Roberto Garcia, a resident of Episcopal Community Services in San Francisco, discusses his journey through homelessness, which lasted three years. He reflects on the challenges of being unhoused, including food insecurity and the constant struggle for safety and belonging. Despite the fear some may have towards homeless individuals, he emphasizes understanding and compassion.
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~HT.178~PR.320~ED.101~GR.344~
#USElections #Homelessness #California #GavinNewsom #SanFrancisco #Biden #Trump #HarrisWalz #Worldnews #Oneindia #Politics #Oneindianews
~HT.178~PR.320~ED.101~GR.344~
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NewsTranscript
00:00You have to get up at about 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, then go down to one place
00:14to put your name on the list by 5 o'clock in the morning, get in line, get a queue up,
00:21and then come back to that same place at 4 in the afternoon to get a sheltered bed.
00:28And if you don't do this, you don't get a bed.
00:33I was an anesthesia tech working at Children's Hospital, and in trying to assist a patient
00:42that was still anesthetized and was going to fall off the bed, I ended up hurting my
00:49back and subsequently lost my job.
00:56I had enough money to cushion me for about 6 months.
00:59After that, I became homeless or unhoused, and that lasted for a period of about 6 years.
01:10It's an empty, hollow feeling, depressing, you know, anxiety.
01:18I mean, I already suffer from PTSD and anxiety and depression related to my military service.
01:31And so, being unhoused exacerbated all these conditions.
01:41Believe it or not, it took me almost 3 years before I was able to get government support.
01:48And during those 3 years, I relied on the County of San Francisco general assistance.
01:57Yes, sometimes I would stay at city parks, even state parks.
02:10I tried not to stay on the streets.
02:13But also, I eventually got into the shelter system.
02:18And with the shelter system, you could get a 90-day bed and be in one place for 90 days.
02:26How did I find ECS?
02:27I first was introduced to ECS via the mayor's office of housing.
02:31I was put into a building that was primarily for veterans, and ECS was support services.
02:43That's how I got into this building, because ECS helped me find this building.
02:51It just came up, and so I jumped on it right away.
02:57The place I was living at was roach-infested, rats.
03:06The last 3 years of my stint there, it was no longer just veterans that were being housed there.
03:15It was the general population.
03:18And those people didn't have the skill set to be indoors, so they were still acting as if they were outdoors.
03:27And so they were bringing a lot of things in.
03:30There was a lot of policemen, firemen, ambulance activity.
03:35And sometimes there were gun and knife fights.
03:40So, I mean, when I came here, the first thing I noticed was that it was quiet.
03:47That immediately was like a shot in the arm for me.
03:51And then I noticed that it was safe.
03:54Just from being here for a couple days, I noticed it was very safe and clean.
04:00It's super clean here.
04:02It's like being at the hospital, that it's so clean here.
04:06I can't believe it.
04:08Well, some of it's not unwarranted.
04:11I mean, people act out.
04:16I had an undiagnosed psychiatric disorder during the time I was unhoused.
04:25And it wasn't until I attempted suicide that it was discovered.
04:37But I didn't act out. That wasn't my thing.
04:40But there are a lot of people with schizophrenia, et cetera, a lot of anger issues.
04:49So the public, in a sense, used to be hesitant when dealing with the unhoused, but not necessarily afraid.
05:03I mean, there were dangerous individuals.
05:10That is the case.
05:12But I think that case could be set for any population of individuals.
05:22But there's a lot of mental illness that's not being addressed.
05:28I just remember the times of being turned away from a store or a department store or something,
05:38because I had my backpack and all my possessions with me.
05:42That was always a hurdle, a social hurdle to conquer.
05:48You had to leave your stuff with someone that was secure.
05:53And it's a task being unhoused and trying to get a shelter bed.
06:06You have to get up at about 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning,
06:12then go down to one place to put your name on the list by 5 o'clock in the morning,
06:20queue up, and then come back to that same place at 4 in the afternoon to get a shelter bed.
06:29And if you don't do this, you don't get a bed.
06:36So you're kind of stuck in this circle of waiting all the time for something to happen.
06:42I was so happy when I got sent to the Auburn.
06:47Even though it was a really messed up hotel, I was glad to be housed.
06:54At least I could get in my room, close my door, and lock it.
06:58There was, at times, but it's hard to starve in San Francisco.
07:03It's easy to get food in the city.
07:08If you're on top of things, there's super kitchens and places that give out food.
07:14Different religious organizations give out food.
07:17Random individuals are out in the streets giving out food.
07:21So food is there.
07:24It's just a matter of being diligent enough to get there or having the whereabouts, the whereforeall, to do it.
07:31Because some people just don't have the whereforeall.
07:34They're out of it.
07:36They're not in complete control of their senses.
07:40They don't have the ability to get to the doctor or maintain themselves.
07:46Yes, I've made a core of friends now.
07:51And they've also decided they're going to stay here.
07:55And so we can grow old together.
07:58I'm looking forward to that.
08:02The streets out here are improving.
08:06I know the city has a new tactic now.
08:11We're dealing with open use of fentanyl and etc. on the streets.
08:18It's not going to be tolerated any longer.
08:21I don't know what the solution is.
08:25Draconian measures may not work either.
08:30I don't know what the solution is.
08:33But it's a crisis that needs to be dealt with.