#skidrowfolk

Deportation fears. I met Juan (not his real name) at the shelter. He was always sitting in the same spot waiting for a shelter bus to arrive. He looked like he was in his early thirties. He told me he was concerned about Trump and deportations. Juan came to the US on his own as a kid from Mexico. His parents knew he was leaving by himself. He stayed with friends and went to school in the US. He didn't finish his education but later on he started working in a manufacturing company in Simi Valley. He got the job there using fake documents. He kept his job for many years until 9/11 terrorist attacks increased regulations, and the company found out about his undocumented status. He lost his job. He now has a daughter, only a few years old, but she is in foster care and staying with a foster mom who wants custody. She went to court claiming Juan can no longer have custody of his daughter because he is homeless and her mother is an addict. But Juan told me the judge won't take away his daughter just because he is homeless and will give him time to find a job. He told me wants nothing more than to regain custody of his daughter and work full time. He is trying to find another job as soon as he can. His friend told him about a position that pays under the table and requires no documentation. He wants to stay in the US under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA ) program that Obama started. He wants a good future for his daughter. He says he tries to keep by himself and he doesn't like to talk to anyone about his family. He is afraid of getting any tickets or arrested while he is in Skid Row and homeless. He repeats that he doesn't associate with other people living on the street out of fear of getting arrested. He told me he was at a shelter in the valley but he didn't like it there. He felt they didn't like immigrants there. Juan told me if I don't see him at his spot at the shelter here, that means he got the job and has started working. I haven't seen him. I hope he can reunite with his daughter and be safe living in the US. My own parents came to the US seeking political asylum and fleeing a dictatorship when I was young. I understand the challenges Juan and his family face. Juan told me that he hates how Trump portrays all immigrants as bad. He told me, "Look around us...look at the problems in the US...right here in Skid Row.... You can't blame everything on immigrants."

#skidrowfolk (at Skid Row, Los Angeles)

We had a great time last weekend at the Festival for All Skid Row Artists, organized by Los Angeles Poverty Department, at Gladys Park. The annual two day festival really transforms the park, and neighborhood, as Skid Row residents and community members put on a show, display their creativity, artwork, photography, music, spoken word, poetry…and just have fun in the park. It’s great to be able to attend and photograph the community relaxed, dancing, and enjoying themselves. Housed or unhoused, everyone comes together in the park to celebrate. Thank you Los Angeles Poverty Department. More info at www.lapovertydept.org

Endless busts on the corner.

Truth and power in a t shirt. The look in his eyes. The ancestors. His memories and the reality we all see in front of us. In Skid Row, no one can deny the message on his t shirt: the need for justice and equality. When people wear messages, the truth, on their bodies...they cannot, will not, be denied.

“Addiction is only a symptom, it’s not the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem is trauma,” said Mate.
“Addiction connects back to trauma that people have experienced in their life, said Dr. Mate. Once people understand this, then treatment can happen. Unfortunately most of the medical profession and the legal system does not understand addiction. Therefore our treatment and legal solutions tend not to be helpful, and in fact they often tend to be harmful,” he said.

"The Skid Row Drifters AA is the longest AA meeting there is. They have forty-three years in Downtown. They've been here almost twenty-five years in Gladys Park. They've been at Weingart. It was at the Weingart for awhile, about eight or nine years. The first one they had was on Fifth Street by the LA Mission. That was the first one. Everybody's welcome. It's a good turn out. Very few people relapse. You can count them on one hand. June was the AA fundraiser event at Gladys Park. They had music, games. It's also my sober anniversary month. June 24 is my anniversary day. I set up coffee right by the basketball hoop." ____________________________ The Skid Row Drifters meet each night at 7pm at Gladys Park. Not all are AA members, the majority are homeless, and some just come for free coffee in the park. "Trauma is at the nature of addiction," according to Dr. Gabor Mate. Mate, a doctor from Vancouver, worked for 12 years in Vancouver’s downtown east side, which is one of the most concentrated areas of drug use in Canada. He also wrote a book about addiction entitled In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. “Addiction is only a symptom, it’s not the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem is trauma,” said Mate. "Addiction connects back to trauma that people have experienced in their life, said Dr. Mate. Once people understand this, then treatment can happen. Unfortunately most of the medical profession and the legal system does not understand addiction. Therefore our treatment and legal solutions tend not to be helpful, and in fact they often tend to be harmful,” he said. Mate sees drug treatment courts, like the one that is operated in Regina, (Canada) as a step in the right direction. The courts are a step away from the traditional punishment approach. There is recognition in the courts that there is no justice without health, Mate said. These courts recognize that people are acting out because of their trauma. “When we understand that the people who are addicted are traumatized people, now we have to take an approach that will help them heal that trauma, rather than make it worse,” Mate said." More at http://leaderpost.com/…/trauma-is-the-root-cause-of-addicti…

Jo at the park. Posing in her Michael Jackson gear. A stage performer and dancer for many years, she now performs at neighborhood events as a Michael Jackson impersonator. She’s unhoused, but devoted to her craft and always draws a big crowd. She’s bad.