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Please state your name for the record, please. My name is Carlton J. Johnson. And is it okay I do this interview with you? Sure.

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All right. Where were you born Charles? I mean Carlton. Freeman Hospital, which is now known as Howard University. I came to Washington, DC with a university degree. And where were you raised? I was raised South Side, East Side, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest.

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And are you currently experiencing homelessness? Yeah. How long have you been experiencing homelessness? I've been experiencing homelessness for over the past two years.

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Why do you think homelessness is a big problem in DC? Well, many different reasons why. My father had passed. I was living with my father after a current situation, and once he passed, me and my brothers had to clean up his spot and roll out. And has the ability to live in the city area changed over the course of your life in ways that made homelessness more or less prevalent? I've seen many different things out here in the city, but most people don't handle their homeless situation like I do. I sleep on ten crates at night. I use the blankets for cushion and I sleep in a sleeping bag in the tent.

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Has your family had the ability to accept affordable housing? Has that changed over the years? Well, no, not really. I come from a big family. My father had housing but he passed, my stepfather had housing and he worked for Howard and Bechtel (?). He built the Metro system. He was a civil engineer for Howard and Bechtel. What do you think is the biggest problem that's caused homelessness in this city? Joblessness. Education. And just being prepared to deal with it from a point of view that where you come from a family life.

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Have you seen any significant changes in the neighborhood in the city that has impacted your ability to find housing? No. I haven't seen any significant changes as far as impacting me finding housing, but I have seen significant changes in the neighborhoods of Washington, DC. And what kind of changes have you seen? Drug dealing, drug addiction, prostitution, things of that nature.

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And how does the job situation in the city impact ability to access housing? Well, as far as my job situation, it would impact me. It's just that I'm waiting for a job to come up. I'm a senior communications technician. I worked for DOD, DIA, Pentagon. What kind of jobs are available to you now? Anything that becomes available I can reach for, because in my field like I say, I'm a senior communications technician. I'm a graphic artist as well as a salesman.

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Do you think having a job could be affordable for you to afford housing? Sure, for me, it would. It would afford me housing because I will be making - If I'm working as a senior communications technician under DOD working in the Pentagon, I'll be making $40, $45, $50, maybe $70 thousand a year. Has the job situation changed over the course of your time in DC in the ways that have impacted your ability to access housing? Sure it has. Because people in some cases are less than fortunate where they don't have the education and they don't have the background to give them the help to get affordable housing.

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Would you say it's hard to find work in the city? No, it's not hard to find work in a city. All you have to do is go online. We're in the digital stage. Would you say the problem is more that there is not enough jobs in the city? Well, there's enough jobs in the city, but right now with dealing with - We're dealing with a homicidal maniac, running around with the nickname Corona like she comes from the projects. She's just a killer. She's killing them off from 8 to 80.

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So would you say also that the problem is more than or not enough jobs that pay enough for you to keep money in your pocket? Well the jobs are here if you have the experience. But you need the experience. And what ways do the government social services and changes to these services impact the homeless? Does it impact them for better or worse and why? I wouldn't be able to express on that because I haven't reached out. I haven't reached out to them to fulfill the needs of my service. But what I would like to do is to make enough money so that I can go back to work and I can afford my house. My oldest son is over 35. My youngest son is 21. [To someone else] Thank you.

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And you did say it's not hard to find work? No, it's not hard to find work. What you have to do is put yourself out there. Okay, has public housing changed over the course of your life? And have these changes impacted homelessness? Yeah, because there's been so many different rules and regulations going into the homelessness whereas you can only be in a place of affordable housing with your child up to a certain age. And once they get to a certain age, you have to prove that you can get a job and step your game up.

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And have the changes to welfare impacted homelessness in any way? In which ways has it impacted? I wouldn't be able to explain on that because I had never had welfare. So, how about the city, state, and federal employment service? How has that impacted the homeless? Well, the city, state, and employment services can help you, like I said once again, it falls back on your trade background and what you're really looking for.

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How would you describe the state of homelessness shelters in the city? Well, I don't - I really wouldn't want to get into that unless we were in front of the commissioners of the city, the government of the city, to explain that. Because that's been a situation where it's been touch-and-go and everything has been changing up. How would you describe the state of homelessness in the shelters? And what impact does it have on homelessness? The state of mind that you would run into in the shelters is, well, you're dealing with the community outreach as well as they don't - They're not experienced with homelessness as you are, but then we have so many people helping us. We got Catholic University helping us with the food. You got the churches helping you with clothes, shoes, cosmetics.

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It's just that we need a forum that would take us - Well, I hate to say it. I'm a championship football coach. We need coaches on the sidelines that can get us to the big game and the big game in this situation is housing. What is your analysis of the housing program and is it helping to end homelessness? Well, I feel like dealing with the housing program, it has to be a channel in the way you go. During the time that we're in this pandemic, let's go ahead and get these people checked out. If we don't do anything but quarantine them until everything comes in and the government knows that they are in a better position to help people. So how about the criminal system? How does the policing in the city impact homelessness and have policing policies changed in any ways that affect homeless people?

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Well, I think it would because a lot of homeless people get discriminated against with, "I don't want you in my store because you got more than one bag." Or you know, "I see you out on the streets panhandling." That's why I say people need jobs. And has police bruality had an impact on homelessness? Well, from my understanding police brutality can have an effect on homelessness. It depends on how they're brutalizing you, whether it be verbal or physical. Has the criminalization of poverty and homelessness been an issue, and if so, how?

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The criminalization of poverty has been an issue because what it does, is it ends up sending young men and women to jail. Their parents may move on or their parents may get to the point where, "Don't knock on my door." What impact do prisons have on homelessness? Prisons have an effect on homelessness because people are coming home from jail and may have lost contact with their family members while locked up. Because under the rule here in DC, normally when they send you to a federal penitentiary, they try to send you close enough to where your family can come see you, where you can see your children, you can see your wife. But that is an almost non-existent experience. In what ways does homelessness impact your health?

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It can impact your health because you have to deal with the elements out here. You have to deal with the heat, make sure you drink enough water, don't become dehydrated. You have to deal with the warmth. Make sure you're not cold. You have to have what you need to stay warm. Believe me, you have to be a survivalist out here. Okay. So how would you describe the state of healthcare services available to unhoused people? And has there been a significant change in these service that you are aware of? Well, as far as the healthcare services, what people need to do is get them a healthcare plan to where they are insured. And with the insurance, that they'll get the information from the government officials that they need to get to let them know that their insurance plan is acceptable, whether it be a or b. What about existing mental health and assessment program that are impacting the homeless in the region?

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My goodness. I think it's - I think it's on a little fine line because you have people doing different drugs out here. You have people doing ice. They're falling out dead, police come get them and point at them and say they both had the same thing. Leave it alone. I mean why take the time? They smoke PCP, snort LSD, snorting coke, and doing dope. That's not helping you. It's not helping you one bit. It keeps you on a fine line of being mentally deranged, and that's what happens. People stop caring about their bottom line. So that impacts homelessness? That impacts homelessness.

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And do you think access education or the quality of education has an impact on homelessness? And has that gotten worse or better? Well, the quality education as far as statistics go, are getting really better in DC. How? For one thing, we're the nation's capital. We have plenty of universities here, plenty of city colleges here. We have places that people can go. I mean, you're talking about, people can go to not only Howard University, UDC, Freeman's, they can get all the education they want. All they need to do is want it.

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And you need to remember that the newspaper is based on the 6th grade educational reading degree. Okay, how would you assess the state of skills training programs that are available to people experiencing homelessness? As far as what I would think, I think more because we are the nation's capital and we have a lot of tradesmen at work right now. We need a tradesman opportunity for laborers going to work every day where they can report to a place and know that, by the end of the day they're getting paid. By the end of the week they're getting paid. End of the month they're getting paid. That would help everything, but there has to be a particular plan and that's using every playbook that's already out here. We already have labor ready out here. We can have people all over DC doing the government jobs for the painting, the plastering, the flooring, the tile work, concrete, the brickwork. The money is right here. This is the nation's capital.

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Has physical or sexual violence within the homes had an impact on homelessness? I think it has, although I have never been involved in sexual or violent event, but I'm pretty sure that would change the events of the lifestyle of the child, the woman, and the man. Where's the man? He could become homeless because the woman doesn't want to deal with him anymore. He violated her child. And the child may not want to be around you anymore because he has the experience of dealing with the intellect that it happened. Does violence on the streets affect homelessness? Violence on the streets can affect the homelessness because sometimes people, when dealing with a confrontation, they have to choose a side. What side are you on?

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Are you aware of any programs or what do you think of any current strategies people can engage in to try to end homelessness? Well me, my program has been trying to get back into UDC where I could work on my degree. And that would end my homelessness within itself with a job. Because as I told you before, I'm a senior communications technician and I work for DOD, DIA. I've done work in the Pentagon. I've done work on Bolling Air Force Base. So do you know of any groups that strategize and engage in trying to end homelessness? Yeah, the group that can change it would be the government within itself dealing with the laws, the ramifications of how we're going to deal with it. Employment Services out here, that could help. Labor Ready can help. I mean, we're in the right position to kill all of this.

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We're not going to ever end homelessness because once you come home from elementary, junior high, high school, college, you're homeless, because your parents are paying for your education. Are there any movement groups you know about that are involved or would like get involved with the mobilizing against homelessness? Well, we have the NAACP. We have the feminine experience that will help with us. And we have those who have been in a position that had children that can help us with a strategy. Would you get involved in trying to help end homelessness? And how would you do it if you did get involved?

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Well, if I was to get involved, you might as well say I'm wrapped into it now because I'm an advocate for the homeless. If I see you without a pair of shoes, I'm going you give them to you. If you don't know where to get some clothes at, I'll point the way. You don't know where to get some food at, I'll help you out. There's just too many people out here trying to help people that are homeless. It doesn't mean that me personally, I don't shake a cup. I put the bucket on the corner, like a musician. Why do you think there's so little being done about ending homelessness? Well, put it to you this way, It's not about what I think. It's just about the format has not been put together.

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What is the most critical issue that a movement to end homelessness should focus on? A place to house you, feed you, bathe you, and help you with a job. If you could get 50 people to join you in doing something to end homelessness, what would you think you would have these people to do? First of all, we need to raise enough money. We need to market ourselves, promote the business, and me personally, I'd like to be able to take over one of these big old hotels in DC.

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And what would you do with that hotel? House people, bathe people, feed people, send them out to work and have the guidance counselors there that can help them go to work every day. And the labor services sitting there in the morning, putting you on the list and getting you up out of there. And what are other things people could do to fight against homelessness? Stop looking for it. Because we can, because homelessness comes from any situation, like I said, my father had passed, my mother had passed. And what I had to do was take everything that they taught me and keep moving on.

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So since your mother and father passed, that's how you became homeless, you had nowhere else to go. I had nowhere else to go, limited family. What do you think that are some more barriers that people, especially unhoused people come to do to mobilize against homelessness? Well, I think the biggest barrier with me would come down to the drug scene. That's the biggest barrier.

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So how might we overcome these barriers? Well, for one thing we had to keep the drugs out of the neighborhood. I mean, we're already in Washington, DC. DC government and the president let you smoke weed. [laughs] Stick to a joint on Friday. Drink your beer on Saturdays. Go to church on Sundays and be ready to get up on Monday and go to work. So what would it take you to get involved in any type of movement to end homelessness? Well, I'm already involved in the movement because I'm an advocate for the homeless right here in Washington, DC. I'm a published poet. And I write for Street Sense papers.

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All right, if you could help build a better world, what would the world look like? Glossy green shiny days. And what would a community ideally be like that you would want to live in? A community that works together and builds the community.

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And if you can design your own housing situation, being as creative as you want to, what might that be? I told you. I'm want the biggest hotel in Washington, DC. I'm not playing. And what might an ideal employment situation look like for you? Ideal employment situation for me would be working back with DOD, DIA back at the Pentagon and Bolling Air Force Base.

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And how do you think we might make this vision a reality? Visions only become reality by putting the media together, to market what you feel. And is there any questions that I should have asked you that I haven't? Yeah,

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And what's that? When are you going to get a house? [laughs] No, that'd be about it. All right. Thank you Carlton for your interview. I appreciate it.

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Thank you very much.