Brenda. “Yes. Yeah, that’s my name.” We’re here in New York City. “Yeah. I came here in January.” So you sleep out here on the sidewalk? “I’m 60 years old. I worked 35 years. I’m a college graduate. I have no record. I have never been arrested or accused of anything, and I sleep on the sidewalk.” “A growing number of Americans do not see homeless people as humans. They’re a drug addict. They’re a bum.” “Homeless, addicts, and criminals have pretty much taken over Seattle.” “These are not the homeless people, frankly, that I grew up with.” “Right.” “I mean, these are people who are hearing voices or on drugs.” They just need to get a job. How do you get a job when you can’t take a shower? [MUSIC PLAYING] My name is Mark Horvath. I had a great job in television. And then in 1995, I ended up homeless for eight years. That inspired me to start interviewing homeless people in 2008, sharing their experiences on my YouTube channel. Is anybody out here helping you? “I’ve been on my own since the age of 15 years old. I don’t know any —” Last year, roughly 650,000 people in America were homeless on any given night. I want you to see them how I see them. Connie. “Yes.” You’re homeless. Tell me about it. “The owner wanted possession of the property. They didn’t have a three bedroom to accommodate me and my kids. We downgraded to a sleazy motel. I wasn’t comfortable with that because of my children. And we downgraded to my van. I bounced from couch to couch for a while, and then I met this guy, and here I am.” People end up homeless for all kinds of reasons. But the leading cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. “I had 72 hours to get off the property, and I became homeless. I don’t want to be out here. I don’t have anywhere to go. I’m 55 years old next January 5. Speaking for myself personally, I don’t have no family. And I have nowhere else to go. So I never thought I’d end up on Skid Row out here sleeping on docks and in back of businesses and everything, but that’s what I guess I’m going to have to do. I don’t know.” “I worked for over 20 years with the United States Department of Defense as a classified contractor, bought a home in North Carolina on a beautiful lake. 2 and 1/2 months later, my financial institution went bankrupt.” “My master’s degree is in adult education and training. If I had been paid commensurate to my credentials and my experience, I probably would not have been in a situation where I lost my apartment. I’m a single mom.” In the 15 years I’ve been interviewing homeless people, the biggest change that I have seen is the public and political push to criminalize homelessness. “It will soon be illegal for homeless people in Tennessee to camp in parks.” “A new law in Missouri just took effect in the new year, making it illegal for homeless people to sleep on state land.” “On Wednesday, Governor DeSantis signed a bill that bans people experiencing homelessness from sleeping and camping in public places.” And if you don’t move — “Then we get a ticket.” And how many tickets do you have? “Too many to count. I think in the past year and a half, it’s, like, something like 30 that I’ve gotten.” 30 tickets. “At $300 a pop.” Right, and for being homeless? “Yeah. For existing.” We cannot arrest our way out of homelessness. Just pushing people to a different city doesn’t solve the problem. Many people are quick to assume homeless people are all on drugs. But the majority of people on the street do not have a substance use disorder. Some who do are really honest about it. “My problem is I’m addicted to heroin. So that’s basically why I can’t get off the street, which I basically gave everything up for heroin, you know. So if anyone, like, ever asks what it’s like to shoot heroin, it’s probably the only thing that’ll get a man to give up money, job, family, [BLEEP]:.”:.” I only met each person for a moment. I can’t verify their backstory, but I can verify their homelessness. And by stigmatizing homelessness, we point the fingers at people on the street who cannot fix the affordable housing crisis. “I got blown out of New Orleans by Hurricane Ida. Then I moved up to Colorado.” Yeah, because that was some time ago, right? “Yeah, I was back there — that was the anniversary of Katrina, where I lost my wife at.” Oh my gosh. “Yeah.” I’m so sorry. “Yeah. It’s been a trying decade.” “Everybody just chalks it up to drug abuse or bad choices. And — sorry. It’s not always the case.” “If anybody’s listening, we just want a place to go.” Thank you very much for talking to me. [MUSIC PLAYING]