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.
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