51吃瓜

The state of California is “home” to聽around 22% of America’s homeless population.

The San Francisco Bay in northern California is known as a hub for the homeless. The culture of 1960s America still lingers in the Bay Area, welcoming vagabonds and permanent homeless alike. Seven thousand of San Francisco鈥檚 830,000 inhabitants are homeless, around of whom are unsheltered. While San Francisco鈥檚 ratio of housed to homeless is comparable to that of New York City (64,000 out of 8.4 million), the state of California as a whole faces a larger problem: Approximately of America鈥檚 homeless population lives in the Golden State.

Of San Francisco鈥檚 homeless, 29% are white, compared to 42% of the city鈥檚 total population, 26% Latino, compared to 16%, and 24% black, compared to 6%. The racial division of class is clearly palpable. Efforts are under way to curb the issue, namely the 鈥溾�� initiative, under which the homeless are given small cash grants and permanent housing situations rather than a larger grant and a bed in a shelter.

However, the city is currently undergoing a massive , causing even those with stable jobs to flee to the smaller, cheaper cities of Oakland and Berkeley. No matter how gentrified the San Francisco Bay becomes, it will always be a haven for the homeless. Whether they can find homes there is another question entirely.

Jacob Straus spoke to people living on the streets of San Francisco about the challenges of their daily lives.

A man is sitting on a suitcase against the metal of a public transit escalator. He is wearing a paint-stained red hoodie and glasses with one lens taped in. He is missing his top teeth, laughs often, and is friendly and talkative.

Jacob Straus: What鈥檚 your name?

Jim: Jim Dwire.

Straus: What鈥檚 your story? How long have you been homeless?

Jim: A little over two months. Well, maybe three months. It started off kind of funny 鈥� I actually did it on purpose. I started in Modesto, had a place behind the Wal-Mart. I circulated petitions 鈥� good for 300 bucks a day. But I was married to this woman whose name is tattooed on my arm. And that stopped happening, and then I just decided to go on safari. 鈥楥ause I figured, I鈥檓 44, I can do whatever the hell I want, I鈥檝e been talking people into doing things pretty much since I was 17, selling one thing or another, all kinds of different s**t, so I just started learning how to panhandle. I had a phone at the time, I was recording and putting it on YouTube, like how to get food and things like that. But that鈥檚 basically what I鈥檝e been doing.

Straus: What cities have you lived in since then?

Yeah! I can go home. People think I鈥檓 crazy.

Jim: Modesto and San Jose, that whole little area, and then I rode a bike from there to here. And then the bike got stolen. And it turned out just fine 鈥� I wanted to be on the ground anyway, so I didn鈥檛 really care.

Straus: What were those cities like to live in?

Jim: This is probably the most interesting place on earth. The other two 鈥� way more money there. The same sign鈥檚 worth a 100 bucks a day in San Jose.

Straus: What鈥檚 a good day and what鈥檚 a bad day?

Jim: You鈥檙e mostly just going for whatever you need. Everything鈥檚 so f****n鈥� free here 鈥� the only thing you really need to pay for is the weed, and that doesn鈥檛 cost 鈥� [laughs]. I mean the weed, that鈥檚 how come I didn鈥檛 have anything to put in the cup. I was just walking down the street and this guy pulled out this quarter pound of f****n鈥� 鈥� and I was gonna get cigarettes, and I said 鈥淒ude, that looks so f****n鈥� good. I only got three dollars and like 75 cents, can you give me something?鈥� And he gave me two little nugs. But that blunt, I rolled this blunt, it took me three tries. But all you really need to survive here is 15, 20 bucks a day. That鈥檚 pretty easy to get.

Straus: Where do you sleep?

Jim: I like the freeway. I go to 7^th and Harrison. It鈥檚 right out in the open, they don鈥檛 really give a s**t if you鈥檙e sleeping on that side, it鈥檚 covered, and it鈥檚 so far out in the open 鈥� I don鈥檛 like being around other people. Every once in a while somebody will walk by, but a cop goes by every 45 seconds, so if you fall asleep there, you know, some weirdo 鈥� a lot of people try and hide, and then some f****n鈥� weirdo happens upon you.

Straus: Is there any sort of homeless community in any of these cities?

Jim: There is, it鈥檚 real transient here. There was bigger cliques in San Jose, and Modesto was a very large f****n鈥� dynamic group. There鈥檚 no lasting alliances, if that鈥檚 what you mean.

Straus: In this city?

Jim: In any city. Once you鈥檙e homeless, there just isn鈥檛 any 鈥� it was rough for me to learn that part 鈥� you just have to adapt to it or you鈥檙e going to perish. Because I can do better than most of them, because I鈥檓 having a good time and I know I can make two phone calls and wouldn鈥檛 have to be homeless any more, but I don鈥檛 want to.

Straus: Really?

Jim: Yeah! I can go home. People think I鈥檓 crazy. That鈥檚 why I was on [laughs] YouTube. You know what I mean, they can鈥檛 really follow the logic, dude. I鈥檓 already 44, I鈥檓 gonna end up doing art here in ways I couldn鈥檛 do it anywhere else. Like, I do portraits and s**t that鈥檚 not worth any money any more, but here I can do three-dimensional art and s**t in the middle of the street. As soon as I get on these little assistance programs and s**t, I鈥檓 gonna build a cart and I鈥檓 gonna be one of those people 鈥� that鈥檚 the goal. I figure two or three weeks. That鈥檚 where I have the biggest competitive advantage, is having, A, a goal, and B, not drinking. If you don鈥檛 drink because you don鈥檛 drink and you鈥檙e homeless, you got a way, your whole playing field.

Yeah, I鈥檓 gonna conquer this place. I鈥檓 either gonna get rich or die trying here.

Straus: Because first you鈥檙e saving a lot of money, and second?

Jim: It鈥檚 not really the money. The vodka they sell is a half-pint of vodka for $1.75. And it just 鈥� it kills them. The idea is, if you鈥檙e just working from drink to drink 鈥� I mean I call it working, but I mean this is pretty hard s**t, dude. There鈥檚 lots of things I鈥檝e done for a living that鈥檚 way easier than this. Sweet and sour chicken [indicates a full box of Chinese food] 鈥� that鈥檚 the type of s**t people just bring up to you. I mean it was all hot. Somebody has a restaurant or something, they鈥檒l just go up and down the street after they鈥檙e done doing business. So you鈥檙e not really hungry. The cigarettes are more or less free, dude. [At this point, a man hands Jim a wrapped, apparently whole burrito.] Thank you, dude.

I mean I don鈥檛 know what the hell that is, but it happens all day. I do it on the road too. It鈥檚 just a crappy little newspaper 鈥� not really crappy, but really narrowly-defined, three, four sheets. It鈥檚 like a panhandling crutch. I tried to sell them, it was easier to just do the sign.

Straus: What about public services?

Jim: There鈥檚 tons of services, dude. First of all you got 鈥� you have an EBT card, right?

Straus: I do not.

Jim: You should immediately go get one. Everybody鈥檚 entitled to one, dude. All you got to do is go in there and tell them you鈥檙e homeless, dude. You can make $50,000 a year. You can make a whole s**tload of money. It鈥檚 189 free dollars, dude. Dude, you go in in the morning at 8:00, and I had the card by 10:20. They don鈥檛 even have ID, dude. [laughs] And now all I have to do is wait until midnight and there鈥檒l be $189 on it. And then I鈥檝e got another appointment tomorrow, to see the people about getting cash. Just because.

Straus: Is that welfare? What is that?

Jim: It鈥檚 called General Assistance. And then, if you want to go anywhere in the continental United States, there鈥檚 a program called Homeward Bound. If you can get somebody 鈥� and I鈥檓 gonna try like hell to do this, dude 鈥� if I can get somebody to answer the phone in New York, and say yes, he鈥檚 coming home to me, that鈥檚 all they have to say. They鈥檒l put you on a bus, they鈥檒l pay for the bus and ten bucks a day for every day that you鈥檙e in transit.

Straus: It鈥檚 much harder to be homeless there. It gets cold.

Jim: It snows, dude! It鈥檚 not that hard anywhere if you don鈥檛 drink. The heroin kills you. The meth kills you. You can smoke pretty much all the pot you want, though. Because the thing with pot 鈥� you鈥檙e just a little bit more giddy. Like, I鈥檓 stoned out of my face! The only thing I do is sit here with this f****n鈥� sign, right? But if I was doing meth 鈥� I鈥檝e done lots of drugs. I鈥檝e done this, I鈥檝e been on that. It鈥檚 really easy to get any drug, so you really gotta think. You gotta decide: I鈥檓 just not doin鈥� this because I don鈥檛 fg feel like it. If you get in one of those things where, oh my god, you鈥檙e gonna be scared as s**t, you鈥檙e just as f****d as if you鈥檙e doing it. I鈥檝e never done heroin, but the meth 鈥� it鈥檚 just as bad, dude. You鈥檙e sitting and you鈥檙e like 鈥淔**k, what鈥檚 going on.鈥�

Straus: I鈥檓 sure all the cops鈥�

Jim: They don鈥檛 give a rat鈥檚 ass, dude. Like I said, it was a 100 bucks a day in San Jose. I had this blanket I would tie around my head. [laughs]

Straus: If you want to do art, why can鈥檛 you do art while living at home?

Jim: 鈥楥ause nobody will buy it. And nobody will give me money to do it. I鈥檒l have a studio on Market Street. I s**t you not, if you鈥檙e in the area for another two weeks, it won鈥檛 take me that long. 鈥楥ause I鈥檝e already got little designs. It鈥檚 not a real complicated f****n鈥� feat of engineering to build a cart and use recycling. Everything here is available, f****n鈥� scrap. All I have to do is make a detailed list of everything I need, and then you just go around from construction site to construction site: 鈥淚 need three 2x4s,鈥� you just check it off. You only need so many pieces. They鈥檙e building 700 things around here. And then there鈥檚 piles of crap everywhere.

But I like to be way cleaner than you have to look to be impoverished, dude. I don鈥檛 really look like I live on the streets, 鈥榗ause I haven鈥檛 taken anything, dude. I鈥檓 me.

Straus: Are you planning on staying here longer than the other cities?

Jim: Yeah, I鈥檓 gonna conquer this place. I鈥檓 either gonna get rich or die trying here. I鈥檝e done that before. I mean, I鈥檝e done it where I built up from nothing before. I did it in Arizona once. [Another man comes up with a food donation.] Hey, thank you so much, man. You have a great evening. I mean how complicated is this, dude? I鈥檓 not even really doing anything! [laughs] And this is just sitting there, dude.

鈥楥ause you project something. This thing right here [points to his hoodie] is the homeless f****n鈥� uniform. If you notice 鈥� if you look for these red hoodies, the Salvation Army gives them out. They get donated 鈥� the extras just get poured everywhere, dude. So all the homeless people end up with it, and I don鈥檛 wash it. It makes you look more like 鈥� you know what I mean? I can鈥檛 pull that whole thing off yet. I can鈥檛 pull completely gone to the law, because I鈥檓 not there yet. You gotta make sure to be yourself.

But I like to be way cleaner than you have to look to be impoverished, dude. I don鈥檛 really look like I live on the streets, 鈥榗ause I haven鈥檛 taken anything, dude. I鈥檓 me. I just get stoned and sit there with the f****n鈥� sign. If you鈥檙e too stupid to be able to keep your hands and your f****n鈥� face 鈥� I guess I gave less of a s**t a few weeks ago when I was doing the whole 鈥渋t doesn鈥檛 matter鈥� thing. What I kept thinking is, we all lived outside at one point.

Well-dressed passerby: You gonna eat that chicken wrap?

Jim: Yeah I鈥檓 gonna eat that.

Passerby: Just checkin鈥�, man. I鈥檓 just thirsty.

Straus: I think that just about does it. Do you have anything else to say?

Jim: No. I鈥檝e got an email address, could you just link me to wherever you have me?

The views expressed聽in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect聽51吃瓜鈥檚聽editorial policy.

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