Cirrhosis Of The Liver

(upbeat music) johnny: we're going downtownlos angeles, california, sunny california, this iswinter, for what it's worth. i came to californiato die here. i'm not going anywhere. that's the thingabout being homeless. these people who, likemyself, like i was, i had the condominium and thenew car and the new credit card, i had all this stuff andi saw homeless people

and i looked down onthem, because theyweren't playing the game. you need to have a job,you need to pay rent, you need to be off thestreet and have a home, you need to take responsibility. you know what, i don'tneed to do none of that. voiceover: onfebruary 3rd, 1948, johnny popp was bornin pontiac, michigan. the oldest child ofa family of seven. johnny's dad wasa master mechanic

and his mom workedpart-time as a waitress. the family later movedto ann arbor, michigan, where johnny attendedpublic schools. in high school, johnny wantedto be one of the cool guys. cool in the 1960s meantdropping out of school, having money and anice car to show off. that lifestyle didn'twork out for johnny, but it did get him agirlfriend named linda and the two dropped out ofschool in the tenth grade.

johnny then made a livingdoing general labor jobs. johnny and lindawere married in 1968 and had a son nameddwayne in 1970. as a new father at age 22, hewas hired as a union machinist by the hoover ball andbearing company in ann arbor. johnny was looking forwardto going into management, but it was interrupted bya war 8,000 miles away. (helicopter flying) johnny: i was in vietnamand i was not thinking,

"i'm defending theunited states." i'm thinking, "i'm going toshoot this son of a bitch "before he shoots me." i want to go home, i don'twant to do this anymore. took me two and a half yearsto get over the nightmares. you just don'tsee blood and guts and people splattered all overand it just don't bother you. i seen my best friendblowed up with a land mine two days after we'rethere, 21 years old.

i went through basictraining with this guy, i went throughait with this guy. he was a cab driverfrom detroit. his name was [mcgruger],but i called him mcgoomba. a little short,chubby black guy. second day we're in vietnam,he stepped on a land mine. you could hear it, click. it ain't going to blow upas long as you stand there, but you let the leastbit off pressure ofand you're a dead man.

well, i seen that mineblow half of mcgoomba up. you just don't forgetabout things like that. voiceover: johnnyleft the army in 1974. haunted by hisexperiences in vietnam, he turned to alcohol andmarijuana to soothe his pain. his addictions led to a divorce. he began traveling thecountry doing odd jobs and ended up in kansas,where he met mary. he adopted her religionof christianity and thetwo were wed in 1980.

with a new person in hislife, johnny decided to change his focus on alcohol anddrugs to other things. they both attendedbible college, where johnny studiedtheology with a plan ofbeing a prison chaplain. he chose the prisonsystem as his ministry because he felt peoplewere being warehoused without improving theirliteracy and life skills, which would help them makebetter choices in their life and reduce their chances ofending up back behind bars.

johnny had a reality check whenhe was told by a prison warden that prisoners arethere to be punished,not for rehabilitation. in 1987, johnny gothis associates degree and was admitted intothe social work program at arizona state university. that winter, mary was alsocontinuing her education to become a beautician. she was on her way toschool one snowy morning and never returned home.

johnny: my wife gotkilled in a car accident. she was in intensive care for acouple weeks and just passed on. when she died, it justseemed like part of me died. i walked out with theclothes on my back and i've beenhomeless ever since. i give up. i don't vote, i don'tfile income tax, i don'tplay the game anymore. this is my life. before my wife got killed,i made $50,000 a year,

but i never had any money. all my money wentto pay for stuff. furniture, tvs, condos,credit cards, cars, insurance. i was always broke,but i had stuff. now, i have no stuff, buti have money. (laughs) there's not much to myday, kind of boring. i spend my days panhandling,looking through trashcans, dumpsters. i've found money in trashcans, i've found water heaters. if somebody wants to buyit, i'll sell it to them.

everything i need is righthere in my shopping cart. i've got a change ofclothes in that plastic bag. my blankets, mypillow and stuff. that shopping cart is my home. it's home wherever i park it. i sleep in the shopping cart. almond cookies. people throw away goodfood, i don't understand it. why do you throw this away, whydon't you give it to somebody?

he said, "i don't domoney," so he gave me gift certificates forcarl's jr. downstairs. [unintelligible] i can't stay here and panhandle. this is the corner henormally works all the time. he knows that i work downhere on the other corner. i'm going to givehim this stuff now. i've got to go. had a lot ofstrange experiences.

some good, some not so good. i had a guy wantingto beat me up, because he didn'tfeel like i should be a white man out heredoing what i'm doing. i guess if you're blackit's okay to be homeless, but if you're white it's not. you should be prosperous. i've had people give meas little as three cents. i've had as much as a ladygave me $60 one night.

it seems like the onesthat help you the most are the ones that canafford it the least. when they pull up hereand they look at you, but then you see them movingaround and a lot of movement, is he going togive me a quarter, or like this guy justgave me 50 cents, or is he going to give mea five or a ten or a 20. when they start to openthe window, it's like, "oh, i got a window."

it's like fishing. you've got a fish on the line,you can feel them biting. [unintelligible] 50 cent. hell, i've had themgive me three cents. all my life i'm beenimpulsive and impatient. i have no patience, buti've learned to be patient when you're standinghere for ... when you're standinghere for over an hour and nobody's givenyou a damn thing,

you just have tokeep telling yourselfsomebody's going to come and they're going togive you some money. they used to have a lawagainst panhandling, but that's a violation ofthe first amendment rights. freedom of speech. voiceover: panhandlingprovides resources forjohnny's daily survival, but it also supports a sadreality for many on the streets. johnny: i didn't use drugsbefore i went to vietnam. i didn't start smokingcrack until 1991.

this girl i met in phoenix gotme to try it and i liked it and it liked me and it's beenlike that ever since. (coughs) primarily, what ido, i work my signs. i get enough for somedope, come down here, i smoke some dope,i go back to work. i get some more, i come back. i make trips back and forthwith this little shopping cart. she's got a lot of miles on her. i've been smoking dope here eversince i came to la for years,

but they don't fuck with you because we have permissionto be here, by theowner, to be right here. they can't pull thatlaw shit on you. you can't sleep, sit,lay down, and all thatshit on the sidewalk. the owner says i can. we sit out hereand we smoke crack. we don't fuck withtheir business. in the daytime,when they're open, we don't fuck withtheir customers, wedon't fuck with them.

so long as we don't fuck withthem, they don't fuck with us. the cops like us to behere, because they've got us in their little pigeon hole. [unintelligible]5:30 in the morning. i'm sitting out thereright there on the cornerof omar and boyd st and i put a rock in my pipe. soon as i startedpushing it down, this black and whitecruiser just out of nowhere, whomp, they was on topof me, [unintelligible].

this cop jumped out of thepassenger's side and he said, "don't break that pipe,you're going to jail." i said, "i don't know whatyou're talking about." he said, "stand up." i stood up and there'smy pipe laying right. the cop comes over hereand picks up my pipe, gets back in the police carand they start to drive off, then they stop and back up. the one drivinghollers at me, he said,

"from now on, mister,your business is overthere on crocker. "i don't want to see youover here on omar again,"and they drove off. they never asked myname, they never ran nowarrant checks, nothing. so the cops don't fuck withus here, because if they do, what are we going to do? we're going to relocate. they don't want us to relocate. they've been sellingdope at 15th and crockerfor years, years! so the old cops, they don'tfuck around down there

because they knowwhat's happening. voiceover: the world ofthe streets is populated by more than peoplelike johnny popp. there are others wholive with the reality of homelessness in other ways. deon: half-nakedwomen running around, people using drugs, andthis is right down thestreet from the station. i love how people say, "this ishappening right by the station, "that's somethingabout you guys."

well, we can't seethrough the walls and also our uniformed officersare so strapped callwise to where they'd probably beover here handling a dead body or down the street offthis street handling a rape or a violent assaultor robbery, that yeah, a crime could happen right here and there's literallynothing we could do about it. central division has beentrying to get resources to police skid row for years.

when i first came to centraldivision 11 years ago, before i came they told me,"joseph, if you got to central, "the cops are fat andlazy and people sell drugs "right behind the station." when i got here, i only foundone aspect of that true. the cops weren't fat andlazy, they were outnumbered and they weren't supportedby the other echelons of the justice system when we'retrying to go after the wolves who were preying on the sheep,

but yes, people wereeven dealing drugs rightbehind the station. let's go get somekids from the academy and see if we can spreadthem over skid row and see if that'll helpand that worked forthe first couple weeks, but the problem was,the streets out there new to those officerswere pretty green. basically, they got ran overand they couldn't handle it. johnny: i was sitting hereone day and i hit my pipe and i put it away, like i do.

then, i got my sign out,"hungry, please help," and i'm working my sign anda black and white police car pulled up right there. hollered out the window, hesaid, "what are you doing?" i said, "i'm making a sign." he said, "let me see it." i held it up like that,says, "hungry, please help." he said, "you know what,you're the only on this block "that's not smoking crack.

"come here." i said, "oh man," so iwent over to the police car and he handed me $2. he said, "get yousomething to eat," and my pipe is sittingright here, loaded up, hot. i have many acquaintances,but very few friends. i can count the people iconsider my friends on one hand and still havefingers left over. greg: i've known him ... threeyears out here on the streets.

i would say i was closer to himthan anyone else on the streets. i'm basically a lonerand - (police siren) he can leave his cart with me. people steal, it getscold out here at night, blankets, they're veryessential, very important. if he had some confrontationor something with someone then i would come to his aidand he would come to mine also. that could happen at any time. we just have one of thefew guys that have anyform of intelligence.

he's an intelligent guy. voiceover: as of 2005,johnny had spent six years on the streets of skid row, butthe lifestyle came with a price. in january, he was hospitalizedafter collapsing on the street from exhaustion and dehydration. johnny: i'm 57 years old, if i'mgoing to die i'm going to die. if something happens[unintelligible] the hospital. i'm short of breathfor some reason. i use my asthmamedication, albuterol.

albuterol is a life saver. voiceover: eventhough he's homeless, johnny get regular access tomedication for his asthma. in 2005, johnny was oneof nearly 300,000 people that received free prescriptiondrugs in emergency health care from the los angelescounty hospital. elizabeth: anybody whocomes into our ers, legally we're obligatedto serve and we serveeverybody who comes in. so we would do a financialscreening and determine

if they have anybenefits anywhere. if not, generally we'lltake an application, depending on whatthey're being seen for and what they'rebeing treated for. we do what's calledability to pay analysis and in the homelesssituation, most cases, people don't havethe ability to pay, so their share of cost is zero. the big challenge withhomeless is that often,

they don't have their birthcertificate or driver's license or any of those things, so it'shard to do the follow up legwork for getting peopleon to benefits. i think it's a tollon all of our systems, any governmental,non-profit provider is definitely getting inundated,i would say, right now. voiceover: johnny had spentthree days in the hospital with care providedby city services. despite this, he wasback on the street,

feeding his morning cravings. johnny: it's my wake up. now, i'll be normal. people say, "you're homelessbecause you smoke crack." no, i smoke crack becausei'm homeless. (laughs) it's a whole different thing. i think it's a copingmechanism, it's a way of escape. it's a way of escapefrom the environment. voiceover: johnnymay be down and out,

but that doesn't meanhe's lost all his pride in his personal appearance. johnny: probably the firsthaircut in ten years. it feels different. first shave in aboutthree years. (laughs) boy, it feels different. hell, i'm ready torock and roll, now. i wanted a flat top, but i stillwanted to keep the hair long. so i got both.

i hate shaving above mylips, so i kept the mustache. i went to myregular dope dealer. he said, "how many?" i said, "i need some credit,man, i need short credit." he said, "no problem." i said, "i'm surprisedyou recognize me. "i got a shave,got my hair cut." he said, "i'drecognize you anywhere. "your eyes say, 'i need crack.'"

when you're a regularcustomer with the same dealer, after a while, he getsto where he'll trust you. whenever you get creditfrom a dope dealer, when you get money, i don'tgive a shit if you're starving, i don't care if your rent'sdue, it don't matter what. the dope dealer alwaysgets paid first. that's the rule always. now i owe $5 for mywatch, $15 for my boots, and $8 to the dopedealer for two rocks.

now i'm getting $28. i've got to be careful idon't overextend my credit. it's a jungle out there. you've got to be onyour toes every day. voiceover: suddenly, aftertwo years, johnny disappeared. had he been arrested for hisdrug use and in rehab or prison? or was he dead? the environment of thestreets is often unforgiving, but there are those whocontinue to fight back.

deon: we've always been beggingfor resources clearing up, but we just never got it, sowe had to do little tricks around here, like puttingour finger in a dam, just stop a crack here,another crack somewhere else. finally, when commander smith,who was then captain smith, came in and the mayor andthe chief got together with this awesome plan,which we've been trying to get done for years, itwas right up our alley. i always tell peoplewhether you think

it's for gentrification,though i know it's not,or not, it was needed. skid row crime accountedfor 45%, if not 50%, of the crime inthis division alone. central division isonly 4.5 square miles and 45,000 people thatactually live here, including homeless,chinatown, staples center, fashion district, andthen you have one cop for every 400 individuals. then, at that time, i'd sayyou have 3,800 parolees,

3,000 people on probationor former probation for a violentcrime or narcotics, 400 to 600 registered sexoffenders running around, and quality of lifeissues, addictions whichdrove a violent crime. you can imagine wehad our hands full. voiceover: the mayorand police chief's plan was called the safercities initiative, which was to be launchedin september 2006. it would involve adding 50additional police officers

to downtown la to focus onstopping minor violations, such as littering andjaywalking, that could lead to reducing more serious crime. the new officers wouldcost the city more annually than the total amount of moneyspent on homeless services. the initiative was asource of heated debate. some academics thought itwas the wrong emphasis. mark: it seems to bethat the right critique of this safer cities program,if you want to criticize it,

is that it's a hammer andnail [unintelligible] hammer. everything looks like thepolice department, as usual, is the only agencythat has to be there. they were told, "gofix this problem," and they fixed theproblem the way they knew how to fix the problem,but where the hellis everybody else? voiceover: street activistshad another point of view that had stemmed from yearsof protesting the movement of poor people andhomeless from the skid rowarea for redevelopment.

pete: first they tried tomove us out the hotels. that didn't work, becausethe community came together and organized and foughtback, but we weren't able to take a breath, because assoon as we saved the land, they unleashed the beastout of central division. extra police to move usout of our community. why? because they needed thelands for other folks. they didn't care that wehad been here for 100 years.

it was time for us to go. we said, "hell no, we won't go." crowd: hell no, we won't go. hell no, we won't go. voiceover: despite theseopposing points of view, there was somethingthat needed to be done. for johnny andothers on the street. life is more thana political debate. after three months,johnny was still missing.

finally, he turnedup, once again, at thela county hospital, a victim of a street attackthat almost killed him. in a phone call, johnnyexplained his disappearance. johnny: i was over there,la street, the freeway. they got me down on theground and kept kicking me. i gave them the moneybecause they were big, they broke a couple ribs,two ribs, and my hip. i was in pretty bad shape. they tried to kill me.

the only reason they didn't killme is because some cars came and they got scared and ran. voiceover: it lookedlike johnny's lifehad hit a dead end, but the social service safetynet offers him one more chance. the question is,will he take it? after nine days inthe general hospital, johnny was sent to thebonnie brae nursing home, a few blocks west ofdowntown los angeles. julieta: he camehere with ambulance.

he was really skinny atthat time with long beard. the diagnosis when we admittedhim is a right hip fracture. we have to transfer himfrom bed to wheelchair, then wheelchair to the bathroom. he has the urge togo to the bathroom, but the problem is that hecannot do it by himself. johnny: i deal with oldpeople, crazy people, people like me got hurt. they gave me enough drugs thati could make a meal out of them.

julieta: he weighs 108 pounds. after the first one,he gained 22 pounds. when johnny was firstcame here, he said, "how long i will bestaying in this place?" and then i answered to himthat, "do you have a home "where you are goingto?" and then he said, "no, i live only in the street." i said, "please considerthis place as your home. "this is a better home for you."

hi johnny, here isyour medication. you flomax and the paxil. johnny: okay, thank you. julieta: for you anti-depressantand for your bph. julieta: okay, you're welcome. johnny: i'm just against rules. you've got to do this,you've got to do that. here, they don't tell me whento go to bed and when to get up. i get breakfast in bed. (laughs)

i'm getting spoiled here. the nurses all like me, so it'snot like i'm a pain in the ass. i try to be helpful if i can. if i see a guy struggling to getdown the hall in his wheelchair, i'll push him and, "wheredo you want to go?" lily's the one who's workingon my ssi, social security. she come here in once in awhile to ask me a question. "how far can you walkbefore you're too tired togo on, you have to rest?" and then she writesit on the paper.

lilian: mr. popp was referredto us by la county hospital. mission or weingart center,they are homeless shelters. they usually don't accept peoplewho need those kind of help, like if they havemedications, things like that. social worker fromcounty hospital, they already didapply for medi-cal, they have a temporary number,but it's not yet approved. to be eligible formedi-cal, they should be65 and over or disabled. mr. popp fits intothe disabled category.

voiceover: johnny's disabilityis that he is blind in one eye. in 2002, he was hit by a car ashe crossed the street legally. homeless advocate marc motenknew johnny on the streets. since then, johnnyhas changed a lot. marc: i would've walkedright by you on the street. i'd have neverknown who you were. johnny: when i came here,i withdrew from the cocaine and boy, i was delirious. i seen these tracksin the ceiling move,

i seen this windowmove, change shapes. marc: how much cleantime do you have? johnny: about three months now. marc: good. johnny: it's allout of my system. now, you've identified, "thatwas a bad place for me." you want somewhere better to go. here's the problem, though. crack, heroin, any ofthose controlled substances

can be found anywhere in thiscity, anywhere in the country. you have deal with it now. if you don't, whereveryou go, you still haveto take popp with you. when you go back to the oldplaces that you used to use at, when you were aroundthe same people thatyou used to use with, when you're doing thesame behavior that you did when you were using,all those can generateemotions and feelings that send you back to using. johnny: we went tothird and crocker wherei was smoking dope.

i didn't have theurge to smoke dope, but that's where youtest your strength, how strong you are tonot want these drugs. marc: had you beenthere by yourself, had you had been there forany prolonged period of time, it was just a matter of timebefore you got back in it. i would never, ever wantto test myself like that. i knew i got burntby this fire before, let me put my hand back in thefire to see if it's still hot.

we know it's still hot. no more bonfires to keepyou warm, you have heat. you can pull a stringand there's light. you have a bathroom. no more against the wall, inthe corner, on the street. you can actually usethe restroom in peace. people say you have to hit rockbottom before you climb back up. maybe this was your bottom. lilian: mr. popp is verylucky because he's born here,

he worked, there's a wholelot of opportunities for him. mr. popp, how are you? johnny: good. lilian: you're done with yourmental and medical exam, right? you just have to wait for thedecision of social security. i know you will get it. if not, we'll bother them,keep on bugging them, okay? johnny: shoot somemore papers back. lilian: yeah.

johnny: i think i'm luckythem guys beat me up and they put me inthis nursing home, because if they would've justkicked me out on the street instead of taking meto a nursing home, i would've continued backon the same path i was on and probably i'd be dead by now. voiceover: johnny is lucky,but all it takes is a visit to an old friend on thestreets to see how lucky he is. johnny: hey greg.

greg: hey. johnny: hey man. (laughing) he's got allkinds of shit in his house. i've been sick andgreg took care of me, brought me food,brought me water, makesure i was all right. i reciprocated. there's been timeswhen he's sick and i'd go and gethim something to eat. i'd love to see greg get intothe nursing home where i'm at.

he's getting too oldto be on the streets. greg: it's taking a toll on mejust living the street life. somehow i lost an eye out here. i'd come out of amarket and bought food and from behind, that'sno big deal gettingoff the street once. take care, johnny. johnny: all right. voiceover: johnny'sfriendship with greg provided safety on the streets.

at the nursing home,johnny was able to explore other kinds of relationships. johnny: you came rightafter i did, huh? lorraine: yeah, youwere there before i was. johnny: but not very long. lorraine: no, not verylong, about a month. i think it was for thanksgivingwhen i seen you standing there. you looked at me and i looked atyou and we smiled at each other. we started talking, remember?

johnny: yeah. lorraine: "what's your name?"you told me, i told you. then we startinggetting together, getting to know eachother more and more. (laughing) now i think it's morethan being friends. (laughs) voiceover: helenlorraine marquez wasborn in 1943 in wyoming. for a few years, she workedon a california farm, picking fruits andvegetables as a field hand. she later workedas a nurse's aid.

in 1965, she had herfirst of five children. lorraine's husbandwas an alcoholic and physicallyabusive to the family. she eventually divorcedhim and took the children. as a single mom andworking several jobs, her occasional drinkingturned to alcoholism, an addictive experienceshe shares with johnny. lorraine: every day,every day, every day. my nose would bleed in agreat big puddle like that,

full of blood and that's whenthey took me to the general. lorraine: the general, that'swhen they got me to bonnie brae. i got cirrhosis of the liver. the doctors told me,"lorraine, you drink again, "you're not goingto live very long. "your liver's justgoing to dissolve. "so you either quit drinkingor you're going to die." i said to myself, "ofcourse, i love my kids "and of course i've got tothink of myself and my health."

now, i see a can of beer, idon't even have a taste for it. even the smell of itmakes me sick of it. i make his bed. johnny: hangs up my clothes. lorraine: i tell him toshave, i tell him to putsome smelly stuff on. (laughs) the only thing idon't feed you. (laughs) i think you'recapable of doing that. johnny: that time when i wasreal sick with that cold, i think you had thaton your mind, because iwasn't eating nothing.

lorraine: every minute iwas there, feeling his face. god, hot you could evenhave fried an egg onthat face. (laughing) johnny: if you had a egg, you'dprobably try it, too. (laughing) lorraine: if he gets hisssi, social security, don't think i want to go withhim just because his money. i want to go with himso i can love him. he take care of me, i take careof him, do things together, share things together,live a happy life. voiceover: lorraine'seyesight is poor.

even with his one good eye,johnny is there to help. johnny: now here's astep down, but i can'tsee where it steps down. okay, right here. yeah, now step down. it's all steps. lorraine: jesus. johnny: i thought youknew it was all steps. okay, this is thelast one, we're down. okay, got it.

no, no more steps. (people chattering and laughing) (romantic music) lorraine: but my partnerdon't know how. (laughs) johnny: handmade tortillas. i can read this one. (music continues) lorraine: i believein the catholic church because i wasbrought up like that.

... that we are readyto receive this day. i'm going to try toget him to church. johnny: yeah, i'll go with you. lorraine: and ask ourlord for our blessing. johnny: well, i'm not goingto do all that, but i'll go. lorraine: i will ask thelord for our blessing that he gave us thisopportunity to meet each other. johnny: does that upset youbecause i'm not catholic? lorraine: it doesn't matterif you're hallelujah, mormon,

christian, whatever, or nothing. to me, what concerns meis how i feel about you. johnny: oh, ain't that nice? lorraine: to me, i love youas you are and what you are. johnny: i love you. lorraine: same here. johnny: well, wesettled that. (laughs) (church music) voiceover: johnnyonce studied theology.

it's been a long time sincehe's been in a church. while still in the nursinghome, johnny celebratedhis 58th birthday. (clapping and cheering) nurse: congratulations. (people chattering) lorraine: here isfrom me to you. johnny: oh, thank you. oh boy, i'll looksexy now. (laughter) voiceover: after eightmonths in the nursing home,

johnny receives hisdisability benefits, with the majority ofit going to the nursinghome to pay for his care. johnny: i said, "how doi go about leaving here? "i only get 50 bucks. "how do i get therest of my money?" she has to have my new address, so that they can changeall my paperwork. the greatest power in the worldis that which is within me. i'm the captain to this ship.

voiceover: johnny is ready toleave, but there is a problem. bonnie brae onlyprovides support forindividuals, not couples. lorraine may haveto stay behind. johnny: i hate to thinkwhat's going to happen to her if i leave her here,because she'll go intodeep depression, probably. all she has to do is say,"hey, if he's leaving,i'm leaving, bye." voiceover: beforelorraine can leave, she needed to signa consent form that says she is responsiblefor her own health.

she signed it. johnny: on a telephonepole where it said,"transitional housing. "men, women, $495 a month." then there was atelephone number. i called the number and weare going down to compton to see what kind of housing wecan expect to be able to afford. if the housing isonly in compton, we're going to look at itand see if it's affordable, but we're not goingto live in compton,

because it's toomuch violence there. we don't require drugand alcohol counseling. we're just looking forindependent living. nashea: there's threephases to the program. the first is transitionalhousing and what that is is a 30 day observationfor you to be placed into more of anindependent living program. then from independentliving, you'd be therefrom 30 to 90 days. from there, you transitioninto permanent housing,

meaning that we'll find sometype of housing for you. johnny: oh, i see. is all the housingyou have in compton or do you have it - nashea: we have them all over. unfortunately, our couplehouses that we have in la, they're full and we have tenpeople on a waiting list. johnny: oh my. that sounds like a long way off.

nashea: maybe 60, 90 days. it'll be an openingfor a couple, but we do have openings herein compton for a couple. it's $550 for theboth of you guys. johnny: okay, someonethere does the cooking? nashea: we have acook there, yeah. johnny: wow. nashea: yeah, but you cando your own cooking, too, yeah, if you want to.

johnny: she likes to cook. nashea: she looks like thetype of person that can cook. johnny: she can cookand she can sew. lorraine: i do my best. nashea: (laughing) okay. man: separate bathroom,it's semi-private. johnny: oh, the lightswitch behind the door. man: i put aportable closet here. lorraine: you like it?

johnny: mmhmm (affirmative). lorraine: i like it. johnny: this is our newresidence at 2037 114thstreet, compton, california. me and lorraine are togethernow and we don't have to have separate rooms anymore. there's several people wholive here in the house. we all share the kitchenand we share the bath. we've got a nice, big backyard. they have dinner, butthey're not thinking

about the people way inthe back of the house, so sometimes we miss dinner. been a while since i'vebeen in the kitchen. there's a laundry room, butthe washing machine don't work. we had to go to the laundromat. voiceover: now, with a littlemore independence and stability, johnny attempts toreach out to a person hehasn't seen in 15 years. his son. (phone ringing)

wayne: hello. johnny: hello, is this wayne? wayne: yeah. johnny: hey wayne,this is johnny popp. i'm looking for myson, are you him? wayne: no, no, sorry man. what's your son look like? johnny: my son,he looks like me. wayne: yeah?

johnny: yeah, buthe's taller than me. my son and i losttrack of one another. last time i saw himhe was in tuscon. since your name was wayne popp,that's the same name as my son. sorry i bothered you, dude. wayne: that's all right. good luck on your seach. johnny: oh yeah, thanks. wisconsin. (phone ringing)

johnny: hello, wayne? johnny: hi wayne,this is johnny popp. i'm calling from losangeles, california. i'm looking for my son. are you him? wayne: nope, i'm not him. johnny: hello. hey, is wayne there? wayne: yeah, this is wayne.

johnny: wayne, this is johnnypopp and i'm looking for my son. wayne: you havethe wrong number. johnny: oh, okay, well,thanks anyway, man, bye. kind of sounded like him. here, i don't wantto do this no more. voiceover: now lorraine wantsto search for her family, too. lorraine: i knowwhere my kids live, but i don't rememberthe address. they're always worried about me,

they always talked to me,telling me not to drink. johnny: if you went totheir house, would theybe glad to see you? lorraine: i imagine so, becauseit's been almost a year already. voiceover: lorraine hasone son in state prison and starts her search with him. lorraine: [unintelligible] man on phone: inmaterelease informationwill not be available until after the inmatehas been released. johnny: is there a wayi can write to him?

thank you. man on phone: you're welcome. johnny: you canwrite to your son. there's the address. lorraine: oh now ican write to him. johnny: that's his number. lorraine: let himknow where i'm at. voiceover: after three weeks,lorraine receives a letter and beautifully drawn picturefrom her son in prison.

the letter says, "looks likeyou when i was a little kid." johnny: "my dearest mom,how i've missed you so much. "i've wept so many tearsjust because i felt alone. "i thought you left me, mom. "i'm glad you foundme and i'm happy thatyou have a boyfriend." that's me. (laughing) "hope he is a nice personand treats you good. "tell him he has a sonover here and that ihope to meet him soon. "as for me, mom, alwayshere doing the best i can

"and staying out of trouble. "i want you tocome up and see me. "well, i'll send everybodyyour address, okay? "you take care and writeback soon and i love you, mom "and miss you a lot. "your son ray." gives everybody the address. lorraine: i miss him. johnny: i think he likes you.

lorraine: i feel sohappy to hear from him. it's been so many years. "that's a picture ofmy whole family, all ofus at the restaurant." "this is your grandson." that's my youngestdaughter ana's little boy. she's in the navyand she's a police. voiceover: while livingin transitional housing is more independentthan the nursing home, it isn't as secureas it first looked.

johnny: they took$3,000 from us. we paid our rentplus next month. they came this afternoon andsaid that he was getting out of the money management business and he was going togive me my money. he gave me 20 bucks. he owes me 290. he's always going to dothis and going to do that and they don't do anything.

you notice that door, he wasgoing to put that door on the first day we were hereand it's never been done. this place is okay,but when lorraine getsher money coming in, then we're going to startsaving up what we can and move in to aregular apartment. we're at the housingalternatives for seniors and lorraine and i filledout all the paperwork. they'll call us when they havean opening for an apartment. they gave us a list ofplaces that we can try.

they may have openings now. 877-18 - there's a recording that saidthey have apartments available only for hiv positive families. yes, hi, do you have anyapartments available? he said right now they don'thave anything available. they've got a waiting listand call back in september. this one's $1050,that's too much. it's two bedrooms.

they don't have no onebedrooms or studios available. uno momento. okay. what is that telephone number? 1 - hello? she hung up. we've got to find a placeby the end of the month, because i gave them notice.

voiceover: johnny andlorraine spent eight weeksin transitional housing. after four weeks of searchingfor their apartment, they found their new home. johnny: i'm ready to move outof here and go to another place. the next place willbe more permanent, because i signed aone year contract. slowly but surely i'm gettingnormal, instead of homeless. voiceover: surprisingly,johnny and lorraine find an affordableapartment one block

from the nursinghome where they met. we saw a sign out frontthat said, "for rent," so we just came and asked. landlady: thecontract is one year. johnny: but you're not going toraise the rent during the year. yeah, it's a key percent. johnny: at the end of the year. landlady: yeah, end of the year. johnny: can yousee through there?

cameraman: yeahi can. (laughing) voiceover: after theysettled into their new home, johnny still had unfinishedbusiness from theirrecent transitional house. johnny: i need to see someonein charge of the how foundation. woman: the who? johnny: the how foundation. woman: oh, thatbusiness is closed down. they got evicted. johnny: how foundationclosed everything down

and moved out with my money. lorraine: we getalong pretty good. we have little arguments, butit's nothing serious. (laughs) little by little, he'sgetting to know my family and in the future, i'llget to know his son. johnny: we watch alot of television. lorraine: walk up[unintelligible], walk up and see our friendsat the bonnie brae hospital. sometimes we get to play cards.

johnny: i take care of her. that's my purpose in life,take care of lorraine. voiceover: city, state,and federal resources gave johnny the opportunityto end his homelessness after six years on the streets. in a time of budget cuts,social services is often seen as the place to cut back,but does it actually savemore in the long run? the 2009 where we sleep reportshowed that it was nearly five times as expensive toleave people on the street,

instead of providing housingwith services to those in need. given the costs of emergencymedical and city services, a person in a supportivehousing environment has a secure roof over theirhead, plus case management to access resources topermanently transitionoff the streets. everyone has their own ideafor ending homelessness. the important thing is tocontinue asking the questions and working togetherto find new answers. deon: my solution forending homelessness, atleast in this vicinity,

is the different servicegroups working together with the police department. we're not the answer toending homelessness, at all. what we can do is likei said our job is, create the environment bycreating law and order, so that the influencesof the service providers is stronger than that of thegang members and their drugs and then, once thesepeople get on their feet, housing has to come onlineand take these people in

and give them jobsand things like that. these things have towork in that order. order, shelter, housing, jobs. they have to work together. if it doesn't, it'snot going to work. we can't be fightingamongst each other. voiceover: the 50 new officersfor the safer cities initiative created a major change on thestreets of downtown los angeles after their first year.

not everyone thought thecrackdown on skid row was the right solution. pete: 36,000 tickets,36,000 tickets. that ain't right, ina community of 15,000, to mostly black and browndisabled people, me and you. in the same time,24,000 plus arrests in downtown los angelesin a 50 block area. is that right? crowd: hell no.

pete: is that right? elizabeth: the issue, whenyou're talking about homeless, a lot of the homeless, and i'mreally specifically talking about those who arechronically homeless, they have many different,multiple, complexpsychosocial issues and so just putting themin housing is not enough. they may lose theirhousing without theservices that they need. there's always goingto be people who thinkit's a free ride, who don't really understand thecompelling reasons to do this

for folks that are pretty sick. there's always apolitical layer. the business community can behelpful and can be hurtful, because obviously,they have a stake in what's happeningdowntown and the cleaning up of skid row, etcetera. it's trying to cometo common ground. they want them off the street,we want them off the street and to figure out how tomake that work in a way

that everybody then is happy. voiceover: answers for endinghomelessness are complex and not easily solved. the story of johnny andlorraine reveals how with personal commitment andsocial service programs at work, falling down canlead to falling up. (pleasant music) johnny: hi, johnny popp here. i'm 59 years old,i'm in my home.

it's not a shopping cart,thank god, but it used to be. today i have a nice home,a warm bed to sleep in, and good food to eat. lorraine: i feel wonderfuland i love my place very much and we get along so goodand we live so happy. it's not much, but littleby little we got ourown home. (laughing) johnny: this is mygrandbaby, linda. she's 18 months old. when she was born, shewas only two pounds

because she was a coupleof months premature. (baby linda babbling) voiceover: johnny andlorraine are not only baby linda's grandparents,but her godparents as well. johnny: oh yeah, i see now. [unintelligible] (laughs) voiceover: with their supportivenew environment and family, johnny and lorraine finallydecided to quit smoking. they survived the street andquit their one last addiction,

but life will alwayshave its ups and downs. in 2009, lorraine wasdiagnosed with liver cancer. with johnny at her side,together they facedthis new challenge. johnny does haveone new addiction. with the money he savedfrom smoking cigarettes, he bought a new computer. perhaps someday, withhis enthusiasm forsocial networking, he'll reunite with his son.