00:00:01.800 - 00:00:28.000

Okay, that's what I want to do. Is that test question. I want you to start off, say your name and then I thought that was my name is Galen, right? I'm homeless. And reason why I'm homeless, this is not a, this is a choice for me to be homeless, but there's a few things that I'd done that. That made me like this and

00:00:30.700 - 00:00:55.500

Can't is rather just go out and just, just totally be nothing because I don't think no human being. As far as being homeless is just going to stand there, not eat, not use the bathroom, just because of their problem. So, this is, this is the bottom right here to me. This is the bottom and I can think back about a couple of years back that when I did see these people, I

00:00:55.500 - 00:01:15.700

never gave and I was like, I never be like that, you know, and I guess I treated life, a little bit bad for me and everybody else. So that's why I'm like this for the meanwhile, but see it's hard to stumble on your knees.

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Basically. I'm trying I'm trying and I'm not trying, I'm not gonna lie to them a lot of myself. I'm not gonna lie to you. All right. I'm trying and I'm not trying, but See that. I'm just now really getting to know myself now, right, you know, because as the everyday life of not being like this, I didn't really know myself because I was living in the fast lane, right, you know, so now I'm kind of coming down to reality that. Now, I have to, it's like a, it's like a venture every day. Every day is different. Uh-huh, and then every day is only is only a little bit better when I feel better for Myself right now because I have my days where I feel bad, I go in depression and think that all 23 years ago. I was doing this now. Look at me now homeless, you know, no place to go, no place to live. I got to start from, not the bottom. I gotta just start all over again with life is just like I'm being reborn right now down here. There's just that it's going to take me a little bit long. Yeah, and the only reason why it's going to take me a little bit long and it's gonna take all of us a little bit long because I'm going to tell you. Now. It is hard to make a living in Cleveland

00:02:42.400 - 00:02:58.700

Ohio jobs out here that they give you. They give you many man-to-man talk with all the homeless people work, the Minutemen and man talk, right? Okay. Somebody's job. That they got right now

00:03:01.000 - 00:03:27.000

are more should be more than minimum wage because I didn't worked on job that they use a mere attempt and many men. Just get the work done. But pay you that for the quarter, like these are good. You worked on so far. I worked at Atlas, which Oreo steel Shamrock Steel. Ali

00:03:28.600 - 00:04:08.500

person like actually like cracked, we works that were people see, begin paid a decent amount of money just to work in few hours. How can you help somebody now? Somebody helped themselves, if they come back at the eight hours of work and only see 25 $30 on a check and their homes? That's impossible. And with the rent here in Cleveland is nothing. You, you either have to go through somebody. The welfare to get cheap rent, you know? And everybody don't want to do that. And then when you go to welfare and these little programs to get to where you get cheap rent,

00:04:09.000 - 00:04:30.700

it so long for you to get it. And then at that time, you know, I figure out that time, you could have been got on your feet right to see, trying to bend got on your feet. You can't get on your feet, not making no. 425, you know, so it's hard. So as the red, like, 350 a month. How can a man survive on the the street, right? Paying 350 a

00:04:30.700 - 00:04:50.000

month and he making 425 they say it's going to go up next month 475. Who was shit? Excuse me, but that's, that's no money. Right, you know, is I think you got to get either Seven dollars in over right to live comfortably. Now, anything else is

00:04:50.000 - 00:05:29.500

actually, right? I'm saying minimize not by not six, but 77 is a Tentative where you might want to go sleep or have apartment somewhere that's paying a little bit more or you might want it at the deadline up 350 or 400. You want a phone? What's the sense of getting apartment? And you don't have a phone, you know, I'm falling and then you got furniture. And we talking about homeless people coming from dirt coming up, right? So, how could you get a job making seven dollars an hour and you home the answer? You can't. So here out here,

00:05:29.500 - 00:06:05.800

stuff. Have you been staying over at we're positive either outside or mixed places? I've been staying. I've been stated project key for about two months. Now. How long? And I just out of curiosity and I forgot. How long did you say you've been out. I've been out here for about three months. Three, three months, three months and it's been a hardest three months of my life, right, you know, and I kind of I kind of figured like this, you know, I look at the people that's been out here longer than me. And this one guy said he'd been out here for three years,

00:06:06.600 - 00:06:31.500

not be saved all this money after three years, maybe can afford apartment as of right now, but if you stayed up all his money for a month, he couldn't afford it. So that's why I step down here, right, you know, and then half of the homeless people are on drugs, uh-huh, you know, you can't get nowhere. If you're already at the bottom see his too much baby. A baby. Mm too much, you know, they can go to

00:06:31.500 - 00:07:08.200

work. Basson drugs and got to worry about him. I kicking them out because they sleeping in the Shell, you know, so it's the same routine. Again. It's the same routine. I can wake up, make some money, no more 25, go spend it on some drugs, eat free at the food shelters and go sleep for free. We'll just one you say I did I the way I look at this. I know this is good. I'll just break even my perspective perspective. Is that You know, we live in a drug society and culture but and you want me to cut you

00:07:08.200 - 00:07:29.600

off. Okay, I'm gonna cut you up. We do live in a drug Society. Yeah, but don't nobody tell you go pick up them. Girl. Know what's that? Don't, nobody tell you to go. Pick up. No drugs. No, it's only you, right? But I've got to have faith in God. Jesus Christ. God. God knows what you you going to do. Tomorrow

00:07:30.800 - 00:07:56.500

the next day, he Already got your life planned out. Now. It's up to you to you and up to them to change it. You got the first change and then he would, you know, drugs ain't right. You know what, I'm not gonna lie. It's just very hard for these people because it's got to be hard for these people. If they I was on it for a long time, you know? Cause addiction is a very

00:07:56.500 - 00:08:12.100

hard. Crack cocaine is a very hard drug to just get off completely, right? Okay, you either got to have help or do these drug sentencing behalf of the drug centers? They Health only when they wanted to be here, you know when you going well, but our

00:08:12.100 - 00:08:35.500

fault right now is drugs and imma blame the system, you know, I Can't you even if your gal drugs and you making seven dollars an hour? He gonna want a little bit better thing, but he going to spend fight someone some drugs. This is 425. He just dis is just drug money for him, you know know maybe if he had a little bit more

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money and might be a little bit more drugs than maybe be tooken out man. It'll be worshipping him. Then it can probably see the killing or he'll probably come to realize what I can't get no higher. I'm really fucking up this money. This is just Petty money, you know. And to me, I feel that this is my plan. I'ma stay down his longest. I can get a grip on myself. Live each day. I try to feed myself a little money. I make but I'm steady looking for a

00:09:05.700 - 00:09:41.600

job. But how can I get a job? I don't have no place to stay and I can they can't call me. So I merely got to get hired on the spot or just keep coming back right? And far as that. I'm going to I'm going to try My best to talk to the other homeless people and put them in my perspective and let him know that. You know, it's not always just about getting asked about getting yourself together. And the reason why you down here and it's a lot of been dying for a long time that don't like to talk about it. Rhino. And it's just messed up and they stuck.

00:09:43.200 - 00:10:18.000

They stuck just like a person. Go to jail. Yeah, and you've been in jail constantly. Did he come back out here and he don't care if you do. Bad because he no way going. He know how he know the ropes in the jail. So it just like now they stuck they can't go and live a life. Like they used to because they used to it. Take you take the homeless person on the street. He can't go, he's going to Banking and Panhandle, you know, he loved these buildings, another free food, you know, not to do nothing. You want a free life, but he

00:10:18.000 - 00:10:54.500

want to look good in the free life with the only way you gonna look good. Good and be something you have to work for it. But as I said though, most of the homeless people are working and it's like and that from my perspective. It's not even so much an issue about work because like, you know, the people who own these buildings, how much work do they do a day? I mean, I'm sure their life is a lot easier than so. I'm sorry, you know, like I'm sure they're ugly men Pretty Lies and you know, it's not like Now here and eating them whatever. I mean, it's

00:10:54.500 - 00:11:21.700

alright life, but it's not. I I mean, you can live doing it but it's not like, okay. But anyways, I want to go back like that. We've been talking about the present, right? So why don't you fill me? Like, are you from? Did you were you born in Cleveland? Yeah. Yes. I am Cleveland. I was born in Cleveland and I was in gangs they might win the game when I was 13 and 13. And why did you how did you like? How did that? I joined up screwing in

00:11:23.100 - 00:11:37.200

Holland of doing it again, this because my family, you know, I have a sister and a brother. My sister is younger than me, my brother. He graduated from high school. So he went straight from high school to the Navy and I was still in school.

00:11:37.400 - 00:12:00.100

I was like a bad teacher, the family. So therefore, I won't have no brother have a little sister, my mom's father, at work, Jeff Gordon. Now, I'm in the neighborhood and walk around, make new friends. So now I don't have a brother too. Idolize or brother to kick it with, you know, so I have my friends outside, right. And then my sister, my little sister take care of. So as I'm growing up, you know,

00:12:00.100 - 00:12:11.800

things happen people get into new little fags. I got into a game, you know, and that's where my life took off that at that point at that occurred. You know where we're going. Yeah, his

00:12:11.800 - 00:12:31.300

whereabouts, but 93rd and Kinsmen each Cleveland st. Clair Superior. Just moving around, you know, ever since then. Start selling drugs, start using drugs. What kind of Arts really marijuana PCP all that stuff, you know, and

00:12:32.600 - 00:13:05.400

I realized that I tried to stop get out the fast lane, but it got good to me as I was to get young age. I didn't know no better, but I knew better because I was, I came from a very supportive family and they always told me things that was good for me, but I never miss him. Money and white right after up. That's why if I can never do it again. I'll go back. There is 13 and listen to what they have said something. But I ain't going to say it's too late. It's never too late for nobody. Uh-huh, you know, but

00:13:05.600 - 00:13:19.800

back when I was like 20, I'm 26 now back, like, when I was 20, I started to I started to wake up being but I never completely woke up, right? Okay. No, I tried to lie and say I was going to get it right? I was getting

00:13:19.800 - 00:13:27.700

jobs and stuff. But I was never going nowhere, right? Okay. No, I was still stuck. I know cuz I wanted to run the streets, get high and

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that a self I can say all over little joints and little beers. I bought out of all these about bad thousand dollars worth of beer ever since I was 13 about 6,000 dollars ever of marijuana. Since I was 13, right? And

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God knows crack how much out of water that you know, and it's a shame. It's just think all that money that is spent for me. Here, alcohol, crack cigarettes. God could have been in my pocket, towards me a place, you know, to better myself, you know, and I wouldn't be an integer, right?

00:14:03.500 - 00:14:18.800

And I don't look at it. I think at all the people can use drugs is over a half a million dollars being spent on. Yeah, we have well, I'm just going to sum it up right there like a half a million. Well quite close to a million, but

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bothers me talk. It to you. You helped me in the in the in the in a sense of a lot that, you know, you bring food around here and I'll be hungry. Like I was hungry. Now. We just finished our city, no place to go.

00:14:32.800 - 00:15:06.400

Uh-huh, you know, and I think that now it's getting serious to me. That it's not a battle. It's not a battle. I'm just struggling right now. And getting now that I'm struggling, my man is thinking more greater things and what better things to do in life, but I just can't get to Right now cuz I got to go step by step and that's job. Staying clean off drugs, right. Keeping myself clean and being nice to other people and give to other people because God watch you every step you make and

00:15:06.900 - 00:15:46.200

I think I'm being tested by him as of today as of yesterday. And as the days I done, you know, and I praise you God God brought you here defeat All of Us. Hey, there's some cups in there and stuff. And there's plates and stuff over there. If that's what you're looking for. Sorry, I guess. God brought you to us and us to you. Yes, sure. Just-just-just. Saudis people. Most of these people probably don't appreciate what she's doing. They probably even want to get high. Whatever, you know, you never know what goes on in a person's mind,

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but they know you. They know you come down here and you feet and I'll I really appreciate everybody that gives me because I tried to give when I ain't even got it, right. You know, I'm just that type of person and sometimes I'm not going to lie. Sometimes. I think the devil getting me devil and that's what he's doing. Now, that little white devil is controlling a lot of people, huh. And see, you know, he's a sneaky motherfucker to me because the only controls you when you got the money. Uh-huh, you know, and then again, he controls you when you don't have money, ha ha ha because he needs you to see, how can you get some money to get out, man. How could you give some money to get high and see if they homeless that makes it even worse? Right? So now they can go out and Rob and steal. They don't care if they go to jail, right long as they can get taken. And that's what we stuck at right now. That's where

00:16:49.800 - 00:17:09.300

all people stuck. So, so when you how did it turn out that you that you only like what? Well, I mean, I don't know if you even want to get into all the stuff that led up to you to you on the street, like a day towards the end. But yeah,

00:17:11.000 - 00:17:29.400

cracking money and money. Why didn't want to really do? Not know. Always gone. My self-esteem went down and I have my problems and other people had their problems at the place. I was staying, so it made it no better. So therefore I had to leave. Okay, you know,

00:17:29.800 - 00:17:45.700

because I can't help nobody if I can't help myself, right? So I first got to help myself to help someone as weak as of me being the type of person. I am I

00:17:45.700 - 00:17:57.400

made a few, well, not a few, a lot of mistakes that I I need to correct. And And as in my heart to correct them, and I'm going to correct them. I'm going to come up. I'm going to be

00:17:57.400 - 00:18:19.400

somebody Maybe not today or tomorrow maybe later on in the future because I'm going to work at it and I'm going to thank God every day that I wake up, you know, and I'm going to read the air in and say well I'm going to stay clean. I'm not going to steal. I'm not going to do this and I never was a thief, you know, I never wouldn't believe.

00:18:20.700 - 00:18:50.400

The way of my drug habit, if I couldn't had, I just didn't have it. But when I got the money, I probably tried to sell the try to flip the money and use the see. Now. I've been clean for 13 days now, 13 clean day, and I I never smoked a pipe. Never supported by Smoky Primo's cracking reef, and that could have led up to the. So that's why I said just got to to stop right here. And people look at me. Like what happened to be out here on the street, just smoking recent crowd. Why, you know, most people out here cuz

00:18:50.600 - 00:18:58.300

- five no drugs is rough. You know, I just choose the different way for Mason to get to me like that

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and I think mines was a little bit more expensive because I had about reefa and it cracked, you know, that's two different things. You know, that's chemical reaction right there. So basically in this this conversation right now, this little interview, ah, ha ha ha. Got a,

00:19:16.400 - 00:19:42.600

I'm gonna try my best and then my life right? Like I suppose. And I'm just now really getting to know myself out some down here. And I, thank God, that idea come down here to be home and to see the real world to see other people. It don't have nothing as as of when I was having something that I should have cherished that right, you know, so this is my punishment. This is also my punishment, and this is

00:19:42.600 - 00:20:10.500

also a good, not a good feeling for me, but it's good to know now. That I can make it. You know, I can make it. I had it like that that other people can make it and it's bad to note that the people know that they can make it and don't want to do it. They want to stay stuck. All right, I want to ask you one quick. I know you wanted and

00:20:12.300 - 00:20:44.100

so what what happened to Allah. Are? You your friends that you were running with our? I mean, you think you're a lot of unlucky or More like I think I are luckier down here, being homeless, uh-huh. Bend them up there because they're headed to trust. Uh-huh. Because most of them sell drugs, most of you and they are not going to be a sealed room for the rest. It's gonna be impossible. It's impossible, you know, and most of them not going to stay

00:20:44.100 - 00:21:42.000

off drugs until they eventually Venture down here and then it's going to make the matter worse or because it's what's happening down. To. So therefore it's all a messed-up type of thing. Is all stuck on how you think about yourself and how you want to feel about yourself. Do you want to do that? And, you know, I can't really say that is their fault. Because I say cocaine, as a strong drug taking takes over your mind, cocaine, with the devil can damn near kill you. And that's what it's doing right now and this whole entire world. That little white devil. All right, thank you know, last two questions. One is as far as like the neighborhood you grew up in. Do you think that now, there's less housing in those neighborhoods than when you were first. They're like, do you see it? I mean, you think that there's actual any kind of structural problem

00:21:42.300 - 00:22:14.700

as far as lack of housing or no? Yes. It's like a lack of housing, its lack of Housing and its lack of how can I put exact of housing, this lack of neighborhood coming together to keep the kids off the streets selling drugs, its lack of police, you know more police should be around the streets area and everywhere around Cleveland its lack of I say is like a

00:22:15.300 - 00:22:26.500

more active Sports activity in the neighborhood. So other kids can not just come outside on the sidewalk and see people selling drugs at that is in Finn's activities. That's

00:22:26.500 - 00:23:17.100

in a neighborhood that they can go to, you know, like sports, but basketball football, you know, no leaks and stuff summer stuff. That's what we lacking as well as the job stuff. Yes. Well, as the job stuff. All right, and and one last question is on. We have other things to add after is what recently, in the past month. The ladder news is come out. They had in l.a. The government's involvement with the crack cocaine business. I'm not sure if you read any of that in the the pit. Yes, I have I I haven't wondering if you think that if you see, you know, that's the same time as a magic, a hitting the streets here. And if you think that it's related, or if you think that, yes, where do you think this crack comes home? Yes, it's crack house from the system and the system playing now,

00:23:17.700 - 00:23:42.500

downright the system and to my knowledge. I think, you know, when they make rug buses only some local police districts. We never see these drugs to where they taking it. Do they burn these drugs and they keep these drugs. They keeping it in a safe or whatever, you know, say, if a cop, go bust a house and they get to Greek, you do right? You know, Nate.

00:23:42.700 - 00:24:01.900

Call a money, welcome that money. All that money goes to right, where do all them drugs goes to. It goes right back on the streets, you know, even though it's the police is straight, and they probably don't know because they probably will. I'm going to take these drugs. We're gonna lock them up. We're gonna keep it here because

00:24:02.000 - 00:24:48.700

at they made all these drug busts and crack seals, where's all these drugs at? Why they don't never tell the world. Oh, put it on TV that Made this crack sale, but they don't never say what they do with the drugs after they make the crack seal. Where's the drugs? You know, show us on TV just like you, show us busting people on TV, right, you know, was so us would have drugs that, you know, tell us, what you going to do with her, right? You know, let us know how much you them. How many drugs that's in the yard? Say, over a year over two years, you know, and I'm Noah, has passed quite a lot. So I think they put Right back out here on the street and it's not fair to take a man to jail

00:24:49.400 - 00:25:09.100

for selling the drug. And then you put it right back on here on the street. Just sell it again and take somebody to jail so act actually they trying to get either on the black people off all the white people, all the Puerto Rican, you know, I

00:25:09.100 - 00:25:37.500

used to think it was a What'd you say more like a year conspiracy? You know, but now I think it's just it's just a plan. They know already know, you know, it could be in one of these Grim. These guys in the office probably selling keys right now. We don't know about it, you know, and you can never know about the. Did you know about it too much? Either? Going around line up in jail. I'll get set up or you gonna get killed. So it's a

00:25:37.500 - 00:25:43.600

dangerous life and you mess around with Russ right now. Now, of course now, man. Details details

00:25:44.700 - 00:26:26.600

cocaine is made out of Poplar leaves, right? I think it's actually made out of a cocoa plant. But, yeah, Coco and it's not a poppy seed. Yeah, probably populi write properly through our cocoa plant. So they grow this right off the ground. This is God creation right now. They use their cocaine novocaine, but, you know, none is not laggin. The medicine hospital, where do the other half though? You know, they make it chemical now that you can. Mix baking soda with crack and come a baking soda with cocaine and come up with Pratt. Who do you think invented that the white man did man? White man has been at

00:26:26.600 - 00:26:54.500

everything, the white man put it on the market for it to sail. Now. See that was way back. Then. Now the white people were selling it before the black people, huh? Okay, the black people start to use it and Our to come up off of it and this goes back in years, like the movie New Jack City before New Jack City came out. I knew about a crack, right? Okay, you know, I knew about it and

00:26:56.400 - 00:27:14.400

I can't like my father say I say he said he can't relate to crack. You say too late to the cocaine back at days cuz they used as a pleasure. Hi, you know doing lines at parties, you know, it was all right, then until they took it out of hand, you know, start selling. So they started ejected and shooting it up. And

00:27:15.100 - 00:27:37.400

this is how the squirrel don't go out. This world is gonna go out like using drugs killing me because you never know, you come up to a person, you speak to him and he's been on drugs that man, man, that man is messed up because crack will make you go crazy. Make you lose your hand and

00:27:37.700 - 00:27:53.300

some of the times the crack will make you think that you're smarter than another. You know, and the point I'm getting at is half the stuff that they use cocaine phone to help people. They also destroying

00:27:54.100 - 00:28:20.000

so we cannot stop that. No, it's going to come be Godless only way. We can stop people from using crack cocaine if they want to come together to stop themselves, right? Because if a person say, I'm not going to use that. And the guy say what you want to buy this 20, He don't have no sale. So if you know, he ain't got no sale. He not gone bad. No product

00:28:20.900 - 00:29:02.600

from the big guy and a big guy knowing that he came by none. He can't distribute to the little young guys. He not going by so the big guy ain't gonna distribute up because you know, he ain't gonna make no money and Cleveland. So their fault now they go out to come up with something else new to make some money off cocaine, right? That's the only way. Going to stop and then go stop with the police cracking down components, and put it right back out here. Right? And I'm gonna crack down and they just get a few drug. As off the is gas to crack down with the person that using the Parsons that using that don't want to use it, just say no to the people that's distributed with old tattlers.

00:29:03.600 - 00:29:25.200

And then from the Peddlers, knowing they can't make no money. They make me not even want to get a job. Dang, going back from the big man, and then the big man ain't I'm back for another big points. Hey, if you want to open that up there, Superman, no problem, help yourself. So that's that's not version of how wait one

00:29:25.200 - 00:30:35.100

sec. You know how I think people can get along better and how the drugs will stop the drugs. Not going to stop coming here. Long as they are drugs. Long as there's rock cocaine. So in Cleveland, it's a lot of people that's good people. I didn't hurt these people's stories, a hot, it was, and I listen to these all the guys and I learn off of them, but then I asked him as in the present as of right now. What you going to do? What's your plan for right now? They have no questions. They have nothing to say, they're you know, that's when they can be, that's when I can really relate to him. You know, I couldn't relate to him because I was I'm not as old as them, you know back in the day and they could have told me better or whatever. They told me. Well, this was your fault. This is what I done, you know, this is where I am, you know, I want you to do better, but I want them to do better to write and know just what I'm trying to do better. But that is the only way going to get drugs off this. Not going to get it off his finger.