WHO WE HELP

We help people who want clean needles, basic health services and a path toward housing. Here are some of their stories.

LAMAR

"I was hit by a drunk driver. I got addicted to pain medication. I was driving from California to visit my mom in New York and I was hit. I was in a coma for 10 months. I could live with my mom but I don't want to impose."
-LAMAR, living on the street off and on for 17 years, recently evicted, hometown New York City

SHAKINA

"I live in Skid Row. My neighbors are very nice, you know, I love them. I've learned to love them, this is my family down here."
-SHAKINA, living in Skid Row for 11 years, hometown Los Angeles

GINA

"Not all homeless people are drug addicts. There’s a lot of different issues out here. You don’t know why that person’s homeless. You don’t know how they ended up like that. That’s why its not good to judge. Because you just never know what type of situation a person’s been in their life. You know, to end up there."
-GINA, living in Skid Row for 11 years, hometown San Pedro

EVELYN

"It's very complicated. My son was killed. I lost my job. I ended up in jail for a year. It was an accident. I was driving and I crashed. I wasn't drinking but I ran into a city truck. I worked at the post office. My husband and I had a home and when we divorced, we had to sell it."
-EVELYN, living on the streets for 20 years, hometown Los Angeles

MICHELLE

"Basically my parents retired and moved out of area and I couldn't afford housing. I've been homeless since I was 19 years old. I have PTSD. I was beaten up living on the streets when I was a teenager. I have anxiety and panic attacks. I have been addicted to meth before, but I was able to stop. I know what that's like and I'm not going back."
-MICHELLE, living on streets for 15 years, hometown Burlingame

BRENT

"I was in the Marine Corps for 16 years. I could get veteran's disability, but I don't want it because it's labeling myself. I don't believe in our government. I don't want that kind of housing. I don't want an apartment in the inner city. I paid for my first home when I was 29. I bought two homes. One in Illinois with my first wife and one in California with my second wife in Redwood City. My wife broke the vows of fidelity, and I filed for divorce. That's when I started living on the street.”
-BRENT, living on the streets in a tent for 6 years, hometown Oakland/San Francisco

SHAKINA

"I live in Skid Row. My neighbors are very nice, you know, I love them. I've learned to love them, this is my family down here."

Shakina, living in Skid Row for 11 years, hometown Los Angeles

GINA

"Not all homeless people are drug addicts. There's a lot of different issues out here. You don't know why that person's homeless. You don't know how they ended up like that. That's why it's not good to judge. Because you just never know what type of situation a person's been in their life. You know, to end up there."

WHO WE HELP

SHAKINA

GINA

EVEYLN

LAMAR

MICHELLE

DARRIN

BRENT

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