August 9th 2017.
My name is Nadia, and i’m homeless in Los Angeles.
This is my day to day life that i’m going to document.
My days usually start around 5:30 AM.
I wake up, and get out and collapse my tent since it has to be collapsed latest at 6:am.
I’ve finally gotten used to the early days, and i actually now enjoy the mornings, since it’s cool and quiet.
From my campsite, i walk over to jons to sit and charge for an hour or so
while my mother hits the ramp (highway) to fly a sign, and make for coffee and food.
When she gets back, we make our way down to Starbucks, where we sit till around 9:20 am
and then we go to our other ramp to fly a sign there.
Since we’re not legal here in America, getting a job is difficult (even for natural citizens it’s hard)
so imagine how it is for illegal people.
I would say that Mexicans has a higher chance of getting work, since they get lower pay
than a white person would.
After we’ve been on the ramp, we go back to Starbucks, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the shadow.
Over here it’s freaking hot, and on the ramp, we’re sitting in the baking sun for hours.
When we’ve had our coffee break, we often figure out what to do from there.. Sometimes
we go shop, if we’ve made enough, and sometimes we go to jons to charge.
We approach our days very spontaneously, since we’re homeless we don’t exactly have
a home to go home to, after work to enjoy some silence, and most of the days
we have to stay out till around 7-8 in the evening before we can go put up our
tents at 9 pm.
I’ve learned a lot from being homeless, and honestly i understand why so many people find homeless
people disgusting.
I am fed up with the whole drug scene cause out here, almost everybody is on drugs and it fucking bothers
me.
It disgusts me.
I cannot stand the smell of weed anymore and it makes me sick to my stomach.
I cannot stand people that’s high, again it makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.
See the thing is, that everything they talk about and focus on is drugs.
When do i get my next shot, how do i find the money to shoot up again, look how
much I’ve bought today, omg these drugs are so good you should try it.
I mean, for them yes it is their whole world.. But for a person like me
that’s never done drugs, and never has had an interest in drugs it’s fucking horrible.
My camp-mate, Wetto used to come in EVERY morning between 4:30 and 5:30 to borrow my phone
and flashlight so he could shoot up.
In the start i said okay, maybe it’s just a couple of times, but eventually as he kept doing it
i got more and more furious that he would have the nerve to come in and wake me up so early in the morning
with no respect for me sleeping, and then would get mad when i said no my phone is not charged.
I’ve also learned that there’s a lot more youth out here than you would think (including me)
youth are young people aged from 12-24.
Most youth have chosen to be homeless, unfortunately, some youth has been kicked out because of
sexuality, some youth has been in the juvenile system (jail for kids) and has found themselves homeless
upon release, and eventually found them selves in a world of easy drugs that numbs their pain.
Most youth does not want help, and most youth ends up like the older people down on skid row.
You may ask yourself why? Well, the thing is that the streets are absolutely addictive.
You find yourself in a world of freedom.. No paying rent, no paying power, you can beg for your
money and food, you’re not bound to an apartment.
You start finding the streets safe, although they really aren’t.
You find it to be comfortable in your little tent, being able to put it up anywhere you like.
Also because, shelters really aren’t the best solution.. Most shelters are dirty, you sleep up to 50 people
in a room, and there’s a bunch of heavily addicted people there.
You are being woken up at 4:30 in the morning and has to be out between 6-7 am, to wander around
on the streets with all of your shit in bags.
In your tent, you have the freedom to leave your stuff there, if the place is somewhat secluded and secure
as long as you don’t leave any valuables.
I’ve often been asked, how do you shower? See i’m connected to a youth center, where i can go shower once a day.
At that youth center they also have resources like, legal clinic, parenting classes, therapy, and fun activities.
It really is a good place to come to, and the good thing is that everybody is in the same situation, it’s just a
different story.
I’m from a country where in order to have pets, you almost need to live in a castle
and if a homeless person has a pet it’s almost equal animal abuse.
But over here, I’ve gotten a completely different picture of the pets.
Their owners loves them, dearly. It’s their companions, their safety, and it’s the most loyal
living breathing being they have around.
That’s why you often will experience that homeless peoples dogs, are acutally the most well behaved
pets around.
They walk perfectly without a leash, and listens carefully to commands.
They stay by their owners side, no matter what.
I’ve seen so many times on my Instagram that people thinks that homeless people are using their pets
as a way to get money, and i can honestly say that, that is far far from the truth.
I have never had my dogs with me on the ramp, without making shadow for them that they can hide behind.
Which means that, people cannot see the dogs from the cars.
I am just in a situation where i cannot leave the dogs at the camp as they’ll get stolen so i have
no other choice but to take them with me.
Many days i am sitting on the other side of the street with the pups while my momma is working the ramp
and that works perfectly fine!
As for what we eat, it changes from day to day.. We try and eat as healthy as possible, like
tuna sandwiches, fruit, yogurt, cheese, vegetables and so on.
Luckily we have a little transportable stove, where we can cook, therefore we’re often making
”home cooked” meals, like meats, salads, breads and stuff.
As for what we drink, see that’s easy a little bit of coffee and lots of water.
We do not starve at all, as many people claim, and we didn’t lose weight after we became homeless, but before
when we just arrived and lived in an apartment in Burbank.
I don’t need anything, cause i have what i need.. I have fluids, foods, clothes, and the possibility to go and
buy WHAT i may need.
I don’t have a lot of stuff anymore, i have what i need, and that is fine for now.