Digital Art Zone

Got interviewed by a local media guy…

The complete interiew

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF3hEOxWrWE
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIARc1BU344
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8cnPovY3cQ
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI1GtLMLpWg

Good interview, you did bring up some good points. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, sorry to hear that you are homeless, man, that is terrible and you seem so positive in the interview. I really hope you find work soon and are able to get back on your feet. I was out of work for 3 weeks a few years ago and i couldn’t focus on anything other than getting rehired and back on my feet. Any time I spent away from that on hobbies or fun just made me feel incredibly guilty that i hadn’t found a job yet. I was getting unemployment, but it just made me feel like such a burden on society more than anything, last thing i wanted was to be sponging off the tax payers.

Best of luck man!!

I did find work.  I had a $12 an hour job as a driver for ten months and learned very quickly that I’d need to make $18 to get a place.  At that point, I had to think about setting up for the long haul, which, thankfully, I did.  Thanks for your thoughts

Been there myself and dragged myself out of the gutter but it took a while and I will never go back and I have to agree never give to anyone who asks for money. I have helped others out before when they have asked for money and I said no but I will take them to a place where I would pay for a meal, all but one accepted, the one who declined probably needed a fix of something stronger.

If you take nothing else from that interview, that’s the one thing that is the most important, IMHO.  Never give money to anyone flying a sign.  Ever!

Well, you’ve destroyed a lot of my misconceptions about the homeless. It’s also interesting to put a face to the name. You seem surprisingly cheerful and optimistic, it’s good to know you’re looking ahead. I am curious though. You said in the interview you have your own computer. I assume it’s a laptop, but where do you get it charged?
...also watching that made me want to donate a Daz gift voucher. Is that strange?

I told you that Livermore is probably paradise when it comes to being homeless, and that largely has to do with the Public Library, which has longer hours than any other library I’m aware of in the SF Bay Area.  It’s not just free wifi, I can also plug in for power… and, it has a coffee shop right in the building which opens during the week at 7am… I’m a little lucky in that the folks that run the coffee shop are 1: very very sweet people and 2: like me for some reason I can’t fathom…  I occupy a seat next to the window and do my thing sipping coffee and helping out sometimes when the owner has a catering job…  Oh, and yes, it is a laptop.  I have an i5 equipped ASUS.  My most valuable possession is a Trek bicycle upon which I have bags mounted front and back.  Everything I own is on it save what’s in my satchel (which is where I keep my laptop).  My main challenge is finding cover for my bike in the rain.  Leaving it out in the rain is never an option.

Oh, and do not feel sorry for me.  I’m doing just fine.  I simply want people to know that living in this fashion is not the death sentence people make it out to be.  The “hopeless homeless” get no sympathy at all from me.  And people who whine about it, IMHO, are people who truly believe the world owes them a living.

In Livermore we are very, very lucky for a variety of reasons.  1. The Churches are 100% of the support given to the homeless. When it rains or gets below 40 degrees, the churches host the Livermore Homeless Refuge, and that’s where we sleep on those nights.  2. The Government is too lazy and greedy to do anything (they get Federal Money for the Homeless which they summarily spend on other things.  I’m actually thankful for this, because they stay out of the way of those who actually make a difference).  3. The Chief of Police, Steve Sweeney is a great guy and very pragmatic, I see him almost daily, and he understands reality, and 4. We have this library.

If you truly want to give help to the homeless you can do one of two things: find a church organization that his actually doing something and ask what they need.  Or look to volunteer… stay overnight pulling a watch at a shelter or whatever.  Two things the homeless use a lot of: Socks and Underwear.  Lightly used sleeping bags or conforters are often in short supply.

I don’t think I said it during the interview, but I think the most important thing I’ve learned over the past three years is the meaning and value of this ancient Japanese phrase:

Less is More.

wancow - 18 December 2012 11:27 AM

In Livermore we are very, very lucky for a variety of reasons.  1. The Churches are 100% of the support given to the homeless. When it rains or gets below 40 degrees, the churches host the Livermore Homeless Refuge, and that’s where we sleep on those nights.  2. The Government is too lazy and greedy to do anything (they get Federal Money for the Homeless which they summarily spend on other things.  I’m actually thankful for this, because they stay out of the way of those who actually make a difference).  3. The Chief of Police, Steve Sweeney is a great guy and very pragmatic, I see him almost daily, and he understands reality, and 4. We have this library..

Interesting, I am seeing this differently now. For me being homeless is not something to be happy, content or ok with. I have worked in helping the homeless in Austin, food kitchens, donations, etc, and always with the mindset that these people have no options other than to rely on the generosity of others. Most of the others that worked with me there had the same mindset.
Not getting into politics, but the govt isn’t there to support you, but then again, that is the problem, to many think it is.
I will have to rethink my charitable donations and work after this.

FSMCDesigns - 18 December 2012 11:46 AM

Not getting into politics, but the govt isn’t there to support you, but then again, that is the problem, to many think it is.

This point cannot be made often enough.

A lesson everyone should learn young….and I will stop there before geting on my soapbox and launching in to a rant..

Hey… I mentioned my friend Gary in that interview… you have not lived until you’ve experienced a Gary rant!  That guy has an eloquence all his own and I wish I could record him going off, it’s a thing to hear!  I love a good rant!

I have my moments when I let loose but I try to be pretty chilled these days…not worth the health risks like high blood pressure…man I have had a banging headache all day with the day I have had and I am still laughing.

Glad to hear your still laughing Sorry bout the headache… when I get those, they put me down and I’m unable to function. :(

Now this is horrific.  Two of the volunteers at the Refuge last night were Linda and Harry.  This morning their daughter Chris was found dead of an overdose at Vineyard Christian Fellowship, where, insidentally, I was interviewed!  The refuge was at that same church the last three weeks, but not last night…

Wow…

http://livermore.patch.com/articles/police-investigating-death-at-church-parking-lot

Ouch—- I’m sorry about this loss, friend.  You’re absolutely right about the need for the churches to reach out and the government to get out:  most of the Social Welfare programs that the government (at all levels) involves itself in are things churches should be doing instead, and would by and large do better than the government ever could.  To paraphrase the gospels:  “Give to Caesar the work that is Caesar’s, and to God the work that is God’s”, and all of us will be better off for it.