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Speaker 1: Welcome to another edition of Edian House. This episode explores

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Speaker 1: damage Neuri Martinez has walked on the house in her area.

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Speaker 1: My husband because he is Mexican de decent. They also

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Speaker 1: look at his face and stuff because he has tattoos.

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Speaker 1: They have accused him of being gain affiliated. They have

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Speaker 1: quite literally put my husband in handcuffs and was accusing

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Speaker 1: him of beating me, which was not true. Speaking with

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Speaker 1: people that were affected by the support of the basis

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Speaker 1: as well as in other areas in Chatsworth, We're going

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Speaker 1: to really get down into the nitty gritty of what

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Speaker 1: these policies of balance and compassion or the law and

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Speaker 1: order stays that Newry Martine's espouses. A recent article from

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Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Time by the writer Emily Alparez highlight

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Speaker 1: Neuri's stance. Her platform is families First. What does that

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Speaker 1: flatform mean? Well, from what I gathered from my investigation

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Speaker 1: is the first glance of her. She's in this white

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Speaker 1: or pastel gray outfit, and it shows that she's some

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Speaker 1: kind of holy martyr standing in front of a helm,

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Speaker 1: willing to go eight to seven contesting against the treatment

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Speaker 1: of the un house. Her duplicious style is that she

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Speaker 1: consoles herself as she is compassionate. She shows pictures of

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Speaker 1: an unhoused person being rescued when there's fires and floods.

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Speaker 1: But she's also a balance of law and order. Have

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Speaker 1: we heard that term before? I believe we have. When

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Speaker 1: Steve Lopez article, police officer Gracie was stating that too.

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Speaker 1: She believes in law and order that means criminalizing, ticketing

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Speaker 1: and citing on house people as well as putting them

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Speaker 1: in jail if they fall a foul of civil laws.

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Speaker 1: She uses the explanation that she is trying to make

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Speaker 1: these kids safe from unhoused criminals. Who is a criminal?

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Speaker 1: There is a very good question, not house people trying

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Speaker 1: to survive. Third platform, Her secret platform is to criminalize them.

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Speaker 1: They have to walk the sidewalk, they have to be accessible,

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Speaker 1: and the intention used to be down to date. Martin

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Speaker 1: versus Boise has stated that is cruel and unusual punishment

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Speaker 1: to criminalize unhoused people. It is also further and added

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Speaker 1: that when it went up to the Supreme Court that

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Speaker 1: refused to hear the amicus briefs that the city has

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Speaker 1: tried to file in retaliation against the unhoused, So she

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Speaker 1: took matters in her own hands, listening to the hostility

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Speaker 1: that is President Trump. His presidency has heralded and stated

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Speaker 1: that they will offer help, but with conditions such as

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Speaker 1: putting unhoused in desert or forced and interment camps. If

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Speaker 1: there is any indication as how they're treating the immigrant

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Speaker 1: children in some of those places. In IC has definitely done,

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Speaker 1: that is where we will be going. Lurie Martinez pretends

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Speaker 1: to be compassionate, but she wasn't compassionate at least last

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Speaker 1: week when I talked with to some of the residents

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Speaker 1: that in these places that is her district. She is

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Speaker 1: a liar and her message echoes to Nazi era internment camp.

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Speaker 1: She says she's from a working class family. Well, I

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Speaker 1: am too, and many unhoused people are too. But she

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Speaker 1: has differentiates from worthy unhoused people and unworthy unhoused people,

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Speaker 1: and she makes sure she pushes that platform. Her press

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Speaker 1: agent and her press manager has prepped her to make

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Speaker 1: it sound like she's compassionate but tough and tough on crime.

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Speaker 1: That platform has got us nowhere but a overbloated budget,

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Speaker 1: overrun costs, and exponential coddling of police officers and law

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Speaker 1: enforcements who are out here that are not a help

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Speaker 1: to unhouse people, but they are the terrorists. There is

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Speaker 1: no true accountability to be had with the law enforcement

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Speaker 1: or park rangers or any other staff business improvement district

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Speaker 1: because she is in alignment with them. She wants them

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Speaker 1: to terrorize unhouse people. She wants them to throw away

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Speaker 1: their belongings. She wants them to have the gentleman Jason

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Speaker 1: who has broken his leg and several places and requires

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Speaker 1: immediate surgery, to crawl on his behind to put down

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Speaker 1: a tempt because she believes in law and order. I

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Speaker 1: call on the residents of Los Angeles, especially in her district.

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Speaker 1: We are approaching one of the most important civil rights

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Speaker 1: issues of our time. And if we do not act

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Speaker 1: against the illegal actions that it's crouched in pretty language

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Speaker 1: by Newary Martinez. If we don't go to the Union

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Speaker 1: United Nations, if we do not back down the door

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Speaker 1: of the FBI to launch an investigation of the civil

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Speaker 1: rights abuses, if we don't get the ACLU, we don't

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Speaker 1: get our lawyer's arm to stand against this tyranny, then

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Speaker 1: we will watch the new Holocaust arrive before our own eyes.

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Speaker 1: This is DEEO Henderson of Weedian House. Please enjoy this

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Speaker 1: episode Unhoused News. Governor Gavin Newsom announced that FEMA trailers

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Speaker 1: are to be distributed to unhoused people in California near

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Speaker 1: remote locations such as desert, away from the population and

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Speaker 1: services that they required. Missing Unha House family last scene

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Speaker 1: in California. If you know of it where a mouse,

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Speaker 1: please contact the family at area code eight one three

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Speaker 1: six nine six eight two two nine. Cal Sifer is

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Speaker 1: five years old and a Luna is four years old,

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Speaker 1: and their mother Nia c Nias Dunbar was last seen

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Speaker 1: by a man called Josh, who she befriended, who convinced

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Speaker 1: her to leave her a loving family, the family is

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Speaker 1: deeply concerned. Information reached an alarming turn when it was

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Speaker 1: discovered that Neil's car was told in California due to

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Speaker 1: the sleeping bag. The children have chronic asthma and have

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Speaker 1: received a letter cutting off Medicare due to non compliance.

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Speaker 1: If you know of anything and if you've seen them last,

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Speaker 1: please contact the family at eighty one three six nine

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Speaker 1: six eight two two nine. Calcifer has a long, bushy

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Speaker 1: afro o'conros. He has a very visible balding birthmark. A

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Speaker 1: lunar hair could be braided long or it could be

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Speaker 1: cut short. In other news, Mitch o'farrock House, member of

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Speaker 1: Aqua par ordered a weak ban of unhoused people in

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Speaker 1: Equa Park. Several lives were told to escape possibility of

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Speaker 1: the action. An investigative reporter found that there was a

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Speaker 1: letter sent stating and spoken about that they were attempting

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Speaker 1: to remove unhoused people permanently. Activists came to the defense

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Speaker 1: of the young House after forcing blame on Nike. A

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Speaker 1: letter was also found dated January fourteen, twenty twenty, stated

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Speaker 1: that park the pictures hereby would like to pnfirm that

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Speaker 1: this group of unhoused residents and their presence will in

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Speaker 1: no way impact our filming activities as we are located

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Speaker 1: in the completely location different location those apartment. Our pictures

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Speaker 1: furthermore request that you do not force removed the unhoused

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Speaker 1: people in the park and the area that they are in.

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Speaker 1: In fact, further investigations have found that there are certain

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Speaker 1: council members Neuri Martinez, Paul Corrects, and David Blumenfield have

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Speaker 1: several different disagreements against treating unhoused people with concern unhoused

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Speaker 1: news have found that in some of the records that

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Speaker 1: council member is quoting as saying, I don't know that

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Speaker 1: we're as concerned about the outreach element, but if our

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Speaker 1: primary mission is to create a strong sanitation program, it

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Speaker 1: has to take a somewhat of a back seat. After

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Speaker 1: getting ready of care on Tuesday, they will be responding,

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Speaker 1: dismantling or continuing to support care. It's these thoughts processes

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Speaker 1: which have involved in police, business provement, and district security

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Speaker 1: against unhoused people. A news report show sweeps to unhoused

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Speaker 1: people in camps in California have aggravated key health issues

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Speaker 1: and other unhoused news Moms for Housing loses their court

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Speaker 1: cap and must vacate Oakland home, which they did through

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Speaker 1: to an AR fifteen military tank and a storm, a

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Speaker 1: military occupied forest presence for for women and children, and

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Speaker 1: the La Times has wrote that LAPD have wrote completely

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Speaker 1: false reports of people that being portrayed a gang member

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Speaker 1: and falsified record. Last week, Victor Valencia, an in house

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Speaker 1: man of Venice, was shot and killed by the police

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Speaker 1: as a result of a mental episode. Information is ongoing

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Speaker 1: right Nman North Hollywood interviewing Arling who is in a

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Speaker 1: baseball field park, and she's going to tell us a

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Speaker 1: little bit about her story. So let's welcome Marln, Welcome,

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Speaker 1: good morning. What I want to know is, can you

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Speaker 1: timm Is a little bit? How did you end it

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Speaker 1: up living in your vehicle? We came here from Texas

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Speaker 1: and we were unable to get housing due to my

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Speaker 1: husband's situation. In his jacket that he has on is

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Speaker 1: not a very nice jacket from his past, so we're

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Speaker 1: really rough about trying to get in housing. We've found

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Speaker 1: more complications with dealing with his background than anything. And

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Speaker 1: then on top of it, there's not much housing now

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Speaker 1: for anybody. I'm glad you said that, because you know,

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Speaker 1: because many of the listeners are not schooled on house

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Speaker 1: I don't have housing and I don't have a jacket,

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Speaker 1: and so it's hard for everybody, and that's even more

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Speaker 1: more obstacle for unhoused people. I'm glad you said that.

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Speaker 1: So it is very difficult. So how long have you

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Speaker 1: been out here? Almost three years? Oh wow? When you

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Speaker 1: first came what part of Texas were you from? Because

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Speaker 1: I was out in Houston for a little bit. What

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Speaker 1: was Unfortunately we were also in Houston, Texas. That's where

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Speaker 1: my husband's from. Oh okay, so so unfortunately, so you

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Speaker 1: got out here. When you came out here, did you

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Speaker 1: find it easier to get services here and then Texas

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Speaker 1: or what? No, it was really rough for me because

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Speaker 1: I have health issues with my immune system that is

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Speaker 1: very hard and complicated to get linked up to that

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Speaker 1: kind of care. So that answers the question that many

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Speaker 1: people run to always say that people come here for

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Speaker 1: services at California, which is not true because it was harder.

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Speaker 1: So one other question that I want to ask you

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Speaker 1: is is that when you've been out here, have any

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Speaker 1: services been offered to you to get help. Yes, there's

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Speaker 1: been housing services, but as soon as we go to

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Speaker 1: have them to place us, it comes back again with

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Speaker 1: my husband's jacket and stuff, and he don't want us

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Speaker 1: to separate because at this point in time, I am

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Speaker 1: one hundred percent have to rely on him because you

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Speaker 1: have a disabilities. I noticed you have a wheelchair here,

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Speaker 1: so it makes mobility very difficult and also you need

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Speaker 1: to rely on and which is a realistic concern. One

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Speaker 1: is because many couples and married a husband and wife

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Speaker 1: couples don't want to separate. Some of the shelters offer

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Speaker 1: fat and that means you're splitting off the family. And

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Speaker 1: second of all, when you have a spouse or a

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Speaker 1: significant other that has needs care or specialized care, many

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Speaker 1: shelters don't offer that specialized care. Do you see yourself

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Speaker 1: getting out of the situation soon? Yes, we are planning

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Speaker 1: on training to rent a place with not just my husband,

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Speaker 1: there's five of us. There's two small children and another

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Speaker 1: female who's my best friend. So we're all looking to

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Speaker 1: try to get into affordable housing so that way we

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Speaker 1: can all five get off the streets. That is excellent,

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Speaker 1: That's wonderful. So you guys, one thing I noticed about

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Speaker 1: the on house community I could say is we always

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Speaker 1: try to look out for each other. Conversely, then these

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Speaker 1: social services and our council members who always love to

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Speaker 1: vilify us. So what do you think about how they

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Speaker 1: blame us for all of the society ills. And have

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Speaker 1: you received any harassment? Yes, we have been harassed. My

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Speaker 1: husband because he is Mexican descent. They also look at

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Speaker 1: his face and stuff because he has tattoos. They have

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Speaker 1: accused him of being gain affiliated. They have quite literally

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Speaker 1: put my husband in handcuffs and was accusing him of

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Speaker 1: beating me, which was not true. So yeah, due to that,

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Speaker 1: and then the park rangers at another park that we

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Speaker 1: was at were really not nice. They told us we

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Speaker 1: had five minutes to get out their face otherwise they

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Speaker 1: were calling the tow truck to tow us. There's just

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Speaker 1: rough all the way around. It's if you don't run

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Speaker 1: into idiots and people who don't understand you, you run

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Speaker 1: into the cops were supposed to actually have some kind

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Speaker 1: of help with trying to see why why we were

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Speaker 1: out here and everything. It just doesn't exist. I totally agree.

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Speaker 1: I have had several runnings with the park rangers myself

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Speaker 1: at the park that I'm at and police officers. I

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Speaker 1: had this naive version as well that the police would

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Speaker 1: be my friend, they would help, they will listen to reason.

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Speaker 1: But a lot of times when people are calling because

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Speaker 1: they've told me I was a monster, I was wearing

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Speaker 1: to attack old people, kids, I was dangerous. So it

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Speaker 1: seems like that is a common recurring thing with all

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Speaker 1: in house people that we are always seeing like we

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Speaker 1: are threat to children, elderly, or are other people. Even

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Speaker 1: you said your husband was considered a violent against you,

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Speaker 1: which was not the case. So how long have you

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Speaker 1: been disabled? Since I was nineteen? I'm sorry, Would you

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Speaker 1: like to tell us how that happened? If you mine sure,

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Speaker 1: I have no problem. When I was nineteen years old,

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Speaker 1: I was a second child. At that time I found

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Speaker 1: out I was HIV positive. My husband, who had a

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Speaker 1: that's the time to not tell me that he had AIDS.

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Speaker 1: The state that I was diagnosed in is considered a murder,

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Speaker 1: which is in Louisiana, and he could have went to

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Speaker 1: president for the rest of his entire life. He has

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Speaker 1: since passed away. He has to come to the illnesses

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Speaker 1: and stuff that come along with AIDS. My husband knows,

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Speaker 1: my best friend knows. They both take turns during the

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Speaker 1: day taking care of me since before we got here.

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Speaker 1: Rat during Hurricane Harvey with my back ended up with

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Speaker 1: pinched nerve, so that's what first put me in a wheelchair.

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Speaker 1: And then my ankles started swelling so bad that I

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Speaker 1: couldn't even walk. And now my legs don't want to

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Speaker 1: work like everybody else's legs. And it's kind of hard

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Speaker 1: because I'm gonna go get her, you know, I go

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Speaker 1: and I do what I can, and it's just hard.

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Speaker 1: It's put a lot of womits on me. So I'm like, really,

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Speaker 1: you know in a place to where the care is necessary.

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Speaker 1: I agree, and thank you for telling the time to

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Speaker 1: giving us your story. It's a very powerful and touching

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Speaker 1: thing that many people don't know. I also want to

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Speaker 1: ask do you have any children? Yes? I do. I

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Speaker 1: have seven lovely, beautiful children, and I have six we'rgeous grandbabies.

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Speaker 1: That's wonderful. Now, I wanted to ask you because there

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Speaker 1: are always people ignorant people that always says like goods

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Speaker 1: They've told me because I have disabilities myself, but it's

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Speaker 1: not as obvious is why don't you just find a

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Speaker 1: job you don't want to get help? Or you why

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Speaker 1: did you have these many kids if you know you

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Speaker 1: had this problem? So do you think that they say that?

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Speaker 1: And what would you say to respond to that? It's

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Speaker 1: totally ignorant because somebody with a disability that you can

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Speaker 1: not see, they don't know exactly how that disability enables

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Speaker 1: you to do what you need to do to support yourself.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes it's just the iglans of community. And then too,

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Speaker 1: when you go apply for the job, they asked you

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Speaker 1: if you have any disabilities, you have to tell them,

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Speaker 1: and then once you do, they will say, oh, I'm sorry,

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Speaker 1: we can't hire you. You must go look other places

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Speaker 1: for work. And if you even go through like a

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Speaker 1: Goodwill program, you still can't get help. And they're the

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Speaker 1: ones that tells you, hey, we we amploy everybody. I

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Speaker 1: can't even say what I want to saga. I understand.

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Speaker 1: I had that same very issue that what especially when

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Speaker 1: I got stabbed and I had lost a part of

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Speaker 1: my stomach and coaling and things like that I couldn't walk,

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Speaker 1: and I kept hearing people says, well, you know, you'd

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Speaker 1: like to be out here. You don't want to get help,

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Speaker 1: or you don't want to get a job, And I says,

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Speaker 1: you know what, They're going to find out that there's

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Speaker 1: a problem if I go to this job and then

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Speaker 1: one I'm on house. I got fired one of the

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Speaker 1: jobs because they found out I was on house, and

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Speaker 1: in second I'm going to lose the job because when

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Speaker 1: they find out I'm disabled, because I'm a liability. And

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Speaker 1: many people feel that way, they're not going to just

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Speaker 1: hire unhouse people or people that are are have these

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Speaker 1: disabilities that feel like they're going to be sued or

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Speaker 1: feel like that they have to have accommodations for unhoused people.

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Speaker 1: So I'm so very glad that you pointed this point out.

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Speaker 1: So if you could educate people from let's say, for example,

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Speaker 1: children or people that needs to hear about the situation

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Speaker 1: about unhoused people, what would your message be. It's like,

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Speaker 1: we're all human, We're no different than anybody else. Somebody

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Speaker 1: that's got a job that's paying twenty two thousand dollars

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Speaker 1: a month or even twenty two thousand dollars a year

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Speaker 1: could end up in a situation because it's not just

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Speaker 1: limited to the disable, to the people that have mental issues,

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Speaker 1: or or somebody that just don't want to help. It

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Speaker 1: can be anybody can end up in this situation at all.

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Speaker 1: And how you know, how we look at it, it's

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Speaker 1: like we're not houseless, we're home, we're not homeless. We're

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Speaker 1: houseless and all. And a lot of people don't understand

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Speaker 1: that because they say, well, if you're houseless, you're so homeless. No,

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Speaker 1: with some of us, our attitudes and more positive and

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Speaker 1: thinks of the situation we're in and try to cope

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Speaker 1: with it better than saying, oh yeah, we're homeless, we

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Speaker 1: don't care. That's not true. We do care. We take

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Speaker 1: every day and stride. We take every day to try

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Speaker 1: to find new resources every day to find someplace or

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Speaker 1: somebody that actually will step up and give us a

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Speaker 1: hand up, not a handout. So that's you raise a

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Speaker 1: very good point that what I hear in people. There's

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Speaker 1: an argument even on Twitter where some people that want

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Speaker 1: to use the term homeless that get its power back.

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Speaker 1: I use on house because and houseless as well. It's

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Speaker 1: because every time every time I've heard that, when the

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Speaker 1: police are called or when people come up to me,

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Speaker 1: it's used with contempt. It's used with such hatred. I've

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Speaker 1: heard that. I was heard as of my friends at

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Speaker 1: the park, who's the director, she stated that she doesn't

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Speaker 1: like the term hobo you used to describe me. And

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Speaker 1: I was very touched that she said that, because it

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Speaker 1: really shows me that she sees me as a human being.

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Speaker 1: And that's the thing that I want other people to understand.

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Speaker 1: When you use that term homeless, it is because you're

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Speaker 1: trying to objectify or you trying to detach the humanity

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Speaker 1: to us. I am on house. I still have my dignity.

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Speaker 1: I still have my intelligence, I still have my kindness.

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Speaker 1: I'm still the same person I was when I was

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Speaker 1: ahead of house, and I wanted to be treated as

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Speaker 1: a human being, not as a transient, a vagrant, a

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Speaker 1: hobo or the number. That's That's exactly it. So I

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Speaker 1: wanted to say that if you have given me a

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Speaker 1: very good it could give a good interview. Could I

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Speaker 1: come back and follow up you sure? Anytime we're easily here.

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Speaker 1: If we're not here, you will notice that we have

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Speaker 1: shade set up because I do have two small children

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Speaker 1: that come out during the day and spend the day

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Speaker 1: with me. The blankets up to keep the sun away

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Speaker 1: from the babies. So if we're not here, the blankets

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Speaker 1: are gone. And of course my church come because I'm

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Speaker 1: using it. But most of the time we are here

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Speaker 1: at all at least I am thank you very much.

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Speaker 1: I wanted to take you. Maybe one day I'll have

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Speaker 1: come by again and see if they if they're because

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Speaker 1: we have lawyers and things like that, if they can

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Speaker 1: see if they can help you guys, to see if

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Speaker 1: you can get any housing or anything else. We're trying

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Speaker 1: to create a network of unhoused people to help us

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Speaker 1: as well, so sometimes the social services are not adequate

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Speaker 1: or just indifferent as well as a city council member

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Speaker 1: during Martinez, miss o'pharaoh and Bloomingfield. These are the people

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Speaker 1: that are the terrorists to unhouse people. Again, this is

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Speaker 1: Ceo Henderson from Weedy On House and I thank you

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Speaker 1: for your time and thank you for your kindness for

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Speaker 1: giving me a chance to hear your story. I am

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Speaker 1: again still out here in North Hollywood Valley Plaza Sports Complex.

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Speaker 1: I am interviewed Marlene and I'm interviewing now her husband,

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Speaker 1: Raymond Ligas, Raymond Ligas, and we're going to have here

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Speaker 1: his part of his incredible journey. So let's just start

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Speaker 1: off with some basic softball questions. So how long have

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Speaker 1: you been in house? Been on house since I was fifteen?

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Speaker 1: How did you become on house when you said you

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Speaker 1: was fifteen, Well, I ran away? Oh oh really? Is

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Speaker 1: there a particular reason why you ran away? Well, because

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Speaker 1: I was well, actually I would say I was like

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Speaker 1: miss beating all that when I was Yeah, I was

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Speaker 1: abused when I was a kid. He ran because the

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Speaker 1: child abused from his parents. And so what did you do?

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Speaker 1: How did you survive? Well? I learned how to hustle.

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Speaker 1: I learned how to get out there, and I was

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Speaker 1: involved with gangs and stuff like that. And I've seen

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Speaker 1: some stuff that I shouldn't have been seen at fifteen

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Speaker 1: years old. I've seen young lady get ripe. I've seen

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Speaker 1: young lady get stabbed. I've seen people get beat, I've

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Speaker 1: seen people get shot. I've seen all of that at fifteen.

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Speaker 1: That's incredible and it's a very tragic and sad. So

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Speaker 1: what made you turn your life around? Because I've noticed

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Speaker 1: that you are very observed you as being a very

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Speaker 1: caring family man and very gregarious. What caused this change

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Speaker 1: because you're not sound like you are still behaving like

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Speaker 1: you were fifteen. Well, because since i met missus Merline,

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Speaker 1: my wife, I've seen I'm a church going person. Now

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Speaker 1: I've you know, I'm saying, wanted a family, and you know,

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Speaker 1: now I see how it is, you know, because I've

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Speaker 1: even at fifteen years old, I've seen I've seen families

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Speaker 1: and I'm like, you know what, one day I want

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Speaker 1: to be there. So look here I am. Now, I'm

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Speaker 1: thirty eight years old. I have two wonderful step kids.

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Speaker 1: I have actually I have total of eleven step kids

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Speaker 1: and no, wait, take that back twelve and you know,

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Speaker 1: and I've been wanting to be a family man and

390
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,760
Speaker 1: now I am, Yeah, that's awesome. Many people could not

391
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Speaker 1: do and have a life and try to turn their

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Speaker 1: life around. What made you change that from being what

393
00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:32,680
Speaker 1: you were to what you now? Because they have to

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Speaker 1: be something. Well, like I said, I've changed my life

395
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Speaker 1: because I've started going to church. I've changed. I've turned

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Speaker 1: my life to God now and I see what God

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Speaker 1: can do for people. And at first, like I said,

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Speaker 1: I've left him. I knew who God was. Okay, I

399
00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,399
Speaker 1: knew who God was, but I'm like, you know what, No,

400
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Speaker 1: I want to go ahead and do my thing and

401
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:56,440
Speaker 1: do what I want to do. And then and then

402
00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,639
Speaker 1: I realized, once you change, you come back to God.

403
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:02,520
Speaker 1: God can do a lot of things for you. Very

404
00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:04,680
Speaker 1: well said. Now I want to talk to you a

405
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,480
Speaker 1: little bit more on the secular part, like, for example,

406
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Speaker 1: how is it how were you treated out here? Did

407
00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:14,720
Speaker 1: the law enforcement or police bother you guys or bother you?

408
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:17,920
Speaker 1: Because your wife told me a story and I want

409
00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:19,679
Speaker 1: to hear it in your own words, So take your

410
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:22,560
Speaker 1: time and tell me what's happening with you. You're being

411
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:27,800
Speaker 1: out here with law enforcement and the harassment that you get. Okay, Well,

412
00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:31,760
Speaker 1: before you know, they started harassing me at the other

413
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Speaker 1: park that we was at. What park was at that

414
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:39,000
Speaker 1: was Alexandra Park over there by the theater, the theater. Okay, well, anyway,

415
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,360
Speaker 1: what started it off was because I have gang they

416
00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,800
Speaker 1: still consider me gang affiliated because of the tactoos on

417
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,399
Speaker 1: my face. And I kept on getting harassed, and I'm like,

418
00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:51,960
Speaker 1: you know, I'm asking them, why are you harassing me?

419
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,439
Speaker 1: I want to point out something to Los Angeles Times

420
00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,880
Speaker 1: just found an article that the LA cops have been

421
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,439
Speaker 1: responsible for false flying and lying a lot about people

422
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:05,040
Speaker 1: that have been were gang affiliated. This is one of

423
00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:08,240
Speaker 1: the casualties up at so you hear from his own words, yes,

424
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:12,240
Speaker 1: and because like I said, and then when we left

425
00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,240
Speaker 1: that park, then they followed us over here and they

426
00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,280
Speaker 1: were harassing me still over here. So my wife, you

427
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,600
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. What my wife did, She stood

428
00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:22,600
Speaker 1: up to him and say, what, why are you harassing

429
00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:26,560
Speaker 1: my husband? It's because he's Mexican and considered gang affiliated.

430
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:28,800
Speaker 1: And they're like, no, no, he's not. No, it's not

431
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,400
Speaker 1: bull crap. You know what I'm saying they keep underrassing

432
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,080
Speaker 1: me for it, and then finally when my wife brought

433
00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:37,360
Speaker 1: it up to their attention, then they stopped. Excellent. It's

434
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:39,800
Speaker 1: always great to have someone to advocate and stand up

435
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:42,480
Speaker 1: for you when you cannot, and this is one of

436
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,520
Speaker 1: the benefits of being in house. We are a close

437
00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,920
Speaker 1: knit community and we look out for each other, even

438
00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:50,280
Speaker 1: though our society and our community members should be doing

439
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,440
Speaker 1: that instead of trying to incarcerate or the police lie

440
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:56,800
Speaker 1: on people to try to get them in jail. So

441
00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,399
Speaker 1: have you had any challenges from active gang members that

442
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,520
Speaker 1: think that you are a gang member and you're not. Yes,

443
00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,560
Speaker 1: I have. There's one time, like before, you know, like

444
00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:09,720
Speaker 1: when me and my wife sits out here, they won't

445
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:12,320
Speaker 1: they won't approach me. But when my wife is not

446
00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:14,360
Speaker 1: sitting out here, I've had like a couple of them

447
00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:16,560
Speaker 1: come up to me like where are you from, what

448
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,359
Speaker 1: do you claim and all this? And I tell them, no,

449
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,520
Speaker 1: I don't claim nothing. I ride by myself. I don't

450
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,240
Speaker 1: you know. And then they act, do you want to fight?

451
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:24,440
Speaker 1: And I tell them no, I don't want to fight.

452
00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:27,640
Speaker 1: I'm good, and then they'll walk on. So that's it's

453
00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,119
Speaker 1: that's another reality that you have to doubt at me

454
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,440
Speaker 1: on the house that you guys live in your vehicles,

455
00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:34,679
Speaker 1: that you deal with police harassment? Did you deal with

456
00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,399
Speaker 1: harassment with active gang members? And then you have to

457
00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:41,439
Speaker 1: how uh, how do you guys restore your energy and

458
00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:46,199
Speaker 1: be able to keep a positive outlook? Well, we just

459
00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,160
Speaker 1: you know, we think about you know, what we need

460
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:51,960
Speaker 1: to do. We think about our families, you know, and

461
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:56,159
Speaker 1: what positive I just I don't when I see gang affiliate,

462
00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:59,280
Speaker 1: when I see gang members, I just like, Okay, that's

463
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,360
Speaker 1: you know them. I'll stay away from them. And that's it.

464
00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:05,240
Speaker 1: One of the things I wanted to do X that

465
00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,560
Speaker 1: we've talked about the police harassment, we talked about gang

466
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:12,359
Speaker 1: active gang members, and we talked about life living and

467
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:17,359
Speaker 1: from it. What would you wish people to know about

468
00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:20,880
Speaker 1: unhoused people? People like us because I'm in house too,

469
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,840
Speaker 1: I live in the park and I have different things

470
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:25,280
Speaker 1: that I want to say. But what do you want

471
00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:29,280
Speaker 1: to say that people that says that unhouse people are criminals, violent,

472
00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:33,840
Speaker 1: a danger to kids, that just h they pull out

473
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:36,080
Speaker 1: property values, or if your neighbors are yell looking and

474
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,480
Speaker 1: screaming at you or doing vigilante things. What would you

475
00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,119
Speaker 1: say to them? What is your message for them? My

476
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,480
Speaker 1: message is, well, keep your head up, pray to God

477
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:49,920
Speaker 1: every day, go to church if you can, and you know,

478
00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,879
Speaker 1: and just just leave your hands, leave your head, you know,

479
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,679
Speaker 1: leave it into God's hands. Okay, Now the second thing

480
00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:57,639
Speaker 1: is what would your message to the people that are

481
00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:00,119
Speaker 1: bothering unhoused people that just minding their business and trying

482
00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:03,800
Speaker 1: to survive. But what your message would be, Well, just

483
00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:06,760
Speaker 1: stay away from the people that that harassing you. Stay

484
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:08,760
Speaker 1: away from the people, try to stay away from the

485
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,720
Speaker 1: people that that is negative. You know what I'm saying,

486
00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:14,919
Speaker 1: that's negative. You just always think positive. But what if

487
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:17,439
Speaker 1: it's difficult if you are lodging in the park and

488
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:19,800
Speaker 1: these people are coming to you. So what message would

489
00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,479
Speaker 1: you get people that are harassing people like, for example,

490
00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:25,280
Speaker 1: what would message if I was harassing you? What would

491
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,480
Speaker 1: you have to tell them to stop bothering people that

492
00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,160
Speaker 1: are bothering you or your wife? Well, I would tell them, hey,

493
00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:33,600
Speaker 1: look man, I don't want nothing to do with you.

494
00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:36,679
Speaker 1: If you're thinking negative, stay away from my family because

495
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:39,920
Speaker 1: you're always thinking negative, and you know, there's always a

496
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:41,760
Speaker 1: positive thing in there. You know what I'm saying, if

497
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,640
Speaker 1: you don't think positive, you always thinking negative, then you

498
00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:47,280
Speaker 1: know that's on you. You know what I'm saying, So

499
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:52,800
Speaker 1: just stay away. That's exactly so Neuri Martinez runs this

500
00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:56,080
Speaker 1: area and she's been targeting and throwing out on house

501
00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:59,160
Speaker 1: people with the lie that she cares and not offering

502
00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:01,760
Speaker 1: any services to help them to get on their feet.

503
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,400
Speaker 1: There's disabled people that she's displaced. There's a sixty year

504
00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:09,600
Speaker 1: old man that the one offered him a housing voucher,

505
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:12,120
Speaker 1: the one offered him a motel voultchuer. They just threw

506
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,400
Speaker 1: him like he was unwanted trash. And then they have

507
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:19,120
Speaker 1: used the same police that lies about gang affiliation and

508
00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:23,320
Speaker 1: has been connected close to connected with the business owners

509
00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,800
Speaker 1: and the Los Angeles Sanitation Department to continue the harassment

510
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:31,240
Speaker 1: campaign in retaliation through the Martin versus Boise's thing. They

511
00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:34,560
Speaker 1: are still targeting them. So what is your message to her,

512
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,360
Speaker 1: because she obviously has the power to try to get you,

513
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,640
Speaker 1: to put you into a concentration camp or put you

514
00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,320
Speaker 1: in jail. What would you say to her maybe to

515
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:46,000
Speaker 1: stop that? Well, I would tell her, hey, look, we're

516
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,040
Speaker 1: trying everything that we can. We need we need just

517
00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:52,719
Speaker 1: for her to take care of us, she needs to

518
00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:55,320
Speaker 1: do what she says she's gonna do. If she don't

519
00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:57,680
Speaker 1: do what she says she's gonna do, then somebody needs

520
00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,240
Speaker 1: to step into her place and do what they you

521
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,640
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, do that. But if she don't

522
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,760
Speaker 1: do it, then she needs to be kicked out. I agree,

523
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:09,240
Speaker 1: well said, And on that note, I wanted to leave

524
00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:12,040
Speaker 1: that message to Newary Martinez. I've told you before in

525
00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:15,080
Speaker 1: the phone, your time's up, because if you think that

526
00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:17,479
Speaker 1: you're going to continue to harass on House people and

527
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:19,880
Speaker 1: put them in jail, we are coming for you the

528
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:22,520
Speaker 1: most every legal way we possibly can. We won't do

529
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:24,760
Speaker 1: the criminal things that you're doing, but we're going to

530
00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:27,160
Speaker 1: do it as legal as possible. As much is to

531
00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:29,680
Speaker 1: send a message to any other council member that has

532
00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,840
Speaker 1: the idea that these sweeps and these abuses to unhouse

533
00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:36,000
Speaker 1: people is acceptable. This is Theil Henderson from Weezi on

534
00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:39,040
Speaker 1: House I thank you, and I thank you all for listening,

535
00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:41,600
Speaker 1: and maybe we all again meet in the light of understanding.

536
00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:00,000
Speaker 1: Welcome to another episode of Weezi on howse I speak

537
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:05,440
Speaker 1: to a potential council member running against David Ruth's office.

538
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,560
Speaker 1: And what district is that. It's District four, District four.

539
00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:13,760
Speaker 1: Her name is nitsy O Rahman, and I have she's

540
00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:16,920
Speaker 1: been gracious enough to stop by. Oh, thank you stop

541
00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:20,000
Speaker 1: by to give me a bit of her time to

542
00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,080
Speaker 1: uh ask her answer a few questions. She was here

543
00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:26,480
Speaker 1: for the record last week and we got our times

544
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:29,600
Speaker 1: in wires cross, so she is also So she has

545
00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:33,080
Speaker 1: been gracious enough to come back. Now I'm not coming back.

546
00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:35,480
Speaker 1: He's not conrect. So I promised I was going to

547
00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,160
Speaker 1: be here earlier to beat her so make sure we

548
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,680
Speaker 1: would not get our wires cross this time. Welcome. Thank

549
00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:44,920
Speaker 1: you so much for having me. So I will just

550
00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:48,320
Speaker 1: basically just start you off with some softball questions. Give

551
00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:51,040
Speaker 1: me a little brief explanation on the office you're running

552
00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:54,640
Speaker 1: for and why e's run. So, I'm running for city

553
00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:58,080
Speaker 1: council in District four. It's a district that goes all

554
00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:01,080
Speaker 1: the way from Silver Lake to Sherman because it's enormous

555
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,720
Speaker 1: and it covers a huge part of the city. Our

556
00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:09,000
Speaker 1: district has had a pretty big increase in homelessness since

557
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:14,000
Speaker 1: the incumbent has been in office. Actually last year, our

558
00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,720
Speaker 1: homeless population went up by fifty three percent, which was

559
00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 1: the highest increase in the entire city. And I'm running

560
00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:26,640
Speaker 1: for this seat in large part because I ran a

561
00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:29,920
Speaker 1: started and helped run a homeless coalition in my neighborhood

562
00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:35,040
Speaker 1: called SILA, which serves residents who are experiencing homelessness in

563
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,440
Speaker 1: an area of the city that stretches from Los Pilas

564
00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:39,360
Speaker 1: all the way down to Cypress Park. We visit a

565
00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,520
Speaker 1: lot of encampments near the river, and we started out

566
00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:46,120
Speaker 1: as a group of neighbors house neighbors who saw an

567
00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:49,480
Speaker 1: increasing number of people experiencing homelessness living on the streets

568
00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:53,200
Speaker 1: in our own neighborhoods, and we wanted to do something

569
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:59,480
Speaker 1: to help, and so we started by talking to people walk.

570
00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:03,080
Speaker 1: We would meet up and walk around from encampment to encampment.

571
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:05,920
Speaker 1: We used to bring bottles of water and breakfast bars

572
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:08,959
Speaker 1: and hard boiled eggs or anything we had and just

573
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,240
Speaker 1: say hello, introduce ourselves and get to know people in

574
00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:15,640
Speaker 1: our neighborhood who were experiencing homelessness. And what we learned

575
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:20,160
Speaker 1: when we started doing this work was that in our neighborhood,

576
00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:25,800
Speaker 1: which unlike places like skid Row or Hollywood. Once people

577
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:29,880
Speaker 1: were experiencing homelessness, it was almost impossible to find the

578
00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:33,280
Speaker 1: resources you needed to get to start your journey off

579
00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:37,320
Speaker 1: of the street. There was no case managers that you

580
00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:39,320
Speaker 1: could walk into, There was no shelter beds you could

581
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:42,280
Speaker 1: walk into. There was not even a bathroom you were

582
00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:44,280
Speaker 1: welcome to use. There was not a shower, There was

583
00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:49,840
Speaker 1: not There was not anything that you would need, not

584
00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,040
Speaker 1: just to start your journey off the street, but to

585
00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:55,760
Speaker 1: live your life with any kind of dignity. And so

586
00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:02,400
Speaker 1: we found that very upsetting, and we advocated for a

587
00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,040
Speaker 1: drop in center to be located in our neighborhood. We

588
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:07,760
Speaker 1: went to the city and county and asked to meet

589
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:12,200
Speaker 1: with city council members to advocate for this, and we

590
00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:14,880
Speaker 1: put together a report with a bunch of locations showing

591
00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:17,799
Speaker 1: where a drop in center could be located in the neighborhood,

592
00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:23,680
Speaker 1: and they basically ignored us, And so finally we did

593
00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,759
Speaker 1: it ourselves. We raised money through applying for grants and

594
00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:29,799
Speaker 1: holding fundraisers. We partnered with a local church that lent

595
00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:32,800
Speaker 1: us their space, and we have a one day a

596
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,840
Speaker 1: week access center which has now grown where we had showers,

597
00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:39,040
Speaker 1: where we had a case manager coming in regularly where

598
00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:41,759
Speaker 1: we had hot meal, we showed a movie, and we

599
00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:44,040
Speaker 1: actually drove. We rented a van every week and drove

600
00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:47,400
Speaker 1: around in a van and picked people up from their encampments,

601
00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:50,239
Speaker 1: from their homes, took them to the church and then

602
00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:54,960
Speaker 1: dropped them off afterwards. And it was you know, it

603
00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:57,920
Speaker 1: was a great moment to be able to see that

604
00:34:57,960 --> 00:34:59,719
Speaker 1: access center, even if it was just one day a

605
00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:02,759
Speaker 1: week in actually come to life. And I started to

606
00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:07,560
Speaker 1: think that if people who were in elected office felt

607
00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:12,920
Speaker 1: the same level of urgency and focus on not just homelessness,

608
00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:15,560
Speaker 1: but the broader housing crisis that is changing LA that

609
00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:18,960
Speaker 1: I did and that my fellow volunteers did and in Sila,

610
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:22,280
Speaker 1: that we would have a very different response to homelessness

611
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:27,000
Speaker 1: in LA today. And that if more people spend time

612
00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:31,600
Speaker 1: talking with people who are experiencing homelessness and shaping responses

613
00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:34,480
Speaker 1: in accordance with their needs, that we would have a

614
00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:39,080
Speaker 1: very different system ahead of us, very well put. And

615
00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:43,359
Speaker 1: this kind of leaf frogs into my next question. As

616
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:47,200
Speaker 1: an unhoused member of this community, recently, I have become

617
00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:52,000
Speaker 1: dismayed when I heard Nurie Martinez, Paul Kakorian and Mitchell

618
00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:57,919
Speaker 1: Farrow has instituted some retaliatory sweeps soon very soon after.

619
00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:01,719
Speaker 1: The Martin versus Voice is really for the listeners in

620
00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:05,000
Speaker 1: the audience. Martin versus Boise was a Knife Circuit Court

621
00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:09,160
Speaker 1: ruling that made it crim uh unconstitutional for unhoused to

622
00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:13,040
Speaker 1: be criminalized for sleeping out in the sidewalks or parks.

623
00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:17,319
Speaker 1: They stated it was cruel and unusual punishment until there

624
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:21,240
Speaker 1: was adequate shelters and services that was needed for people

625
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:24,319
Speaker 1: to get back on their feet. As you've recently heard

626
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:28,719
Speaker 1: that that is not the case. However, the councilwoman Martinez

627
00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:31,840
Speaker 1: has gone on records saying she is from the working

628
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:36,520
Speaker 1: poor and embraces law and order on unhoused people, insinuating

629
00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:40,120
Speaker 1: that the unhouse are unworthy poor. What is your stance

630
00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:45,279
Speaker 1: on that kind of statement and the unhoused vigilanteism that

631
00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:49,560
Speaker 1: goes on basically from the st kind of statements. So,

632
00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:58,279
Speaker 1: I think our accounts our city Council because of their

633
00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:03,279
Speaker 1: failure to take action to provide the kinds of resources

634
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:07,320
Speaker 1: that people need, to provide adequate numbers of shelter beds

635
00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:13,360
Speaker 1: and housing units to provide, to provide to create a

636
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:16,200
Speaker 1: system through which people can access the resources that they need.

637
00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:21,120
Speaker 1: We have created a system right now in Los Angeles

638
00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:33,120
Speaker 1: where politicians, essentially we're we're we're pitying unhoused residents and

639
00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:37,000
Speaker 1: house residents against each other, you know, and because of

640
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:44,560
Speaker 1: their inaction. And I believe, I know that if we

641
00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:48,880
Speaker 1: work to put services in place, to build housing, or

642
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:53,520
Speaker 1: to make housing available, to make shelter beds available, that

643
00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:56,600
Speaker 1: we can we can have a system where people who

644
00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:03,360
Speaker 1: are experiencing vulnerability or experiencing homelessness can have support in

645
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:08,440
Speaker 1: a compassionate manner. And what has happened right now is

646
00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:13,200
Speaker 1: that people are facing with the negative impacts, are facing

647
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:16,279
Speaker 1: the negative impacts of the city's failure to provide those

648
00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:20,720
Speaker 1: kinds of services. And I think we blame unhoused residents

649
00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:24,520
Speaker 1: for something that we should really be blaming government officials for.

650
00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:28,560
Speaker 1: I agree completely. One of the things I don't need

651
00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:30,879
Speaker 1: to ask you about is that what I've noticed too

652
00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:35,359
Speaker 1: is that this education of it because which is why

653
00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:38,279
Speaker 1: I created this podcast, because I got tired of hearing

654
00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:42,439
Speaker 1: the same argument from newspapers and politicians that on house

655
00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:45,280
Speaker 1: people don't want to work, they are part of the problem,

656
00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:49,000
Speaker 1: they're mentally ill, they're drug addict and as I am

657
00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:52,480
Speaker 1: none of these things. And then as you probably have

658
00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:55,400
Speaker 1: listened to my podcast, you find that I am no exception.

659
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:59,560
Speaker 1: There's many unhoused people all over Los Angeles, have gone

660
00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:03,680
Speaker 1: all over that has stories and issues that has nothing

661
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:07,520
Speaker 1: to do with that trotted out stereotype. So how do

662
00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:10,400
Speaker 1: you think it would be better to educate the public,

663
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:13,120
Speaker 1: Because in order for it with us to win a

664
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:17,040
Speaker 1: house residence in a way to be less hostile, we

665
00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:20,719
Speaker 1: needed education program. For example, when the police officers go

666
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:23,920
Speaker 1: to schools, they always portray the image of officer friendly,

667
00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:27,200
Speaker 1: they are giving Christmas toys, but I never yet have

668
00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:30,319
Speaker 1: not seen anyone invite in house people to educate the

669
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:32,960
Speaker 1: populace or the public on what the issues are and

670
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:36,799
Speaker 1: how to help us become and respect our dignity in

671
00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:40,799
Speaker 1: the community. That's a really interesting idea thinking about an

672
00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:44,560
Speaker 1: education program around people who are experiencing homelessness. I think

673
00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:47,600
Speaker 1: that would be a great way to break down barriers

674
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:51,360
Speaker 1: of fear that people have. One of the things we

675
00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:54,239
Speaker 1: did in the Homeless Coalition that I started CELA was

676
00:39:54,239 --> 00:39:56,080
Speaker 1: that we designed it so that it could absorb a

677
00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:58,719
Speaker 1: lot of volunteers and for many people, they would come

678
00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:00,960
Speaker 1: in and it would be the time that they would

679
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:04,359
Speaker 1: be speaking to somebody who was experiencing homelessness, and once

680
00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:07,920
Speaker 1: they were able to see that a person who is

681
00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:10,400
Speaker 1: living on the street is also a human and that

682
00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:15,799
Speaker 1: they come fall into homelessness through very human paths, and

683
00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:18,640
Speaker 1: even if they are struggling with addiction or mental illness.

684
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:22,320
Speaker 1: You know, that is the case for some people for sure,

685
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:25,239
Speaker 1: that living on the street is the worst place to

686
00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:27,960
Speaker 1: be managing addiction, it's the worst place to be managing

687
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:31,399
Speaker 1: mental illness, and so living on the street actually can

688
00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:34,880
Speaker 1: sometimes exacerbate or worsen those things. And I feel like

689
00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:39,680
Speaker 1: it was a really important moment for them to be

690
00:40:39,719 --> 00:40:43,960
Speaker 1: able to speak to people and to build that understanding.

691
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:47,560
Speaker 1: So I think this is an incredibly important thing to

692
00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:49,759
Speaker 1: do to break down these barriers and to make sure

693
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:55,600
Speaker 1: that people understand not just that, not just that you know,

694
00:40:55,640 --> 00:40:59,040
Speaker 1: there are many people among our homeless neighbors who don't

695
00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:01,720
Speaker 1: have mental illness, don't want to you know, want to work,

696
00:41:01,760 --> 00:41:04,399
Speaker 1: and are just kind of at loose ends or don't

697
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:07,840
Speaker 1: have access to resources, but also to acknowledge that anyone,

698
00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:11,520
Speaker 1: whatever situation they may be in, just to acknowledge their

699
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:14,840
Speaker 1: humanity and to realize that there is a way to

700
00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:19,120
Speaker 1: respond to this situation that acknowledges their humanity as well.

701
00:41:19,719 --> 00:41:22,560
Speaker 1: I certainly agree, and it's also I want to point

702
00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:24,480
Speaker 1: out too, one of the things that I've noticed is

703
00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:28,080
Speaker 1: missing and I have come across is the unhoused people

704
00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:31,320
Speaker 1: that have families and children that go to school. Because

705
00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:36,280
Speaker 1: of our politicians who states family first, or the worthy

706
00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:40,279
Speaker 1: poor or the worthy working poor, and the mantra that

707
00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:43,440
Speaker 1: they are deserving of services, and then you have unhoused

708
00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:47,040
Speaker 1: people and children that's in your miss they are absorbing

709
00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:50,719
Speaker 1: those messages as well. I want to take a step back,

710
00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:53,000
Speaker 1: like a four years ago, I have a stab out

711
00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:55,640
Speaker 1: of the parpolar here and I was an ice for

712
00:41:55,719 --> 00:41:59,040
Speaker 1: a couple of years, a couple of months, and I

713
00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:01,040
Speaker 1: had at one point they were going to release me,

714
00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:04,959
Speaker 1: but my wounds were so great they had me try

715
00:42:05,040 --> 00:42:08,919
Speaker 1: to go out into the elements to clean my own

716
00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:12,440
Speaker 1: wounds twice a day. And yes, but this is a

717
00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:16,440
Speaker 1: reality that unhoused people have because there is no unnecessary,

718
00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:21,200
Speaker 1: adequate service unless fortunately I'm educated enough to advocate in

719
00:42:21,239 --> 00:42:23,160
Speaker 1: a way to make sure that that wasn't going to happen.

720
00:42:24,280 --> 00:42:26,760
Speaker 1: But there is a lot of unhoused people that I've interviewed,

721
00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:29,400
Speaker 1: like the gentleman that had his leg broken in four places.

722
00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:33,560
Speaker 1: When the police come to sweep his encampment because of

723
00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:37,440
Speaker 1: NEWI Martinez law and order stance, he has to crawl

724
00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:41,080
Speaker 1: on the ground to take his tent down. And that's unreasonable.

725
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:46,120
Speaker 1: But that you were basically allowing that to be be

726
00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:49,839
Speaker 1: part and parcel of how you treat unhoused people. So

727
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:52,160
Speaker 1: on the customers that the question I wanted to say,

728
00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:55,640
Speaker 1: it's what creative ideas you have in getting unhoused people house?

729
00:42:55,719 --> 00:42:58,600
Speaker 1: What do you think would be a good launch pad

730
00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:02,600
Speaker 1: for that? Well, So I think as a first step,

731
00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:05,120
Speaker 1: we can change the way in which we are responding

732
00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:08,080
Speaker 1: to people who are experiencing homelessness. Right now, in most

733
00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:11,759
Speaker 1: neighborhoods in Los Angeles, as I mentioned earlier, there is

734
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:14,840
Speaker 1: no place for people to be able to access the

735
00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:17,279
Speaker 1: services that they need. One of the things I talk

736
00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:21,319
Speaker 1: about my housing and Homelessness policy is to create a

737
00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:25,080
Speaker 1: network of community access centers or drop in centers where

738
00:43:25,360 --> 00:43:29,960
Speaker 1: outreach workers, mental health case workers, social workers could be housed,

739
00:43:30,440 --> 00:43:33,960
Speaker 1: where those individuals would be encouraged to get to know

740
00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:38,560
Speaker 1: everybody experiencing homelessness in that neighborhood, and that individuals who

741
00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:40,880
Speaker 1: are working on these issues and people who are experiencing

742
00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:45,400
Speaker 1: homelessness can build up relationships of trust and over a

743
00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:52,879
Speaker 1: period of time, oh that's okay, okay, yeah, And over

744
00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:55,640
Speaker 1: time to make sure that people are actually able to

745
00:43:55,680 --> 00:44:00,120
Speaker 1: continue their or get the paperwork that they need to

746
00:44:00,239 --> 00:44:03,160
Speaker 1: make sure that they're filling out the forms and moving

747
00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:07,480
Speaker 1: along the path to getting house, which can be months long,

748
00:44:07,960 --> 00:44:11,960
Speaker 1: sometimes years. And so that is an essential change. And

749
00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:15,200
Speaker 1: I think in the meantime, while waiting for shelter beds,

750
00:44:15,200 --> 00:44:18,600
Speaker 1: while we're waiting for housing to come online, the reality

751
00:44:18,719 --> 00:44:20,680
Speaker 1: is that we have a number of encampments that are

752
00:44:20,719 --> 00:44:23,640
Speaker 1: on the street right now, and I think our city

753
00:44:23,680 --> 00:44:25,799
Speaker 1: could be doing a lot more to make sure that

754
00:44:25,840 --> 00:44:29,600
Speaker 1: we're sharing space in more effective ways, doing cleanups that

755
00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:32,719
Speaker 1: are not punitive, but that actually makes spaces hygienic for

756
00:44:32,760 --> 00:44:37,200
Speaker 1: all reasons, housed and unhoused, or using those spaces, making

757
00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:40,080
Speaker 1: sure that sidewalks are accessible for everyone who wants to

758
00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:44,439
Speaker 1: use them, not just for unhoused neighbors, but making sure

759
00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:47,200
Speaker 1: that we're sharing that space in respectful ways. I think

760
00:44:47,239 --> 00:44:49,239
Speaker 1: one thing that we could do in neighborhoods would be

761
00:44:49,280 --> 00:44:53,960
Speaker 1: to provide storage spaces where people could store their things.

762
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:55,839
Speaker 1: Like currently in the city of la there's only one

763
00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:58,960
Speaker 1: place where you can store things. That's in seventh in town,

764
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:02,439
Speaker 1: which is very far from most parts of the city.

765
00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:04,879
Speaker 1: It's really only close to skid row. And so if

766
00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:09,800
Speaker 1: you're in Echo Park or yeah, jazz work, the gentleman

767
00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:12,640
Speaker 1: had his things and he's disabled, how is he going

768
00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:16,239
Speaker 1: to goah, exactly, you imagine. Yeah, So if you want

769
00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:19,440
Speaker 1: tenths to be away during the day, if you want stuff,

770
00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:21,520
Speaker 1: you know, belongings to be out of the way during

771
00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:23,480
Speaker 1: the day, or if you don't want too many belongings

772
00:45:23,520 --> 00:45:27,160
Speaker 1: in one place, I think you in the reality of

773
00:45:27,200 --> 00:45:29,920
Speaker 1: Los Angeles today, why there's thirty almost thirty seven thousand

774
00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:32,960
Speaker 1: people experiencing homelessness in less than a quarter of the

775
00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:35,040
Speaker 1: shelter beds that we need, very little of the housing

776
00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:38,680
Speaker 1: that we need. I think finding ways like having storage

777
00:45:38,680 --> 00:45:42,399
Speaker 1: spots in every neighborhood where people can drop off their

778
00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:45,680
Speaker 1: things and keep it out of the way during the

779
00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:48,800
Speaker 1: day and keep it safe. These are important ways in

780
00:45:48,840 --> 00:45:52,520
Speaker 1: which we can share space as we navigate our way

781
00:45:52,600 --> 00:45:56,400
Speaker 1: through what is really an unprecedented moment in Los Angeles.

782
00:45:56,480 --> 00:46:00,160
Speaker 1: You know it hasn't don't. We've never figured this out before,

783
00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:02,080
Speaker 1: so let's make sure we have the tools to do

784
00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:04,040
Speaker 1: it in ways that respect the people who are going

785
00:46:04,040 --> 00:46:06,680
Speaker 1: through it. In the eighteen hundreds, they had a very

786
00:46:06,680 --> 00:46:09,120
Speaker 1: bad stigma of unhoused people in that period of time,

787
00:46:09,560 --> 00:46:12,680
Speaker 1: and what we have fallen, at my observation, from this

788
00:46:12,719 --> 00:46:16,240
Speaker 1: period of time, we have never really challenged our soul

789
00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:19,880
Speaker 1: or our consciousness in order to evolve from those behaviors.

790
00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:22,000
Speaker 1: One of the things that I would like to see

791
00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:25,280
Speaker 1: is the twenty four hour storage space because unhoused people

792
00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:28,479
Speaker 1: are because for the example, they're unhoused people that work

793
00:46:28,840 --> 00:46:31,040
Speaker 1: and they leave their things and then they come back

794
00:46:31,360 --> 00:46:36,879
Speaker 1: and based on Newing Martinez law, in order they stance now,

795
00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:39,319
Speaker 1: they continue to lose it and they start over. So

796
00:46:39,440 --> 00:46:42,160
Speaker 1: they're questioning, what's the point of us trying to get

797
00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:44,800
Speaker 1: out of the situation and the city is coming behind

798
00:46:45,239 --> 00:46:48,120
Speaker 1: and are the hindrance in whether it's the other way around.

799
00:46:48,800 --> 00:46:50,600
Speaker 1: One of the things I also want to ask you

800
00:46:50,719 --> 00:46:54,120
Speaker 1: is there are unhoused people that are now recently that

801
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:57,640
Speaker 1: were unhoused and I have housing, but the challenge is

802
00:46:57,640 --> 00:47:00,719
Speaker 1: a new challenge. They're put into a big box of

803
00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:04,759
Speaker 1: room where there's no bedding, no furniture, and they either

804
00:47:04,880 --> 00:47:07,800
Speaker 1: on fixed income and are unable to furnish their things.

805
00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:10,800
Speaker 1: And I just could not help but see the increase

806
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:14,880
Speaker 1: on the police budget keep always getting becomeing spiked and

807
00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:17,919
Speaker 1: asking for more police presence in law and order. Don't

808
00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:20,080
Speaker 1: you think it would be more feasible to cut some

809
00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:23,120
Speaker 1: of their money and put in a program that would

810
00:47:23,120 --> 00:47:25,759
Speaker 1: have when unhouse people are housed, to help them get

811
00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:28,879
Speaker 1: on their feet with the necessary amenities like all of us,

812
00:47:28,920 --> 00:47:31,160
Speaker 1: because they can lug all of us stuff out and

813
00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:34,160
Speaker 1: obviously in the sidewalks, so how will they get these things?

814
00:47:34,239 --> 00:47:35,840
Speaker 1: What is your thoughts on that? Yeah, I mean, I

815
00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:39,400
Speaker 1: think we could definitely be creatively thinking about how people

816
00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:42,399
Speaker 1: can furnish homes once they do get them. There are

817
00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:45,920
Speaker 1: some groups that have created some interesting programs. Path had

818
00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:48,759
Speaker 1: to Welcome home program where groups of residents in the

819
00:47:48,800 --> 00:47:52,960
Speaker 1: neighborhood could actually get together house residents and welcome someone

820
00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:56,840
Speaker 1: who is moving into their home with sheets and paper,

821
00:47:56,840 --> 00:47:58,960
Speaker 1: towels and all of that stuff, and they could put

822
00:47:58,960 --> 00:48:01,919
Speaker 1: together a wish list. I do think that we could

823
00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:04,000
Speaker 1: increase our budgets for it, and we could do a

824
00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:08,800
Speaker 1: better job of making spaces in these programs for volunteers,

825
00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:11,080
Speaker 1: for companies, for all of these people who are part

826
00:48:11,120 --> 00:48:14,200
Speaker 1: of la to actually also get involved in it. For sure,

827
00:48:15,480 --> 00:48:18,000
Speaker 1: that goes back into the education because there's a lot

828
00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:21,759
Speaker 1: of fear and disdain for unhouse people, which brings up

829
00:48:21,880 --> 00:48:24,839
Speaker 1: to the next part the number of three one one

830
00:48:25,080 --> 00:48:28,120
Speaker 1: and for our listeners that are not in Los Angeles.

831
00:48:28,560 --> 00:48:30,680
Speaker 1: In Los Angeles, there is a three to one to

832
00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:34,200
Speaker 1: one number that is called and they have if you

833
00:48:34,239 --> 00:48:37,840
Speaker 1: see something, say something, for example, if you see an encampment,

834
00:48:38,680 --> 00:48:42,520
Speaker 1: many residents house residents that are fearful will call that

835
00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:45,520
Speaker 1: number and it will generate on the list and then

836
00:48:46,080 --> 00:48:51,720
Speaker 1: deunified houseless response ting will dispatch these of park rangers,

837
00:48:51,719 --> 00:48:55,879
Speaker 1: police officers or law enforcement and sanitation to swoop down

838
00:48:56,000 --> 00:48:59,080
Speaker 1: on the young house and theresa, remove them, check if

839
00:48:59,080 --> 00:49:03,600
Speaker 1: they have Lauren, or just basically just take over their belongings.

840
00:49:04,160 --> 00:49:06,640
Speaker 1: So three one one is used by house residents to

841
00:49:06,760 --> 00:49:12,320
Speaker 1: activate a confrontational approach, and the council member is quoted

842
00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:15,680
Speaker 1: as saying, I appreciate loss of coming into cruise and

843
00:49:15,719 --> 00:49:18,880
Speaker 1: developing their relationships, but what we can't leave it up

844
00:49:18,920 --> 00:49:21,839
Speaker 1: to them to decide whether something that's trash or not.

845
00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:24,839
Speaker 1: Now that I have talked to the unhoused residents and

846
00:49:24,880 --> 00:49:29,319
Speaker 1: they've lost medications, IDs, papers and that got them into

847
00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:31,760
Speaker 1: services for appointments to get them out of a situation

848
00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:37,320
Speaker 1: or to move them along into being housed. And how

849
00:49:37,360 --> 00:49:41,960
Speaker 1: are they, like law enforcement and sanitariation better equipped to

850
00:49:41,960 --> 00:49:44,960
Speaker 1: determine what is valuable than an unhoused person would know

851
00:49:44,960 --> 00:49:47,080
Speaker 1: that they're gonna need. What is your thoughts on that?

852
00:49:48,560 --> 00:49:53,439
Speaker 1: Did you think that the care program was a step

853
00:49:53,440 --> 00:49:58,000
Speaker 1: in the right direction in Los Angeles moving away from

854
00:49:58,040 --> 00:50:01,680
Speaker 1: a sanitation and lapd led model of cleanups or even

855
00:50:01,719 --> 00:50:06,080
Speaker 1: towards an outreach worker led version of cleanups which would

856
00:50:06,120 --> 00:50:12,320
Speaker 1: be scheduled in advance. And just like when house residents

857
00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:16,360
Speaker 1: have regular trash pickup, that an unhoused resident also know

858
00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:18,920
Speaker 1: when a pickup was happening or when a cleanup was happening,

859
00:50:19,280 --> 00:50:23,200
Speaker 1: rather than it being in response to a complaint. Because

860
00:50:23,239 --> 00:50:26,360
Speaker 1: it's not that the city doesn't know where encampments are already.

861
00:50:26,440 --> 00:50:27,840
Speaker 1: I mean, the city has a very good sense of

862
00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:30,080
Speaker 1: where all the endendents are. We don't need to wait

863
00:50:30,120 --> 00:50:33,319
Speaker 1: for complaints from residents to come in to identify where

864
00:50:33,320 --> 00:50:36,240
Speaker 1: they are to identify where issues are. But I think

865
00:50:36,400 --> 00:50:38,960
Speaker 1: again this goes back to the system, the question that

866
00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:41,640
Speaker 1: I was talking about earlier, which is, I think we've

867
00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:44,480
Speaker 1: set up a system where we put housed in unhoused

868
00:50:44,480 --> 00:50:47,200
Speaker 1: residents in conflict with each other, when in reality we

869
00:50:47,239 --> 00:50:50,000
Speaker 1: could be working towards a system where we are all

870
00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:53,759
Speaker 1: working together towards a better future. I don't think anybody

871
00:50:54,239 --> 00:50:58,320
Speaker 1: would dispute that ensuring that people who are experiencing homelessness

872
00:50:58,360 --> 00:51:00,720
Speaker 1: are able to get into housing is the shared outcome

873
00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:03,960
Speaker 1: that we all have. And I think that because the

874
00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:09,840
Speaker 1: city hasn't handled issues around fundliness, hasn't handled issues around

875
00:51:10,560 --> 00:51:13,799
Speaker 1: sidewalk management very well, we have now been put into

876
00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:16,680
Speaker 1: confidence with each other. Part of the conflict is what

877
00:51:16,760 --> 00:51:19,440
Speaker 1: I've noticed that I've been to some of the encampments

878
00:51:19,760 --> 00:51:22,600
Speaker 1: and some of them are very well organized. However, when

879
00:51:22,640 --> 00:51:25,160
Speaker 1: on how when LASSA and the sanitation were not just

880
00:51:25,160 --> 00:51:27,720
Speaker 1: going to say lossa, but when sanitation and the police

881
00:51:27,719 --> 00:51:30,480
Speaker 1: officers come, like for example, the one I was in

882
00:51:30,560 --> 00:51:33,600
Speaker 1: in Fine Eyes, they left it like a bomb area.

883
00:51:33,800 --> 00:51:35,839
Speaker 1: I mean, it was a disaster area and on house

884
00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:40,000
Speaker 1: people that basically traumatized them because they had a system.

885
00:51:40,440 --> 00:51:43,319
Speaker 1: And you see, once they've done what they wanted to do,

886
00:51:43,360 --> 00:51:45,720
Speaker 1: they'll leave their longest in the middle of the street

887
00:51:45,960 --> 00:51:48,279
Speaker 1: and they'll just drive off and then they will have

888
00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:52,399
Speaker 1: the residents understanding and contacting three one one as saying

889
00:51:52,440 --> 00:51:54,800
Speaker 1: that's on house. And that's many times and not the case.

890
00:51:55,360 --> 00:51:58,200
Speaker 1: No one house person walks around with a big refrigerator

891
00:51:58,280 --> 00:51:59,840
Speaker 1: and puts it out because they have no place to

892
00:51:59,840 --> 00:52:02,880
Speaker 1: put or they'll see big cabinets and things. And now

893
00:52:02,920 --> 00:52:05,319
Speaker 1: as people don't have a house, so we're not going

894
00:52:05,360 --> 00:52:08,000
Speaker 1: to be having this stuff for the most part in

895
00:52:08,280 --> 00:52:10,920
Speaker 1: a large sense, like we're not the part of the issue.

896
00:52:11,680 --> 00:52:14,360
Speaker 1: I think there's been a lot more illegal dumping in

897
00:52:14,400 --> 00:52:18,480
Speaker 1: Los Angeles because the city hasn't cleaned up around encampments

898
00:52:18,480 --> 00:52:21,000
Speaker 1: as well as they need to be. Then businesses take

899
00:52:21,000 --> 00:52:24,200
Speaker 1: advantage of that mess and then illegally dump in those areas,

900
00:52:24,840 --> 00:52:26,880
Speaker 1: and you know, because they can get away with it,

901
00:52:27,040 --> 00:52:30,480
Speaker 1: and how yes, exactly that's the point. And again this

902
00:52:30,560 --> 00:52:33,120
Speaker 1: is the situation where we're pitted against each other and

903
00:52:33,200 --> 00:52:36,239
Speaker 1: we don't need to be. I think everyone shares the

904
00:52:36,239 --> 00:52:42,520
Speaker 1: same outcomes ultimately, and I think if we have I

905
00:52:42,520 --> 00:52:46,840
Speaker 1: think if we are able to reshape the system so

906
00:52:46,880 --> 00:52:50,280
Speaker 1: that it's actually designed to help people as quickly as possible,

907
00:52:50,880 --> 00:52:55,400
Speaker 1: then we wouldn't have the situation that we have today. Well,

908
00:52:54,520 --> 00:52:59,600
Speaker 1: and Council Member Paul Koretz has a different explanation. He says,

909
00:53:00,040 --> 00:53:02,480
Speaker 1: I don't know if we're concerned about the outreach elements,

910
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:05,200
Speaker 1: this is his words, But if our primary mission is

911
00:53:05,239 --> 00:53:08,759
Speaker 1: to create a strong sanitation program, it has to take

912
00:53:08,800 --> 00:53:11,880
Speaker 1: a somewhat of a back seat. After get Ridy of

913
00:53:11,960 --> 00:53:14,959
Speaker 1: care Care only lasted four weeks. It is these thought

914
00:53:15,000 --> 00:53:18,560
Speaker 1: processes that have involded in police, business improvement, district security

915
00:53:18,920 --> 00:53:22,560
Speaker 1: against unhoused people. Don't you think it's time to abolish

916
00:53:22,680 --> 00:53:25,560
Speaker 1: three one one or can we do something a little

917
00:53:25,560 --> 00:53:29,200
Speaker 1: bit different than using that number to launch ourselves out

918
00:53:29,280 --> 00:53:31,520
Speaker 1: at unhouse people. Yeah, I mean, I think three one

919
00:53:31,520 --> 00:53:34,600
Speaker 1: one covers a range of issues, and so I think

920
00:53:34,640 --> 00:53:38,000
Speaker 1: it's you know, it's a good tool for reporting for

921
00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:40,120
Speaker 1: you know, like if you have a tree down or

922
00:53:40,160 --> 00:53:44,480
Speaker 1: if you have but in terms of responding to clean

923
00:53:44,560 --> 00:53:48,400
Speaker 1: up set encampments, I really do think that a proactive,

924
00:53:48,960 --> 00:53:54,280
Speaker 1: pre scheduled, regular cleanup system would would be much better.

925
00:53:54,400 --> 00:53:56,640
Speaker 1: And I thought the care program was a good it

926
00:53:56,640 --> 00:53:59,880
Speaker 1: was a step in the right direction, and I'm really disappointed,

927
00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:01,880
Speaker 1: but they didn't give it a chance to succeed. I

928
00:54:01,920 --> 00:54:04,120
Speaker 1: feel like we need to give it a little bit

929
00:54:04,120 --> 00:54:07,200
Speaker 1: of a chance to succeed before we dismantle it already.

930
00:54:08,120 --> 00:54:13,680
Speaker 1: I totally agree, But unfortunately a council member, President Lury Martinez,

931
00:54:13,719 --> 00:54:16,040
Speaker 1: has the law and order approach that she did not

932
00:54:16,239 --> 00:54:19,080
Speaker 1: want this to take place anyway. She was against it

933
00:54:19,200 --> 00:54:22,040
Speaker 1: from the start. So there are on house people who

934
00:54:22,080 --> 00:54:25,000
Speaker 1: rely on living in their vehicles, and this is for

935
00:54:25,040 --> 00:54:27,799
Speaker 1: the ones that asks me to access, but they are

936
00:54:27,800 --> 00:54:32,760
Speaker 1: criminalized in rainy cold weather and of just basically trying

937
00:54:32,800 --> 00:54:37,399
Speaker 1: to survive harsh in clement weather. Do you have any

938
00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:39,920
Speaker 1: ideas how to rescind the band that they have now

939
00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:42,520
Speaker 1: for people that're trying to live in their vehicles because

940
00:54:42,560 --> 00:54:45,800
Speaker 1: sometimes it's the only way that they can get sheltered.

941
00:54:46,719 --> 00:54:49,520
Speaker 1: I mean the I think the band has actually expired

942
00:54:49,600 --> 00:54:55,400
Speaker 1: right now, Oh really extended it, okay, I mean I

943
00:54:55,440 --> 00:55:00,920
Speaker 1: think yes, we absolutely need to think about, you know,

944
00:55:01,000 --> 00:55:04,480
Speaker 1: rethinking the van we have nine thousand and estimated nine

945
00:55:04,480 --> 00:55:07,399
Speaker 1: thousand people sleeping in their cars in Los Angeles every night,

946
00:55:07,480 --> 00:55:13,080
Speaker 1: and there are extremely few legal safe parking spots for

947
00:55:13,160 --> 00:55:15,839
Speaker 1: them to be able to sleep in. Sleeping in your

948
00:55:15,880 --> 00:55:20,920
Speaker 1: car is often, you know, it can be a final

949
00:55:20,960 --> 00:55:23,680
Speaker 1: step before you end up in a tent, if you

950
00:55:23,719 --> 00:55:25,840
Speaker 1: lose your car, if you get a ticket, if you

951
00:55:26,160 --> 00:55:30,399
Speaker 1: can't you know, if you can't make sure that you're

952
00:55:30,440 --> 00:55:32,960
Speaker 1: making your car payments. I mean, whatever it is, so

953
00:55:33,000 --> 00:55:35,319
Speaker 1: it's important. I think if people are sleeping their cars

954
00:55:35,320 --> 00:55:38,759
Speaker 1: that they're able to, you know, get into a place

955
00:55:38,760 --> 00:55:41,520
Speaker 1: where they're safe, and get into a place where they

956
00:55:41,560 --> 00:55:43,480
Speaker 1: can access the services that they need to get back

957
00:55:43,480 --> 00:55:46,960
Speaker 1: into housing. Safe parking LA has set up a really

958
00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:49,800
Speaker 1: good program, but they only have a couple of hundred

959
00:55:49,800 --> 00:55:52,799
Speaker 1: spots in the city. It's not very expensive. There are

960
00:55:52,920 --> 00:55:55,240
Speaker 1: parking lots that are owned and operated by the city

961
00:55:55,280 --> 00:55:58,040
Speaker 1: that are all over the city. There are council members'

962
00:55:58,080 --> 00:56:01,719
Speaker 1: offices that have parking lots where these kinds of programs

963
00:56:01,719 --> 00:56:04,000
Speaker 1: could get set up. But I think in a situation

964
00:56:04,080 --> 00:56:07,040
Speaker 1: where it is where there are no s, there are

965
00:56:07,120 --> 00:56:10,440
Speaker 1: there there are very few legal parking spaces where people

966
00:56:10,440 --> 00:56:14,719
Speaker 1: can actually live. I think it's really important to make

967
00:56:14,719 --> 00:56:19,239
Speaker 1: sure that we're not criminalizing people and giving them absolutely

968
00:56:19,239 --> 00:56:23,360
Speaker 1: no other options for something that is a function of poverty.

969
00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:27,400
Speaker 1: It is, it is inhumane. I I totally agree. Uh.

970
00:56:27,440 --> 00:56:29,760
Speaker 1: One of the things that I have noticed too is that, uh,

971
00:56:29,920 --> 00:56:33,239
Speaker 1: the three one one is usually used in that respect.

972
00:56:33,360 --> 00:56:35,680
Speaker 1: And as far as unhoused people, do you think it

973
00:56:35,680 --> 00:56:37,520
Speaker 1: would be a good idea to have a number where

974
00:56:37,560 --> 00:56:40,319
Speaker 1: we could have a voice. Because I'm going to wrap

975
00:56:40,360 --> 00:56:44,319
Speaker 1: this up, many unhouse voters like myself are looking for

976
00:56:44,400 --> 00:56:48,360
Speaker 1: now for politicians because many times I've noticed, uh, the

977
00:56:48,400 --> 00:56:51,200
Speaker 1: council members do not think of us as residents in

978
00:56:51,239 --> 00:56:53,480
Speaker 1: the community, and secondly they don't think it was as voters.

979
00:56:53,840 --> 00:56:57,120
Speaker 1: And we can communicate all the time when we have

980
00:56:57,239 --> 00:56:59,480
Speaker 1: bad information or bad things happen to us by the

981
00:56:59,600 --> 00:57:02,640
Speaker 1: council members, and we look into this. So what as

982
00:57:02,680 --> 00:57:05,600
Speaker 1: it a House member that's a voter, What can you

983
00:57:06,400 --> 00:57:11,040
Speaker 1: help us? What platform would you do for us? Well,

984
00:57:11,040 --> 00:57:14,680
Speaker 1: I think it's incredibly important to have the voices of

985
00:57:14,719 --> 00:57:19,840
Speaker 1: people who are unhoused involved in policymaking to make sure

986
00:57:19,880 --> 00:57:23,960
Speaker 1: that the systems being put together are actually addressing their needs.

987
00:57:25,000 --> 00:57:27,840
Speaker 1: I do think that it would be great to have

988
00:57:28,120 --> 00:57:31,760
Speaker 1: an option for people who are experiencing homelessness to call

989
00:57:32,440 --> 00:57:36,600
Speaker 1: and get support to address their needs. Two one one

990
00:57:36,680 --> 00:57:38,880
Speaker 1: is supposed to be that to some extent, but it

991
00:57:38,920 --> 00:57:41,600
Speaker 1: does not work very well. So I think it would

992
00:57:41,600 --> 00:57:43,439
Speaker 1: be great. That's a really good idea. It's not something

993
00:57:43,440 --> 00:57:46,640
Speaker 1: I had thought about, but I do think that having

994
00:57:46,680 --> 00:57:49,320
Speaker 1: someone in an office in a council office who is

995
00:57:49,360 --> 00:57:52,480
Speaker 1: a liaison for people experiencing homelessness would be also an

996
00:57:52,520 --> 00:57:55,800
Speaker 1: incredibly positive step. One of the things that we have

997
00:57:55,920 --> 00:58:00,000
Speaker 1: talked about in our platform is to change council office.

998
00:58:00,960 --> 00:58:06,280
Speaker 1: So right now, council offices are closed doors. They were

999
00:58:06,320 --> 00:58:10,280
Speaker 1: just talking about installing both proof glass in them. You know,

1000
00:58:10,320 --> 00:58:15,040
Speaker 1: there are spaces where people from the community are not welcomed,

1001
00:58:15,440 --> 00:58:17,400
Speaker 1: and I think there's a way to rethink what those

1002
00:58:17,440 --> 00:58:22,320
Speaker 1: spaces are. I was thinking about having inviting social workers

1003
00:58:22,360 --> 00:58:27,800
Speaker 1: to co locate in the office, about public interest lawyers

1004
00:58:27,800 --> 00:58:29,920
Speaker 1: who can help people who are facing evictions, so that

1005
00:58:30,400 --> 00:58:32,479
Speaker 1: you don't if you're facing an eviction, that you don't

1006
00:58:32,560 --> 00:58:36,880
Speaker 1: fall into homelessness, and inviting them into the office and

1007
00:58:36,880 --> 00:58:39,080
Speaker 1: inviting them to have a desk there. Work out of

1008
00:58:39,120 --> 00:58:44,640
Speaker 1: these offices, holding office hours regularly, and so that when residents,

1009
00:58:44,720 --> 00:58:48,480
Speaker 1: any kind of resident experiencing vulnerability in the neighborhood would

1010
00:58:48,560 --> 00:58:50,920
Speaker 1: feel like the council office is a resource that they

1011
00:58:50,920 --> 00:58:53,160
Speaker 1: can turn to, that it's a place where they know

1012
00:58:53,240 --> 00:58:56,680
Speaker 1: that they'll be welcomed and where their concerns will be heard.

1013
00:58:56,840 --> 00:58:59,960
Speaker 1: And I think this can be anybody, even if it's

1014
00:59:00,040 --> 00:59:01,880
Speaker 1: an older resident who just wants to have a cup

1015
00:59:01,880 --> 00:59:03,960
Speaker 1: of coffee and talk to a neighbor. They would be welcomed,

1016
00:59:04,320 --> 00:59:06,640
Speaker 1: housed or un housed, you know. And I think there

1017
00:59:06,680 --> 00:59:09,560
Speaker 1: is a way to rethink how we think about the

1018
00:59:09,600 --> 00:59:13,280
Speaker 1: space of a city council office and make sure that

1019
00:59:13,280 --> 00:59:17,640
Speaker 1: it's the kind of space that welcomes and that empowers

1020
00:59:17,720 --> 00:59:22,200
Speaker 1: residents instead of the way that it is now where

1021
00:59:22,200 --> 00:59:25,720
Speaker 1: we're closed off from residents and district offices are hidden

1022
00:59:25,800 --> 00:59:28,520
Speaker 1: and things like that. So yeah, but I think a

1023
00:59:28,600 --> 00:59:30,640
Speaker 1: number would also be a great addition to that that

1024
00:59:30,720 --> 00:59:34,520
Speaker 1: really works. I thank you for your time. I want

1025
00:59:34,640 --> 00:59:37,440
Speaker 1: to reinvite you again if you have the time, and

1026
00:59:37,680 --> 00:59:42,520
Speaker 1: congratulations on hopefully your election. And I have got my

1027
00:59:42,560 --> 00:59:46,560
Speaker 1: fingers crossed and this is the Henderson from William Howes

1028
00:59:46,920 --> 00:59:49,720
Speaker 1: and I was in the studios with Nathian Rahman and

1029
00:59:49,760 --> 00:59:52,000
Speaker 1: I thank you all for listening. May we again meet

1030
00:59:52,040 --> 01:00:00,600
Speaker 1: in the light of understanding. These episodes do not occur

1031
01:00:00,640 --> 01:00:03,160
Speaker 1: in a vacuum. It takes a lot of hard work

1032
01:00:03,480 --> 01:00:06,400
Speaker 1: and a lot of support from our listeners. And I

1033
01:00:06,520 --> 01:00:11,040
Speaker 1: get it thrilled when I hear people from reporters, fans

1034
01:00:11,240 --> 01:00:14,840
Speaker 1: and other people who just introduced to my podcast thank

1035
01:00:14,920 --> 01:00:19,160
Speaker 1: me and enjoy the stories and learn something from it.

1036
01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:22,240
Speaker 1: But this doesn't happen long. I have had a lot

1037
01:00:22,320 --> 01:00:24,840
Speaker 1: of good support and I want to extend some special

1038
01:00:24,880 --> 01:00:27,880
Speaker 1: thank yous. I want to begin with Jed Perriot, who

1039
01:00:27,880 --> 01:00:30,640
Speaker 1: works with me on Street Watch, and I also want

1040
01:00:30,680 --> 01:00:33,200
Speaker 1: to extend a thank you to our new editor, Carlos

1041
01:00:33,360 --> 01:00:36,240
Speaker 1: Nieto the Third. I also want to thank Zen and

1042
01:00:36,320 --> 01:00:40,760
Speaker 1: Mario Craig Kwong of CCD Annie Shaw. I want to

1043
01:00:40,800 --> 01:00:43,960
Speaker 1: also because they during some inclinent times being in house,

1044
01:00:44,320 --> 01:00:47,439
Speaker 1: they were kind enough, graciously enough allowed me to get

1045
01:00:47,480 --> 01:00:50,360
Speaker 1: lodging when it was a very cold spell. I also

1046
01:00:50,440 --> 01:00:52,920
Speaker 1: want to thank some of the members of CCD, like

1047
01:00:53,000 --> 01:00:56,840
Speaker 1: Tito Jasmine. If I forget your last name, please forgive me.

1048
01:00:57,240 --> 01:00:59,240
Speaker 1: And I also want to thank some of the community

1049
01:00:59,280 --> 01:01:04,280
Speaker 1: members that has helped supported me. Rossio Haran Rosa Tornado

1050
01:01:04,840 --> 01:01:08,440
Speaker 1: Down on hamby fred Lee Ricardo Wert, though I also

1051
01:01:08,480 --> 01:01:11,040
Speaker 1: wanted to thank some of the parents that has been

1052
01:01:11,080 --> 01:01:14,920
Speaker 1: in my corner, like Irena Vegas. Definitely wrong. And if

1053
01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:18,120
Speaker 1: you like these episodes and you want them to continue

1054
01:01:18,280 --> 01:01:21,280
Speaker 1: to be sent out to you, please like and subscribe

1055
01:01:21,360 --> 01:01:23,960
Speaker 1: my page on SoundCloud. And if you would like to

1056
01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:27,600
Speaker 1: donate in order for things to expand and get much better,

1057
01:01:27,760 --> 01:01:30,360
Speaker 1: you can go to my PayPal which is Theo Henderson

1058
01:01:30,680 --> 01:01:33,760
Speaker 1: a Theodore Henderson PayPal. I will send a link if

1059
01:01:33,800 --> 01:01:35,960
Speaker 1: you go on SoundCloud, it would be posted on there

1060
01:01:36,000 --> 01:02:05,280
Speaker 1: as well. Thank you Against aust