American Winter Page #8

and not worry about bills.

You're too young.

That, and it could give you

a fricking ulcer again.

And we don't want that

to happen

'cause then we'll have

double the bills.

Yeah, exactly.

Just, I feel like...

I have to help you in some way.

No, you don't.

You're a kid. Be a kid.

I know, but...

Doesn't everything

always work out?

No.

- You got everything?

- Yeah.

- OK.

- Please be on.

- Please be on. Please be on.

- I know, right?

OK. I don't see

any lights yet.

I don't know if we left any.

Ohh! No!

- Really? You hit a light switch?

- Whoo!

- Ha ha! Let me do it.

- Oh, my God.

See this?

Oh, my God.

Are you... crazy.

This is crazy cool.

OK, breathe... ohh!

- We have lights.

- That's awesome.

I'm just psyched.

Are you OK, buddy?

Obviously not.

You're puking.

You're OK.

I'm right here.

Let me see you.

You look really pale.

Well, yeah, I just barfed.

Do you feel a little

better, though?

No. I'm achy.

- Will you at least tell me

how to set the... - See that?

I know. You're shaking. It's

also cold outside, too.

I am so sorry that we're here

and you can't be at home.

No, I really don't want you by the window.

Let's go over here.

What we have is a system that,

once someone falls

into homelessness,

we've ensured

that the highest-cost

service delivery

system kicks in.

The police officer

becomes their case worker.

The fire bureau becomes

their medical provider.

They get most of their medical care

through emergency-room services.

What if we actually went

upstream and said,

"How do we prevent people

from falling into homelessness?

How do we make

investments upstream

so that no one falls

into homelessness,

and what if it turns out

it costs a lot less?"

Now, of course, we've documented all

over the country that that's the case.

If we make a small investment

then... early on...

to keep someone in

their apartment

and avoid all of the dominoes

which follow when

there's an eviction,

then not only do we

save a fortune,

the back end, but we keep

someone in a healthy place.

- I love you.

- Love you, too.

I'm going to be right by you,

so if you need to get up

or anything,

just wake me up, OK?

- Mm-hmm.

- I'm sorry you have to be sick here.

Sometimes

I dread coming here

because all

the stress and stuff.

Some times are

harder than others,

but I never lose hope.

Bye.

Nighty-night.

Sweet dreams.

Day by day

I'm in that house,

I'm getting, like, more

and more depressed.

When we married each other,

and when we talked about

our future and our plans,

- this isn't what I saw.

- Oh, I know.

Brandon was so

disappointed he did not get that job.

He thought, "Oh, we were talking

about football and laughing

and the interview went

so well," and no.

No. They even said,

"We'll call you by next week

to let you know if you're going

to get it or if you're not. "

And then Brandon called them,

and they said, "Oh, we still

haven't picked an applicant.

It'll be the following week. "

But he didn't get a phone call.

You know, I'll be

honest with you.

When I go to this interview

tomorrow and it doesn't work out,

I'm going to fricking lose it.

Heh! That's

the honest truth.

Because this is, like, the

fifth interview that you had?

I'm gonna lose it.

I'm gonna be so angry.

Each job

I've been interviewing for,

each donation I'm getting

from my family,

each little step I take on

moving into a new place,

then living with

my mother-in-law,

the confidence up here just keeps

taking a step down and a step down.

Your hope is just

draining out of you.

It seems like I was on

a ladder up here...

but I'm not even on the ladder.

I'm back on the ground,

I got two feet on there,

just holding a ladder

looking up; it's all I'm doing.

I don't know.

- I do love you.

- I love you, too.

I love you, too.

Every state

in this country, if you look at state

and local taxes, the lowest-income Americans

pay a higher share of their income

towards state and local taxes

than do the wealthy.

That's upside down.

The home-mortgage interest

deduction is a perfect example.

Someone who can afford to pay

the monthly payment

on a $900,000 mortgage,

we're subsidizing through

our tax code at the same time

that we're not willing

to build affordable housing

for families who are homeless.

That's a poor budget choice. That's

a spending choice that's wrong.

You've been approved

for our Housing First program,

which is 3 months of rental assistance

from the time that you move in.

Funding is not guaranteed.

- It may run out before you secure housing.

- OK.

We're just going to stay positive

and I'm going to have an address

soon, very soon.

And what we're

going to do today is

- go over your training plan...

- OK.

And talk about your

job description,

- give you a tour, introduce

you to the staff. - OK.

Talk to you a little bit about

Southeast Works and what we do.

OK.

I have gotten a job,

and most people would

probably think that

getting a job would be

a great big change

and everything would be

all better.

But the guy who actually

referred me to the program,

he said, "Yeah, it's

gonna be $10, you know. "

$10 an hour.

It wasn't until I got

the paperwork

and I looked down, and I'm like,

"Oh, my God, it's $8.80.

It's minimum wage. "

At that very moment,

I wanted to cry,

I really did. I wanted to cry.

I felt like I... you know,

like a kick in the stomach.

Still gonna be difficult

to help keep my family clothed,

still gonna be difficult

to help keep them fed.

Right now I have rental assistance,

and so my rent is fairly low,

but as soon as I start to make money,

the rent goes up, the stamps go down,

and I'm back in the position that

I was in in the first place.

- Good job, Mama.

- Thank you.

And tomorrow... ohh!...

after working all week,

I have to get up

and go scrapping.

Scrapping, donating plasma,

that's just making ends meet.

You'll never be able

to get ahead,

not working for minimum wage.

You'll never achieve

the American dream.

That's not part of my reality.

If you're earning the minimum wage

in the United States of America,

you're on food stamps, Medicaid.

I don't know what the array of

government services are that you

need to survive, particularly

if you have a family.

If you tripled the minimum wage,

none of those people

would need those

services anymore.

So it's very clear

the minimum wage

is simply a way

for the American taxpayer

to subsidize companies

that pay people

the minimum wage.

They pay this person

the minimum wage,

and then we supply

a social safety net

so that person

doesn't starve to death.

It's insane!

Got to go feed

the horses, huh?

Yup. I'm ready.

With my little boy,

Geral, this is home to him, you know?

He has his dogs,

Puppy and Bishop.

He loves the horses.

He loves the animals.

It's home.

And that's one

of the main reasons

I really even want

to keep this house,

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