WEBVTT 00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:02.330 - We see them almost every day on our way to work 00:00:02.330 --> 00:00:05.360 and rarely give a second thought to those tent cities. 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:06.900 I'm Itay Hod in Hollywood 00:00:06.900 --> 00:00:11.900 where one day I decided to stop and stay for 24 hours. 00:00:12.040 --> 00:00:14.950 Just me, my camera and those people 00:00:14.950 --> 00:00:16.995 we typically try to avoid. 00:00:16.995 --> 00:00:19.520 (upbeat music) 00:00:19.520 --> 00:00:21.990 It's four o'clock on a Thursday afternoon 00:00:21.990 --> 00:00:24.123 and Judy Velez is heading home. 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:26.987 This is Judy's home. 00:00:26.987 --> 00:00:29.085 (car engines) 00:00:29.085 --> 00:00:31.300 An overpass just above the 101. 00:00:31.300 --> 00:00:32.850 - A lot of people don't understand 00:00:32.850 --> 00:00:36.270 that not all homeless people are bad people. 00:00:36.270 --> 00:00:37.850 A lot of us are good people. 00:00:37.850 --> 00:00:39.810 - [Itay] In another Lifetime the Velez family 00:00:39.810 --> 00:00:44.710 had a home in Monrovia, a four bedroom, three bath house. 00:00:44.710 --> 00:00:46.950 Now Judy, her husband, Enrique, 00:00:46.950 --> 00:00:48.290 and three of their four kids 00:00:48.290 --> 00:00:51.180 spend their days surviving as best they can. 00:00:51.180 --> 00:00:52.500 And they're just one family 00:00:52.500 --> 00:00:56.160 among 60,000 other homeless people in LA County. 00:00:56.160 --> 00:00:58.720 A number on the rise despite major investment 00:00:58.720 --> 00:01:00.740 in fighting the problem. 00:01:00.740 --> 00:01:02.960 They ended up on the streets seven years ago 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:05.630 after Enrique was stabbed during a dispute, 00:01:05.630 --> 00:01:07.900 an incident that left him disabled 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:10.663 and sent the family into a downward spiral. 00:01:13.550 --> 00:01:15.380 Tonight, Judy and her son, Henry, 00:01:15.380 --> 00:01:17.540 are heading to a nearby soup kitchen 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:20.100 run by the Hollywood Food Coalition. 00:01:20.100 --> 00:01:21.450 - Yes, sir. Name? 00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:24.260 - [Itay] Everyone is welcome here on one condition, 00:01:24.260 --> 00:01:26.080 you tell Crisco your name. 00:01:26.080 --> 00:01:28.090 He mans the front door. 00:01:28.090 --> 00:01:30.888 - If you don't want to give us a name, we'll give you one. 00:01:30.888 --> 00:01:32.060 (laughter) 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:32.893 - Yeah. 00:01:32.893 --> 00:01:35.740 - [Itay] Crisco says he greets up to 250 people 00:01:35.740 --> 00:01:38.020 five times a week and for many, 00:01:38.020 --> 00:01:39.910 this is their only meal of the day. 00:01:39.910 --> 00:01:44.899 - We deal with a lot of mental illness and substance abuse. 00:01:44.899 --> 00:01:48.890 When I say substance abuse, that goes along with addiction. 00:01:48.890 --> 00:01:53.890 They can't function in the normal realm of society. 00:01:55.538 --> 00:01:56.638 They just can't do it. 00:01:58.910 --> 00:02:01.440 - [Itay] Tonight's meal, bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, 00:02:01.440 --> 00:02:05.510 chicken and couscous, and even a vegetarian option. 00:02:05.510 --> 00:02:07.120 You might be surprised to learn 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:09.510 that food is not their biggest issue. 00:02:09.510 --> 00:02:12.300 Even on days when Judy can't walk the three blocks 00:02:12.300 --> 00:02:15.099 to the soup kitchen because of her diabetes. 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:15.932 (door slamming) 00:02:15.932 --> 00:02:17.720 Enter Rosie Hunter. 00:02:17.720 --> 00:02:20.150 Rosie and her Covenant House Youth Shelter 00:02:20.150 --> 00:02:22.820 show up four times a week with supplies. 00:02:22.820 --> 00:02:24.290 - We just kind of like meet them where they are 00:02:24.290 --> 00:02:25.760 and kind of feed them while they're out 00:02:25.760 --> 00:02:26.730 in the streets and give them what they need, 00:02:26.730 --> 00:02:29.223 like hygiene kits, blankets, food. 00:02:30.210 --> 00:02:31.770 - [Itay] After dinner, the Velez family 00:02:31.770 --> 00:02:33.410 starts setting up camp. 00:02:33.410 --> 00:02:35.480 Henry has it down to a science. 00:02:35.480 --> 00:02:37.930 He's gotten used to sleeping on concrete, 00:02:37.930 --> 00:02:39.710 but it took a while. 00:02:39.710 --> 00:02:42.000 - I didn't sleep for two months. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.070 - [Itay] Imagine putting up your house 00:02:44.070 --> 00:02:47.527 and then having to take it down every single day. 00:02:47.527 --> 00:02:49.600 And they're only allowed to put up their tents 00:02:49.600 --> 00:02:52.130 after 9:00 PM and before 6:00 AM. 00:02:52.130 --> 00:02:54.250 So at 6:00 AM, the cops are gonna come 00:02:54.250 --> 00:02:56.883 and they have to pack things up. 00:02:58.420 --> 00:03:01.220 While most Americans are watching prime time TV, 00:03:01.220 --> 00:03:04.110 Judy and Enrique watch the cars go by. 00:03:04.110 --> 00:03:07.430 Judy says she never thought she'd ever end up here, 00:03:07.430 --> 00:03:09.200 not in a million years. 00:03:09.200 --> 00:03:11.350 - Sometimes I think I'm dreaming, you know? 00:03:12.588 --> 00:03:14.220 And I said, you know, we had it all. 00:03:14.220 --> 00:03:16.200 I mean, my bedroom, 00:03:16.200 --> 00:03:19.730 my bathroom was a jacuzzi inside my bathroom, you know? 00:03:19.730 --> 00:03:22.530 - The hardest part, telling her kids. 00:03:22.530 --> 00:03:25.230 - You know, how do you tell your child you're homeless? 00:03:25.230 --> 00:03:26.063 How do you tell your child 00:03:26.063 --> 00:03:27.550 you have to sleep behind a trash can? 00:03:27.550 --> 00:03:29.430 - [Itay] She knows how people look at her. 00:03:29.430 --> 00:03:30.910 She can feel it. 00:03:30.910 --> 00:03:33.860 She says if only they could see her for who she is 00:03:33.860 --> 00:03:35.480 and who she once was. 00:03:35.480 --> 00:03:38.530 - People walk by us like, like we're, 00:03:38.530 --> 00:03:40.620 like we're scary or something. 00:03:40.620 --> 00:03:42.400 We're not, don't be afraid to say Hi. 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:45.420 - [Itay] Before turning in Judy calls her daughter Angel, 00:03:45.420 --> 00:03:47.300 who's about to give birth. 00:03:47.300 --> 00:03:49.380 - How many centimeters are you? 00:03:49.380 --> 00:03:51.850 - [Itay] Is there any joy at all? 00:03:51.850 --> 00:03:53.870 - We're together. We're together. 00:03:53.870 --> 00:03:55.590 That's all that matters. 00:03:55.590 --> 00:03:58.760 - It's about midnight and if you can hear the cars outside, 00:03:58.760 --> 00:04:02.570 we're literally right on top of the 101 freeway. 00:04:02.570 --> 00:04:03.830 There are people walking by. 00:04:03.830 --> 00:04:05.380 You can hear them as they walk. 00:04:07.470 --> 00:04:09.230 This is nothing like camping. 00:04:09.230 --> 00:04:12.663 It's cold, it's hard, it smells, and it's scary. 00:04:14.370 --> 00:04:16.900 Life like this is day by day, 00:04:16.900 --> 00:04:19.100 but this day is gonna great. 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:20.930 - We're gonna get breakfast at Tommy's, 00:04:20.930 --> 00:04:22.740 some breakfast burritos on the go, 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:25.030 and then we're gonna go see my daughter. 00:04:25.030 --> 00:04:27.450 - [Itay] We're 14 hours into our experience 00:04:27.450 --> 00:04:30.403 with a Velez family with another 10 to go.