what's wrong with me. And if we could address that, 165 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: you wouldn't need a fucking homeless program, you wouldn't need 166 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 1: nonprofit service providers, you wouldn't need charity, because you'd have 167 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: social justice. I have a question to you, and I 168 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:28,239 Speaker 1: want your perspective on it. There's a lot of communication 169 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: and talk going around about tiny homes, and for me, 170 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:34,200 Speaker 1: of course, I'm against them because what I've seen in 171 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 1: Los Angeles and I see with some of the social 172 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 1: service agencies, there's a toxic marrying with just it's temporary, 173 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:43,720 Speaker 1: put up with the abuse or put up with the 174 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: prison type of lifestyle until you get out of it. 175 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: But we have seen by over thirty years, by now, 176 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: as you stated yourself, that that has never been been 177 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:56,960 Speaker 1: a fruit fruitful solution. So what's your intake on or 178 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: your take on tiny homes? I mean, from a is 179 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: this gonna get us to a place that we don't 180 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:08,560 Speaker 1: need that we have housing as a human right for 181 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:13,719 Speaker 1: all people. I don't think so. And I say that 182 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: because there's the cause and effect. We'd eliminated eight hundred 183 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:22,079 Speaker 1: thousand units of housing, and we wiped out affordable housing funding, 184 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:26,199 Speaker 1: and that led to contemporary homelessness, or to the level 185 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 1: of it that we see today. And so let's let's 186 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: deal with that. And if people had the option of 187 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: tiny homes, fucking aid, more power to you, because I 188 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 1: would take a tiny home over a fucking shelter bed 189 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: in a heartbeat. And I think talking to most homeless people, 190 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:48,480 Speaker 1: you give me the option tiny home or a shelter bed, 191 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: I'm gonna take the tiny home every fucking time. But 192 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 1: I would have took an 'sr I did when I 193 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:55,840 Speaker 1: was coming up, took an that sro room, and I 194 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: thought that was my tiny home. You know, it's having 195 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:02,240 Speaker 1: your own keys in their own control, the tiny homes. 196 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 1: And but that's just it. Though the tiny homes aren't 197 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: They are having they have to have a curfew, they 198 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: have police, the government funded tiny homes. I'm sorry, I'm 199 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,200 Speaker 1: thinking of Like Denver, Homeless out Loud is part of 200 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: a community called the you know that that does tiny homes, 201 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 1: but the people living there are managing and running that ship. 202 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 1: Not exactly when for the government to fund tiny homes, 203 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:30,319 Speaker 1: fuck you. So that's the distinction. So tho are running 204 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:35,199 Speaker 1: around halving the tiny homes, Yeah, because it's cheaper than 205 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,480 Speaker 1: actually putting a Like, first of all, tiny homes ignores 206 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: families completely. And it's ironic that we we say a 207 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: family living in an sro no longer counts as being homeless. 208 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: They're they're poorly housed now according to the FEDS. Like 209 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:53,920 Speaker 1: that's the kind of mindset. Well, if we can just 210 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: ignore families, they'll disappear, they'll go away because if they're 211 00:12:57,840 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: out there with their kids will come and take their 212 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:04,839 Speaker 1: fuck kids. So so like tiny homes feeds into that, 213 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:08,959 Speaker 1: into that frame. Well, the problem is these single it's 214 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: the chronic homeless initiative, you know, the problem is single 215 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: adult visible homeless people in urban corridors. And so some 216 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: cities are talking about, well, give us hard money to 217 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:25,199 Speaker 1: do tiny homes to address the problem of homelessness. No, motherfucker, 218 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: you know, like that's not gonna do it. And anytime 219 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: your housing is contingent upon the good graces of a 220 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: fucking social worker to determine are you rehabilitating yourself enough 221 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,680 Speaker 1: in order to merit living here? You got a serious 222 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: fucking problem, like why is it? Why is it? We're 223 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 1: supposed to have tenant rights, but in supportive housing programs 224 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 1: we don't. You have to be disabled to get into 225 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:52,679 Speaker 1: a supportive housing program, and as soon as you act 226 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:55,840 Speaker 1: out be your disability, they kick you the fuck out. 227 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,320 Speaker 1: And yet it's an eviction moratorium. The private landlord are 228 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: supposed to not be evicting people, but our service providers 229 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: still are. I was going to say, on that very 230 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:10,839 Speaker 1: wings of that, I noticed on your file cabinet that 231 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:12,839 Speaker 1: you have homeless build of rights. Can you talk a 232 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 1: little bit about that? Yeah, well, the Right to Rest Act, 233 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,160 Speaker 1: which we did in California with our brothers at LA 234 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:23,400 Speaker 1: CAN and shit, the Right to Rest Act. Look that 235 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: we talked to seventeen hundred homeless people documented. I have 236 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: all seventeen hundred forms. Still I keep waiting for somebody 237 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 1: to say, oh, you guys are full of shit, let 238 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: me see the forms, because I got them. So of 239 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: course no one was saying that. But and sleeping, sitting 240 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 1: and laying down, sleeping, sitting and standing still were the 241 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: top three criminal offenses that people were being hit with, 242 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: and we were talking about twelve cities, seven state, seventeen 243 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:57,200 Speaker 1: hundred surveys, and those were far in a way. So 244 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 1: the organizers, being what we're doing, wrote our own legislation 245 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 1: that we've gotten introduced in Oregon. It's running right now 246 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 1: in Oregon, Colorado, and California in the past, to decriminalize 247 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: the act of sleeping, laying down, sitting, standing, eating, serving food, 248 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: to decriminalize the life sustaining activities that we all do. 249 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 1: We're all going to sleep, we're all going to sleep, eat, 250 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 1: we're all going to sit down, we're all going to rest. 251 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 1: But some of us go to jail for resting and 252 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: others don't. And what we say is we can no 253 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: longer trust that the law is going to be enforced 254 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: equally because they're not, and they never have been. You 255 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:44,800 Speaker 1: look at the sundown town's, the Antioaki laws, the Baserrero Treaty, 256 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,360 Speaker 1: the ugly laws. This country has a long ass history 257 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 1: from the days of colonization. Today, local governments have been 258 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: given the legal authority to pass laws that they then 259 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 1: discriminatorily enforce. And so the Right to Rest Act is 260 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 1: saying to the local governments, you've abused your authority. You're 261 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 1: like a drunk driver that just keeps on fucking drinking. 262 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:12,800 Speaker 1: We're taking your cartes away. You can no longer pass 263 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 1: these laws, and you can no longer criminalize standing still 264 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: if it's in a non obstructive manner, sleeping if it's 265 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: in a non obstructive manner, because the act of sleeping 266 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: shouldn't be a crime. The act of standing still, the 267 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: act of sitting down, the act of eating, the active 268 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: going to the bathama, the act of going to the 269 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: goddamn bathroom. And the first time we ran the bill 270 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: in California, you know, there was editorials that said the 271 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: streets would be flowing with urine and feces, as if 272 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: that's what people want to do. Like, no, asshole. So like, 273 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: we feel really strongly that everything we do in addressing 274 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: this issue and organizing and connecting with our cities together 275 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,880 Speaker 1: has to be in the human rights context of address 276 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: the root causes of it. And the root causes is 277 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:07,639 Speaker 1: the racism and classism and neoliberalism in America, which brings 278 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:09,679 Speaker 1: up another question, how many people do you need to 279 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:18,240 Speaker 1: start a revolution? Well, we made that poster for you. Yeah, yeah, no, 280 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 1: we we we know how many people we need, and 281 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:24,879 Speaker 1: we know we got more than enough of them because 282 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: we got what forty fifty million people living in poverty 283 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:30,879 Speaker 1: in this country. And one of the key aspects of 284 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 1: the organizing is to connect poor people that are housed 285 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:36,840 Speaker 1: with poor people that are in house, because it's the 286 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: same fucking people. Hope six taught us that in a nutshell, 287 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:44,760 Speaker 1: you know, and others the Welfare reform, the Contract on America, 288 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 1: all that shit, But Hope six was like, how could 289 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:52,439 Speaker 1: we have two separate organizing campaigns here because the people 290 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,359 Speaker 1: that are currently in housing are being made homeless. Because 291 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:58,719 Speaker 1: of Hope six, thousands and thousands of families ended up 292 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:01,119 Speaker 1: in the fucking street, being given a voucher that the 293 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 1: fucking landlords won't take, being given a time limit of 294 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 1: how long you can find a landlord to take it, 295 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:14,960 Speaker 1: while you're demolishing units of affordable housing. Like that's just criminal, 296 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: it's callous, it's fucking brutal, and it's criminal. It should 297 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: be criminal. So I was gonna say, you know you're 298 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:30,880 Speaker 1: saying because many times society presidents, governors, city council members, 299 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: and electiveficius utilize to galvanize people against poor people by 300 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,360 Speaker 1: stating the most things that will get them off the adultrums. 301 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:43,399 Speaker 1: And let's talking about war, war on drugs, war on crime, 302 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 1: war on poverty. So what I wanted to say is like, 303 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 1: how can we fight the war at home? What do 304 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 1: you mean when you say fight the war at home? 305 00:18:52,560 --> 00:19:01,119 Speaker 1: And in houselessness? I mean one of the key aspects 306 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 1: in terms of how politicians have been able and the 307 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:10,199 Speaker 1: mainstream media have been able to galvanize oppressive and galvanize 308 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:14,840 Speaker 1: support for oppressive policies is to demonize the people that 309 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,919 Speaker 1: are targeted with the policy. And when you read in 310 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: the newspaper, you hear on the radio, you see it 311 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 1: on fucking TV, sure as hell see it in the internet, 312 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,560 Speaker 1: that we're dangerous, we're drug addicts, were mentally ill, and 313 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:32,880 Speaker 1: most importantly, we're from somewhere else. Yes, once you've got 314 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,480 Speaker 1: that locked into people's heads, And this is the most 315 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,760 Speaker 1: important thing about the organizing, because don't think poor people 316 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 1: don't read the newspaper and watch TV, and they hear it. 317 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 1: And when at hospitality use when I was starting out, 318 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 1: people would come in to see me to get help 319 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,879 Speaker 1: and they'd say, I'm not like those motherfuckers. Those motherfuckers 320 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,199 Speaker 1: are crackheads, and then they would go sit down. The 321 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,640 Speaker 1: next person would come in and be pointing at them, 322 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 1: not individually, but you know, I like them because they 323 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 1: buy the shit too. You hear it often enough. If 324 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 1: becomes true. If you're told from the time you're born 325 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:08,640 Speaker 1: that you're stupid, by the time you grow up, you're 326 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: gonna be stupid. I like it that one too, because 327 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:16,160 Speaker 1: of the earlier psychology experiments that they did on young 328 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 1: black kids, saying that they were horrible and dirty and this, 329 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:22,679 Speaker 1: and the ones the kids that work not whereas the 330 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 1: white kids I had less. Yesterday interviewed one of the 331 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: unhoused in Oakland, and she was regurgitating some of that 332 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 1: internalized on how I was biased. Well, I'm not like 333 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: those people, or I told my children that I'm camping. 334 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:37,359 Speaker 1: I don't want them to see me like this. So 335 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: I mean we drink and throos so hard for images 336 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:43,360 Speaker 1: as well. Yeah, we look in the mirror and we sink, Well, 337 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 1: I know it's not me, but it must be true 338 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 1: because I keep hearing it. And we've been doing that around, 339 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: keeping the classes, keeping the poor from the rich from 340 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 1: the like my way up the ladder to security is 341 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: to keep you down. Like so that divide and conquer 342 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: shit isn't just a slogan like that is an political 343 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:12,439 Speaker 1: strategy in order to achieve the smallest minority of people 344 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,320 Speaker 1: getting the greatest amount of power and wealth and when 345 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,600 Speaker 1: so for me, the reason we started the Homeless Coalition 346 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,679 Speaker 1: and shit was like, no, no, the problem here is 347 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: they think each other are fucking drug addicts and shit, Like, 348 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 1: we need to build a collective understanding that we're all 349 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:34,880 Speaker 1: fucking beautiful. And that's where we use our street theater 350 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,240 Speaker 1: all the time and our art work all the time, 351 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 1: and like, our beauty is who the fuck we are 352 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:45,119 Speaker 1: as do and we shouldn't project that. Well, Hey, I 353 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:47,640 Speaker 1: used to be homeless. I'm not homeless anymore. So I'm 354 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: better than you. Fuck that shit, motherfucker. I believe like art. 355 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: This is one of the reasons that keeps me going 356 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: and doing this podcast to express the medium of art 357 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,600 Speaker 1: through telling these stories in a humane way, showing that 358 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:05,159 Speaker 1: there is no yardstick or means testing way. We all 359 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 1: are in the same boat in some respects. Actually, I 360 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:09,919 Speaker 1: should say, in the same storm. Some of us got 361 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,119 Speaker 1: life jackets. Some of us are drowning, some of us 362 00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: are hanging on and some of us don't even have 363 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,600 Speaker 1: any clothes to be able to offset the storm. So 364 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:21,639 Speaker 1: I feel that that's very, very important. One of the 365 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: things I've been looking at here is that I noticed 366 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,160 Speaker 1: that you have a connection with when you say Earth Day, 367 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:31,479 Speaker 1: you're connecting with the environment as well with food justice. 368 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,200 Speaker 1: Can you elaborate a little bit on that. Yeah, I mean, 369 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 1: you hear a lot of organizers talk about, well, we 370 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 1: need to stop silo based organizing, we need to connect 371 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:44,960 Speaker 1: to our issues together. And it's true, and it's a 372 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:47,639 Speaker 1: great conversation, but at some point you need to stop 373 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 1: talking about doing that and doing it and artwork and 374 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 1: the Right to Rest Act, the Right to Rest Act 375 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 1: would not just defend homeless people. Nobody could be arrested 376 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: for that shit. Like I think that in all we do, 377 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:04,880 Speaker 1: we need to make sure that the shit we're pushing 378 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,760 Speaker 1: for us for all people. And so, you know, yeah, 379 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 1: our issues are a myriad of issues because our issues 380 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: are about human beings, and human beings what is that 381 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:19,920 Speaker 1: Audrey Lord's awesome quote, human beings don't live single issue lives. 382 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:24,440 Speaker 1: And so single issue organizing isn't going to address humanity. 383 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,200 Speaker 1: And in order to address the issues that we come from, 384 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,280 Speaker 1: we need to connect to the other issues of oppression. 385 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:34,320 Speaker 1: And we don't think the Native people in America are 386 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:38,360 Speaker 1: being oppressed, then we got a serious fucking problem, our problem, 387 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:42,400 Speaker 1: and so we try to manifest that. And it's easier 388 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,199 Speaker 1: for us to do it with the art, you know, 389 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: and to do it with legislation and with major campaigns 390 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,639 Speaker 1: we're running. Once we got to the place where, like 391 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:52,720 Speaker 1: with the Right to Rest Act, even at first we 392 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,399 Speaker 1: were talking about, well, we're not really criminals, and a 393 00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: couple of the abolitionists, the prison industrial abolitionists, like, so 394 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:02,919 Speaker 1: what so it's okay to lock some people up and 395 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,159 Speaker 1: not homeless people, Like what the fuck game will we 396 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: play in here? And it was just like, oh shit, yeah, man, 397 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,199 Speaker 1: we need to watch our fucking language. We need to 398 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:15,520 Speaker 1: watch how we're framing our reality, because our reality should 399 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:17,960 Speaker 1: be all of us and should encompass all of our 400 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:23,160 Speaker 1: issues and not be single issue based shit. So here 401 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 1: it is is sech, how many people do you need 402 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: to start a revolution? I believe one person at a 403 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:30,439 Speaker 1: time can be able to open the door and to 404 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 1: inspire many people. And here it is mister Paul Broden 405 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 1: has hit thirty seven years of experience and he has 406 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: some insightful words. Mister Broding, I thank you for your time, 407 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:41,879 Speaker 1: and I was going to say, do you have anything 408 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,119 Speaker 1: else to say before I log off? Well, just that 409 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 1: people should recognize thirty seven years of experience of getting 410 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: your ass kicked don't make you a fucking experience issue 411 00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: that you're talking about. So the shit I say is 412 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:56,960 Speaker 1: the shit I've learned over time, and the shit that 413 00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: I've seen from the awesome groups like Laken and then 414 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,439 Speaker 1: r Holmes's Out Loud and the Homeless Coalation, you know, 415 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: like it's we all, we're all learning as we fucking go. 416 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: This is THEO Henderson from Wiedian Howells and we've learned 417 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,000 Speaker 1: a lot here and I thank you all for listening, 418 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:15,440 Speaker 1: and may we again meet in the light of understanding. 419 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 1: If you're going to say, friends, Cisco, this sure two 420 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:47,640 Speaker 1: world claws in your If you go said Cisco, your 421 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:52,200 Speaker 1: god me some gentle people