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I can go back and forth to you. [muffled, unintelligible] [first 5 minutes are filling out release form.] I had this thing on record. Did I? Okay, hopefully they can hear you with this. Okay, we are at 1233 1st Street, Southeast DC. The Navy Yard at the Marriott Residence [Inn] in Washington, DC. My name is Angie Whitehurst and I'm interviewing Andrew Williams. Okay, do I have your permission to interview? Yes, ma'am.

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Thank you. Could you tell me your full name, when and where you were born, and where were you raised? My name's Andrew Williams and I was born in Washington, DC and I grew up in Southeast. I was raised in Southeast. Okay. So you're a native Washingtonian. Are you currently homeless or experiencing homelessness? Are you sheltered, unsheltered? Yeah, at the - I experienced it before.

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Okay. And for how long was that? Three to six months. What was that situation like? It was kind of like a "laugh now, cry later" situation because during the daytime, it's like you're living a regular life, but when nighttime comes and you need a place to sleep and lay your head in the wee hours of the morning and especially if it's winter time, it was tough.

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Why do you think homelessness continues to be a big problem in DC? To be honest, it's continuing, I think - I want to say, people need help by Human Resources. But at the same time, you got to want to help and help yourself as well. Would you say that the ability to live and survive in DC has changed? Yes, ma'am. It costs an arm and a leg. It's real pricey. Some people can't afford the rent.

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And what do you think is the biggest causes of homelessness in the DMV area or in the region? I think people not able to afford housing and don't have jobs and the income to support themselves. And has your family faced - Has your family's ability to afford affordable housing, has that changed over time? No ma'am. The prices going up on housing makes it even harder for people to afford.

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Okay, next we are going to talk about the criminal justice system. How has policing impacted homelessness in the city? Or have policing policies changed in any ways that affect the homeless in the city? I'm not too sure about that question. Do you know anything about - What about police brutality impact on homelessness?

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Police brutality can impact the homeless in a lot of ways. But it's kind of hard for me to answer that question without experiencing it. All right, so you avoided that during that time you were homeless. What about the criminalization of poverty or criminalization of homelessness in the area? Do you know anything about that? Do you sense that people who are homeless are being criminalized? [pauses] Alright, we'll skip to the next question. In what ways are people's lives shaped by criminal records? Can you repeat that again?

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In what ways are people's lives - How does having a criminal record impact someone's life? Oh, it can impact a life very seriously, because some - I don't think certain people can live in certain areas if they had felons and things like that. So they're restricted. Correct.

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What about health care? How does being homeless affect health? Did you know about that when you were homeless? Yeah, it can affect your health in a lot of ways because if you're not eating right, and you're out in the weather, it damages the body to the bones. Like the cold air, or like the heat, not able to go inside where there's AC. You can be outside and dehydrated and not have any cool place to lay your head and relax. Do you know what services, or can you describe any of the services that are available to homeless people? And healthcare, like medical care. The services for us, I think it's Medicaid and Unity Healthcare.

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Did you have that when you were homeless and did you need healthcare at that time, or did you not get it or - ? Yes, ma'am. I needed healthcare and I got it. Okay. Let me ask you, what do you think, has the mental health and substance abuse programs gotten better or worse? They got better. They're reaching out to people and people are going into intake to help themselves and better themselves.

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Do you think homeless people are taking advatage of that? I'm not sure. I don't know the percentage rate. Do you think that education or the quality of education has any impact on homelessness? Yes, ma'am. Education is important. Need education to get a job and without some - And with some jobs, without education, they'll turn you down.

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Okay, do you think the skills and training programs that they have available to people experiencing homelessness, has that gotten better or worse, or has it changed, is about the same? I think it got better. I don't know the process of how long it takes. But I'm sure, thinking about it. The next theme is domestic violence, sexual violence. Do you think that physical or sexual violence within the home has an impact on whether one is homeless or not? Of course, because if somebody's in a home with somebody they don't feel comfortable with, they leave. And cause themself to not have a place to live for a good matter.

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Does violence on the street impact homelessness? You think homeless people experience more violence? Yeah, they can. They can come across it. Being on the streets out in the wee hours of the morning, you never know what you will come across. So it's dangerous being out on the street with crime going on in the wee hours of the morning. What is the impact on the family? Does homelessness affect families? Yes, ma'am. It breaks up homes, it separates parents from their kids and separate the kids from their parents. It's a heartbreak.

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Okay, have you seen any significant changes to neighborhoods in the city that have impacted one's ability to find housing? Are there certain areas where it's harder or easier? I can see certain areas are hard. Why? Because of race. And if it is easy, it's probably in a place with high crime going on.

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That's where the accessible housing, is in high crime areas? Most of them. Let's go move to work employment and unemployment. How does one's job situation affect their ability to get housing? Someone's job situation?

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Is it about the job title? Is it about the money? Is it about the status of the company? It's about the job title, money, and the work hours. If somebody's not getting full 40 hours a week and an 80-hour total, that paycheck can put them in harm with paying their rent and supporting they're livelihood. Okay, what kinds of jobs are available to you? Do they pay enough for you to pay the rent? No, ma'am.

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And how would you describe the quality of this job? The quality basically comes from the workers and our customer service skills. So I feel we should be getting paid for the hard work we put in. Okay, and that's not being done. Correct. It's like they bird feed you.

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And so could you talk about - Would you say that situation has changed and it affects your ability and people's ability to access housing because of the lower pay? I agree. I feel like minimum wage should be pushed up to at least $17 or $20 an hour so that way people can pay their bills and also have money for transportation, food, and other hygiene products and accessories that they need. Would you say that the problem is - You mention a higher minimum wage, but would you say that there are not enough jobs that exist? Or they don't pay enough money? Because I think you've already said that, that minimum wage is a problem. Do you think that there are enough jobs available that pay more money? Or do you think that there are not enough jobs that pay enough money to live off of, a living wage?

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I'll go with the second. The second - The living wage. Talking about - the next thing was government programs and services. Government social services. Do you think that the government social services have improved or changed and has it had an impact, good or bad on homelessness? I feel like they change and they improve. They improve them. You think it's better?

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Yeah, I think it's getting better. Especially since the pandemic, they see that people really need help, and if things hit the fan, how it can affect people being able to support their livelihoods. Take care of themselves. Now public housing. Do you know about public housing? Has access to public housing changed during your young life? Because I know you're not an older person. Right. Yeah, public housing changed. I see that they changed the community around to try to keep people on the inside of the neighborhoods that are outside. Like the newer neighborhoods, they're building up inside buildings, if you get what I'm saying, instead of outside housing. You mean that they're physically built that way?

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Yeah. Like they change - Is that a better thing? Is that isolate - is that a harmful thing? I wouldn't say it's harmful, but I guess they're trying to keep people from hanging out where they live. Like outside in the corners and the alleys?

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Correct. But I feel if they're going to build housing like that, they should put more inside the buildings like basketball courts, swimming pools. Things where people can use their time wisely. Talk about welfare benefits. Do you think that welfare benefits - When I say welfare benefits I'm talking about SNAP, WIC, self-help programs, are those things helpful? Have they had an impact on homelessness? Yes, they're helpful. They have an impact on homelessness, making sure they eat and they can provide themselves with things they need like cleaning products, food, et cetera. Okay. What about the impact of states - Well, DC is both state and federal funds. Have federal money and city money had an impact on homelessness, for the better for the worse? Has it been helpful, not helpful?

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I think it's been kind of helpful. You're talking about for us, like, getting taxes back? Well, you can take the money that the city and the fed, the federal money that's given to the city to help homelessness and the city money that we collect from taxes that they put into their budget for homelessness. Do you think that that those funds have been helpful? I don't think they've been used correctly. I don't think the funds have been used right. Okay, this goes to the next question. What do you think or how can you describe the the shelters in DC for the homeless? What impact do they have on homelessness in the city?

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They got a big impact on them because that's a place to shelter the homeless. I don't - I'm not sure they're clean enough. What is your analysis of other housing programs out there that are supposed to help end homelessness? Are there any better or worse than others? Do you know any of the other programs? And do you think that they're better than the city or the federal programs? And do they help? I'm not sure they're better than them but I know they all try to help to end homelessness and house those people that are homeless. Do you know of any groups that are working to end homelessness in the area and maybe what their strategies are?

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I think Bread for the City, I think Salvation Army and whatever programs out there. Do you think they're doing a good job? You'd have to check the percentage from the community. Okay. Have you been involved with any of these groups?

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Before, Bread for the City, Covenant House, Salvation Army. All right, this is the vision to build a movement to end homelessness. What are the most critical issues that our movement to end homelessness should focus on? It should focus on spending state and federal money, right. Supporting the homeless with housing. If you could get 50 people to join you to do something to end homelessness, what would you have those 50 people do?

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Go out and find resources, start a small business to help create income so that you can support people with housing, transportation, and other things. That's what you would have them do. What other things would would you do to help fight against homelessness? Is there anything else you want to add to that list for that? If we can find places that can provide food, hygiene products, employ - Help employ people. What do you think are the barriers making it difficult for people, especially people who are unhoused? What is the barrier that keeps them from coming together to mobilize against homelessness?

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What are the barriers making it difficult for people who are unhoused, people who are homeless, who don't have shelter?What is keeping them from coming together to end homelessness? I'd say separation or pride. Given that, how would you overcome those barriers? You have to start with unity, putting your pride to the side and find good resources that are willing to help from the heart.

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What would it take for you to get involved with the group to end homelessness? Focus, discipline, ambition, unity, and integrity. And that's what it would take for you to get involved? Oh, for me to get involved with the group?

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Those are things that are needed. Okay, but what would it take for you personally to get involved in a movement to end homelessness? It wouldn't take me anything. I don't mind being a part of that movement. All right. Now, let's talk about creating a better world. If you could help build a better world, what would that look like? It would look like positivity, health, faith, inspiring, a whole lot of things.

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And what would your community look like? It would look like a good housing community [laughs]. A place you want to live. A place to wash and dry, gym, swimming pool, playgrounds for kids. If you could design your own housing solution [pause as people walk through the interview area] and being created as you want it, what might that be? If you could design your own housing solution. I'd design it putting up nice apartment homes with a washer and dryer in there. Boys and Girls Club for the kids that have dreams, that want to play sports, do something with their spare time when they're out of school. Learning centers, all types of things.

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What about an ideal employment situation? What does that look like for you? Like, creating employment? What is the ideal - What employment would you have - Employment that's working or productivity, revenue, money? What would your perfect employment situation look like in an ideal world? If you had to work and be employed, what would that be? What would you be doing? I'd be doing some type of work that I'm confident with. That supports my livelihood and bills.

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How do you think we can make your reality happen? All the things that you say that are needed, how can we make that happen? Teamwork. You think those 50 people can make a difference? Yes ma'am. Can't do it by yourself.

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I want to thank you. And I have one question: is there a question or questions I should have asked you? Is there something else that you want to add or say? I feel like all the questions you asked were good questions. Thank you. And do you have any other ideas you want to share at this time? Take care of yourself. No matter what situation, you need to have faith. Keep yourself healthy and safe. Exercise, read books, strengthen your mind. Take care of your body.

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I want to thank you for the interview very much.