Episode 3 - The Compassion Problem

Join us in episode 3 of The System Remix, where we discuss the growing disconnect between society and the humanity of people experiencing homelessness. Through raw personal stories and honest conversation, we unpack the stigma surrounding homelessness, substance use, poverty, and survival. We challenge the stereotypes that often define public perception. From discussions about systemic barriers and lack of life education to housing insecurity, addiction, burnout, and the failures of institutions meant to help.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities that they may represent.

SPEAKER_03 0:14

Hello everybody and welcome back to the System Remix Podcast. I'm your host, Jada B. And I'm joined with. Ayo, it's Cass. Awesome. We got Cass in the building. I also uh Lily, uh, it's Lily. We got Lily in the building. And I'm also joined with Um Tanner. We got Tanner in the building. I like that. Fun fact about Tanner. Tanner just started with us. Okay, not to put you on the spot as a new guy, because Tanner definitely didn't know that he's a big guy.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

He's getting very experienced.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

Very true to the established a little bit at this point.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

I feel like uh got my toes, my toes in the sand.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

Yeah, maybe your big toe sticking out, you know, just yeah, a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Yeah, maybe my ankles aren't quite on there, but come on now.

SPEAKER_03 0:59

But yeah, it's nice to have you guys on. Um, yes, as you know, Tanner is our new system improvement fellow. A little segue into our podcast, right? Because this is the system remix podcast. So um, goal at the system remix podcast. Um, let's actually just start from the beginning, okay? We got awarded $1.3 million for the youth homelessness system improvement, grand. Shout out to HUD, okay? Shout out to you guys. Um, we applied for this funding um last year now. I think yeah, it's been a year. Wow, around the conference time. Yeah, yeah, around the yeah, so so actually.

SPEAKER_04 1:35

This is full circle year.

SPEAKER_03 1:36

Yeah, I mean, literally, literally full circle. I feel like fun fact about you both. So actually, Lely and Kaz are YAB members. Okay. Um, I am a former YAB member. Um, I kind of aged out, so I'm a little experienced counsel now, honorarily. Um, but they are youth action board members. That actually kind of brings me to some of my questions. So let's just hop right into it, y'all. Um, I'll start with you, Kaz. Would you mind sharing a little bit about your journey and how you became involved with your youth action board?

SPEAKER_04 2:06

Oh well, y'all in for a long one. Like um, so basically, just um started homelessness around 18. Um, and on and off, six years of homelessness. Um, bunch of struggles on the way during and after. Um, and now this is just the reignited me that I'm so proud of that I worked so hard to become. And um, if it wasn't for little people along the way and like HSN as a whole, I wouldn't be where I am today. So I thank them.

unknown 2:41

Amen to that.

SPEAKER_04 2:42

Thankful for you, Caz.

SPEAKER_03 2:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:44

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 2:44

Okay, thankful for you. Love it, love it. What about you, Lily? How'd you get involved with Griab? Um also shout out to THHI. Thank you, thank you. On the West Coast.

SPEAKER_02 2:57

But no, um, basically, my sister, actually, my older sister was actually involved with THHI before me. And I was still going through, you know, life at that point. Yeah, I was not living with my parents. She was not either. I was also I was actually living with um an ex um boyfriend um parents' house to finish school because I know if I didn't stay with them, I would not be able to finish school. So just got involved with THHI. My sister was like, yeah, they can help you, they got a lot of benefits. Um at that time, I really didn't care for the benefits. I just knew that I wanted to help others in my situation. Because back in high school, early high school and middle school, we had something called Young Life. It's really um, it's like a Christian group, but we also do like reach um reach outs to youth and um that was homeless, youth with disabilities, stuff like that. So just got into THHI and they connected me with a lot of you know connections and you guys, so glad to be here.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

Well, you actually touched on actually a little bit of my next question I was gonna ask you. So um you said that you actually had a boyfriend who was thank you so much, Cassi told me to um modify this. Um you know, that that supported you, right? Him and his family. That's what that supported you um on your journey, even like in school, right? You spoke about a little bit um about your journey there. Um, I wanted to ask, right? Because, you know, sometimes we have people who come into our lives who support us, right? Whether that's like family and friends, or um, you have people who are part of the system. I want to ask a little bit because again, our main our main podcast focus is about system change. So, what do you feel like motivated you to now use your lived experience to support people instead of like, you know, I don't, I I'm curious a little bit maybe about your own personal experience with the homelessness system. Like what was that like for you? You know, I know we know sometimes it can maybe not move as fast as we think it could, right? Um, so you know, we're trying to find like tangible solutions. So what do you think really motivates you to like continue to try to empower other people who are experiencing homelessness?

SPEAKER_02 5:08

Um I would say my biggest motivator is my little brother because once I moved out to um stay with my boyfriend people, he still was going through um basically the system of being homeless with my mom. And I didn't like that. So like I feel like so many people under me. I also was a um how do you say it? Um basically, I was a big help with my community with very younger people that was younger than me. They looked up to me and everything. Um I was doing like their parents wasn't able to pay for hairdues or clothes for school for like homecoming stuff like that, and they wanted to go. So most of the time I just do the hair for free, I do makeup for free. And if I can, at that point, I'll go like to the thrift store and I'll just tailor clothes and everything with all my own money. But now I'm trying to get to you know a point a point in time where I can just have people donate the money and stuff like that, so I can be able to continue to do that because it is it is hard for parents, especially younger parents, especially out here in the world where everything is charged, like oh, arm and a leg. Yeah, it's expensive.

SPEAKER_04 6:12

That's that's how much a parent is spending.

SPEAKER_03 6:14

Yeah, could have bought it for the whole 18 years.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

I'm gonna say, let alone a parent that is stable, parent that is not stable, it's even worse for them.

SPEAKER_03 6:22

Yeah, well, I mean, and I say like could have bought an house with that. Like, that's way easier said than done, right? Like they could have invested that and made more millions out of that, like you know, this conversation is taking a very interesting turn because I feel like that kind of speaks to like how much lack of education there really is for a lot of us that are like, you know, put in a position where we either have to fend for ourselves or our children or our family members, and like you're not really put up on game about like how you can excel to not be living paycheck to paycheck. Because think about that, right? How okay, uh round of a a um show of hands. How many of you guys have touched more than $10,000 at one time?

SPEAKER_01 7:07

Oh, definitely not.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

Honestly, I think the most I have had at one time was $2,000 only because of a lawsuit. And I could have got more, but me not being educated didn't know. That's a great was a slip and fall at Publix. So I know I could have got more.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

Oh girl, you could have gotten more. You could have got more publics. If you're watching this, if you want to sponsor us, listen, I will I don't want to fall again.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

But if that water's there, I'm slipping half.

SPEAKER_04 7:34

You gotta teach me how to do a lawsuit.

SPEAKER_02 7:36

Because I gotta give a I gotta sue. Listen, I'm not gonna. So my ex-parents, they his mom didn't really have to go through nothing like this. His um dad didn't have to go through nothing like this.

SPEAKER_05 7:49

Right.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

So they really don't know. But they the reason why I'm putting it out there because we meet a lot of people that we didn't know that uh did not have to go through the these things, but they also have research that can help us. That's true. Because I didn't have a I don't have a lawyer or anything like that. And they collecting me with a lawyer so quickly.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

It's like especially when you don't have a lot of money on hand, like lawyers cost money. Yeah, so in order to get that settlement in the first place, you need a lawyer, which you can't pay for if you don't have any money in the first place. Yes, you know, so it's like yeah, like being broke is expensive. You know what I mean? Facts, it is like why am I getting charged an over an overcharge fee?

SPEAKER_02 8:25

I don't have any money already, you know, like getting no getting charged with no no money in your account is not.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

I mean negative, and you're gonna add another 10 onto it. Why?

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Facts. I'm thinking I'm getting paid.

SPEAKER_04 8:35

Nope, take exactly you then took my funds.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

That doesn't even make sense.

SPEAKER_04 8:38

But wait, to go back to like um us not being educated on some certain things, like if we go back and like we really get into like the nitty-gritty of things, is like school didn't teach us nothing for adulthood. Like, if we really get into it, we're gonna get into it. School didn't teach us any of the fundamentals of being an adult. I didn't know how to do a resume, and I have a diploma. I didn't know what credit was, taxes, like they just kind of like math, science, which is good stuff to know, but like what benefits do I get out of adulthood? Like, yeah, I feel like that's crazy too, that like we don't know nothing. Yeah, yeah, and I got a paperwork for nothing.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

Yeah, literally, like, like why am I doing this? Um, you know, I think great points are being brought up, right? Like sometimes you just don't know what you don't know. Yeah, um, and I feel like there is a lot of people that get labeled um as like maybe it's irresponsible or careless or um the okay, the one that I really hate to hear, but that is so common is like, oh, you're a bum.

SPEAKER_05 9:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

And it's like, is this person really a bum if they really don't know what they're doing? Like, I just I don't really get that. Um or I do get it, right? Like it's it's our culture that we live in.

SPEAKER_05 9:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:58

Um I had gotten into that in Baltimore when I had spoken. I was like, the societal views of homelessness is so drastically wrong and so dramatically messed up. Like when you talk to a person that's never encountered a homeless person other than the guy with the beard and the dog, yeah, and the bunch of bags on their back, like that's what they envision when you say homeless. But like, quite literally, it's like people like me, people like you, you know, like that barely have funds, like, and it's crazy because a lot of us are living one paycheck away from homelessness, and they don't want to consider that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

And see, even like I find myself like dealing because like I would never consider myself like unsheltered homeless, right? But like there's been times where like I was forced with my family to live with my grandmother or like live out of hotels, and like in my own head, I'm like, oh, that's not but it's like realistically, like I had no other option, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04 10:53

So it's like that and it's such a negative connotation to say I'm homeless.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

And like I've had a conversation, like my father was living out of his car, facts, and he was he's like, Oh no, I'm just I'm just on the move. I'm like, that's a crazy thing to say, you know, like never stopping at all, right?

SPEAKER_04 11:11

It's sad though, like we're so afraid to even say the word.

SPEAKER_03 11:15

Yeah, and it's just like it's so much um stigma that's associated with being unhoused, and even like shame that's pinned to it, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:27

Like literally It's because of what we already think we know about homelessness, it's because what everybody portrays about being homeless. Nobody wants to say, Oh yeah, I'm homeless. I'm not a house.

SPEAKER_04 11:37

And then it's always like, oh, it's your fault that you're this way, like you're doing narcotics, or like you're doing you're doing no, I think you can use the word narcotics. Yeah, yeah, okay. Yeah, you're doing narcotics, like they instantly think it's narcotics or it's alcohol, or it's like you just quit your job and don't want to get another one, but it's also like evictions, it's um incarceration. Like, there's a lot of kids that people don't even understand that like their parents didn't want to deal with them as a child. I'm living proof of one situation, so I can just say that. But like they were consistently incarcerated as a child, so when they get out, they never lived outside of incarceration, so they don't know anything else but incarceration. And for me, my mom, every time she didn't want to deal with me, was like, Oh, you're mentally insane, go. And I was in mental institution after mental mental institution after mental institution, which after group home. And when I got to adult life, she said, now I can finally get rid of you, and I know nothing. Yeah, so it's just like there's more to it than just oh, you're on narcotics, oh, you're doing this, you don't you don't want to put into yourself. It's so much more to it.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

But even just as a point, you're 100% correct. But in my own personal, maybe this is a crazy idea, but like even if you are addicted to drugs and alcohol and you know, whatever you choose, quote unquote not to do anything, which isn't true, right? That does not condemn you to like not being a person anymore. You still deserve human decency and like a basic, like baseline level of you know, humanity, right? And people see that as like a oh wow, they're just not even human anymore. And that's what's crazy to me that people can get that into their head. Like who cares?

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Yeah, they force it upon others to think the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Right.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

But I do have a question I want to ask you guys. Yeah, yeah, go ahead. So, do you guys think this is a question that came up to um me in a different Yab group? It was like a different, a whole bunch of Yabs across the country. We all was joining one Yab, and one of the questions they had, it was a big discussion. A lot of people think, oh, you homeless because of you do drugs. Do y'all think you're homeless because of you drugs, or is it you homeless and now you're doing drugs because of things like that?

SPEAKER_03 13:42

Can I so that's it? I'm actually shameless plug. Tomorrow I am presenting um a presentation that's it's called Hard Truths and Healing. Maybe I'll upload it so you guys can see it there. That'd be like, but it's about it's about substance use, right? And how like a lot of people don't realize either A that they have a substance use problem, right? Or they do, right? And it's something that they want to turn away from. And the thing with substance use, it either be a catalyst of, right? Right being unhoused, so like you're homeless, and now you're like, oh geez, I I don't know what else to do. I'm I gave up, you know what I mean? Or maybe you were utilizing substances, right? And then you got into a position where your you know, your family members or your friends, people just kind of like I don't want to say give up on you. Yeah, they gave up on me. They separate themselves, you know? They're just separating themselves, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:34

Yeah, and go ahead. No, no, go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 14:38

Well, uh to put it real short, all right. Um before the pot before it comes out, so you can explain more, more not to spoil it. Right. Um, like just in short, like either way, I think it goes back to your point, Tanner. Does that mean that the person then doesn't deserve a place to say? Does it mean that you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 14:55

Like that you're condemned to not being less than human.

SPEAKER_03 14:58

Oh, I think it's so horrible when I see people that are out on the street and then they're being pushed out by the police, or they're you know, they're they're being taken to jail. Because the reality is you're literally putting that person into jail. They now have court fees that they have to pay, right? They now have to go to certain diversionary programs or things like that. And don't get me wrong, that's not it's not like that couldn't help the person. Maybe you know, that's their rock bottom moment, right? Where they had to go to jail or they had to be incarcerated or what have you. But the harsh reality is if you already are not stable, you already know how a place to stay. You already don't know where your next meal is gonna come from. You may not even I what I've realized recently, too, some people maybe they they have delays like they can't read or things like that, and they're being overlooked because they're missing this very vital piece. Uh it makes me think of my grandmother, who is a literal immigrant who moved to this country from the Dominican Republic, who was brought here on a boat and was made to sleep on a cot, like on the ground, right? And it's like, are you saying, like, you know, your dad was sleeping in his car, and he's like, you know, I'm saying, no, no, no, that's not homelessness, like you know, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Like, yeah, it's a matter of perception, but like society kind of all agrees on this image of what homelessness is, which is like how she was explaining the man with the dog, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 16:10

Yeah, I feel like as time goes on, homelessness looks different. It it does, and everybody just thinks, oh, the first homeless person, oh, with the dog and with the augment bags. But those are just most adults. What about the children? You don't know, yeah, absolutely. What other what about the children that are forced to portray as homeless, but it's not, it's also a new one. Now they have trauma and now they are homeless.

SPEAKER_04 16:33

I have the statistics actually, because I still have my canvas. Come on, Dad. But um, the statistics of children experiencing homelessness every year is let me find it real quick. But while we wait and I find it, um, also like on the narcotics topic as well, is like um a lot of people don't realize that people weren't given the tools at a young age to deal with emotions and situational stuff that happens. So, like for me, narcotics was my choice to like numb what I was feeling because I was so tired of feeling so much at once that it just drowned out that noise for so long. And to be out of it, like it's crazy how much damage it did to me. And like now, like I'm not on it, I've been five months sober, thank God. But like it's like you still have urges or like your mood swings still swinging because you're withdrawing from something that you haven't touched in months, but it's still your body's craving it, and it's so sad how hard it is.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Psychological, yeah. Like as somebody who you know, I've had my own struggles with substance abuse before. I when it ties back into homelessness, I I think like they're obviously connected, but they're not as connected as people like to make it because like there's still rich kids doing coke in the clubs and stuff, you know what I mean? Coke in the club. But also, you know, like you're saying, yeah, people feel you know, like pain. And like drugs and alcohol is a very easy way to like make it not so bad, you know what I mean? So it's like, and then once you, you know, that's a whole thing in and of itself, you know.

SPEAKER_04 18:09

Obviously, it's it's not and then it's made popular by societal. It's romanticized in music and videos and movies, and it's like, but y'all talking about us like we're horrible people because we do it, but y'all watch the movies and sing the songs that are talking about it.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

You know what's crazy? It's not just the movies or the videos, it's also the family members, yeah. Because younger kids are watching you do the exact watching you drinking, watching you smoking, watching you doing this, and they think it's cool. Oh, my mom's doing it, it's cool, my my grandma's doing it, my uncle's doing it. No, it's not cool.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

Or even like like we were saying, like, that's like you learn these structures as like a child. So it's like if you've only seen your parents do you know use drug and alcohol to like minimize their issues instead of like you know being healthy about how they deal with their problems, then that's what you learn as that child. A routine. And I mean that's something that I feel like you know uh happened with me because I didn't like when I grew up and I realized like I didn't have these tools to like have the structure in my life that is gonna be good for me and stuff. So instead it was just easier to do what I know, and that's you know, all the other stuff.

SPEAKER_04 19:15

And even some kids are born high. Yeah, like if we take that into account, like there's a lot of kids that are born high, and that's all their bodies know whole nine months. Right. So when they're out, they're having strong withdrawals, and they're newborn babies. Yeah, but nobody th nobody talks about that, right? But the statistics of every year in the United States, it's 4.2 million youth and young adults experience some form of homelessness. This includes seven thousand seven hundred thousand minors aged 13 to 17, and then 3.5 million aged 18 to 24.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

See, but that doesn't fit every side of the standard of what a homeless person is, quote unquote. You know what I mean? People would like would rather not even think about that part. They would just ignore it and look the other way. Which is, you know.

SPEAKER_02 20:00

Or a lot of people just think, oh, you think young adults are homeless because of their parents. Yeah. And that's not the case. Because honestly, it's not even the parents are probably not even doing nothing wrong. It's probably, oh, they because there's a lot of scams going on.

SPEAKER_05 20:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

Parents thinking, oh, I paid this much, I paid this, I'll pay all what I'm doing just to make my kids happy. It's a whole scam. They don't own that house. So now the police are showing up kicking your family out.

SPEAKER_04 20:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:22

They don't care where you go, they don't care where you sleep. They just know that you're not supposed to be there.

SPEAKER_04 20:26

Well, that's crazy you said that because my mom was trying to I I haven't thought about this in forever either, so thank you for bringing it up. I was like, I brought it up because I've been through it. My mom she had to file for bankruptcy and was paying this guy, and it looked legit like he was in one of the buildings downtown. All to find out, like all the money she put into him was fraud, and her bankruptcy never happened. Like exactly.

SPEAKER_02 20:50

That's nothing ever happened.

SPEAKER_04 20:52

Dang, that's crazy. I haven't thought about that in years.

SPEAKER_02 20:54

No, because for one Christmas, my mom literally moved us all into a house, and she was like, What she was like, I know I couldn't do much for you guys for Christmas. And I was like, This is what we wanted for Christmas. This is the place literally me and my little brother, and we was like, This is this fine.

SPEAKER_03 21:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:08

Come to find out the church I was going to going to, they also basically furnished our whole house. The lady she made homemade curtains, everything. And then a whole year passed, almost two years, then cop shows up. Literally. Well, I don't have my birthday there, we don't have parties there, everything was fine. Right. Cop showed up saying we have to leave, we have to leave everything behind. To this day, this house is still foreclosed by the bank.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

Yeah. And that's like this is uh uh leads into a point that I think is like obviously with the you know homeless services, like it it has a tendency, in my opinion, to like individualize the issue into like specific people, but uh we kind of lose sight that this is not an individual issue, like we've all kind of touched on this is not somebody's fault or the fault of somebody's parents. This is like a a sickness of society. Like these things, why are why are there empty houses that the bank is just Letting sit down. Why are they closing furnaces kicking people out? No, no. This is crazy. What's wrong with the society that we are living in? Because like this is it doesn't make sense. Why is there people on the street?

SPEAKER_03 22:11

There should be some kind of organization. You know what? Maybe that's where consistent change. Okay. Maybe there's some kind. Thank you so much. Um sorry, so passionate. Okay. It's kind of stage there for a second. Like, no, literally. Okay, we've got my cell phone. Mike one, Mike One. Yo, maybe there's some kind of organization that can like connect with places that are empty, right? Like literally. I from the bank. You know what I mean? I'm gonna link a photo of the i4 eyesore if you can. Yeah, you can link it here. Wherever, wherever it is, wherever that space is. ISOR is a giant building in Altamont Springs, Florida.

SPEAKER_04 22:56

If you know if you're not aware of it, like 12 to 15 years to build and still is empty. Floors and floors. Floors and floors and floors and floors.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

And not to say made by the Tanner Company, by the way. Not me.

SPEAKER_04 23:11

Tanner, did you make this? Did you are you not completely unrelated? No, but it's crazy, bro. Because like Fashion Square Mall is closing. Yes. Why the frick are we not making a shelter out of it then? Y'all wanted us to get rid of the Soto shelter so bad. What about what about the freaking malls that are closing that we're not gonna use and they're just gonna sit there? Make them into freaking shelters. And if not shelters, bro, like actual places that like all those little shops, instead of having freaking shops where they're selling stuff, have it be like breakout rooms where like people can learn how to get rid of their addiction, learn skills of how to cook, how to be hygienic, learn things and teach them for freaking free so they can learn how to be societal members.

SPEAKER_02 23:55

One of the biggest problems people are money motivated. Exactly. They're not just about to say they're not motivated by people, they're money motivated.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

People would rather let those buildings sit there empty and pay taxes and pay for the mortgage on it rather than have somebody move in and not collect rent from them, which is insane. Because like technically that's gonna be more money. But if you're already paying that anyways, you would rather let it sit there and still pay it with nobody living.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

You're literally not even paying it. Because at that point, if you're renting the house out, they're paying your mortgage. Exactly. They're paying everything. But I was on a train, you guys, heading to Miami. The bright line?

SPEAKER_04 24:25

No.

SPEAKER_02 24:25

Oh, well, Amtrak.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

We love Amtrak.

SPEAKER_03 24:29

Amtrak, James Fuck, Amtrak, sponsor us. Listen, I'm on there every week.

SPEAKER_02 24:32

You guys know.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

Come on, come on.

SPEAKER_02 24:34

They asked me again, are you on here again? Yes, yes, yes, yes. Back, I'm back. Always. But no, we're riding. You know, I'm just looking out the windows. Look, I'm trying to see some animals or something. No. Coming out of Tampa. You guys want to know what I've seen? A big area with a lot of tents.

SPEAKER_05 24:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:50

You know how quick my heart just shattered. I'm like, what? What is that? Like, what is that? I don't even think nobody knows about this. Yeah. No, like this is ducked up. It was literally like a whole bunch of bathrooms and then nothing but tents and people. It's crazy. Some people don't even want to give them money because they think they're just going to use it for drugs. And some of them people are not just using it for drugs. They are actually trying to get them food. Right. There are some people clearly ask, you have any food? Uh my lunch bag. I got this. Nah, like, like.

SPEAKER_01 25:19

I'm like, I'm about to get a red bull, come with me. I got five bucks.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

No, literally, no, this is I I don't have money either, but I can get too I can get you at the store.

SPEAKER_04 25:26

I can't give you the money though. This is something my mom had taught me, but like when a homeless per se individual approaches you asking for money, be like, hey, I can't give you money right now, but I can give you food, water. Is there anything else you would like? And if they reply, like, yeah, yeah, I would love that, like, that's how you know they genuinely just want that. Yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_01 25:44

And while we're also like talking about this, there's a maybe again, I I have a different opinion than a lot of people, but like, if I give somebody money, it is not, I don't care what they do with it. If you want to spend that on drugs, like, okay. That's your choice. I'm not, I'm not gonna like you know, add all these conditions to why I'm gonna support if you just need to like have five bucks if do whatever you want to do tonight. Like, that's not my my my you know, I'm not here to tell you what to do.

SPEAKER_04 26:09

Like if I you know, I would wish the best, but if it's the worst, you know, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 26:13

Like, I'm not, you know, encouraging you, you know, but like at the same time, I'm not gonna tell you what to do with the money that I'm giving you. Like, I was at the Dollar General the other day, and like this dude asked me to buy some like some like cleaning chemicals for for him. And then the lady at the Dollar General was like, he's gonna sell that and buy trucks, you know.

SPEAKER_04 26:29

And I was like, What do I mean to do if we have a new meaning?

SPEAKER_01 26:32

Oh, he he asked if I would buy it for him, and I said, Yeah, sure. So I did. Like, I don't really like why is it why are you so concerned about what he's doing? Like, plus that's a hustle. I mean like by any means making his own money that way, like what you know, like but it's like why are you so overly concerned in what you're you're policing people's like movements and stuff? Like, you think just because they're homeless that they're lesser and you can like dictate what they do and live, like tell them what they are allowed and not allowed to do. That's again just like kind of concept that we have of homeless people that like they're less than human.

SPEAKER_04 27:05

Yeah, can I just cut them a break? At least he's trying to make them exactly living if that is the case. Can I just thank all y'all for being here like for this podcast? Because like a lot of the things that you guys are speaking on. Mind you, I went through a whole narcotic phase of three years, right? That was hard. Yeah, very hard. Yeah, I got laced and everything. I was not supposed to be here today. So, like, my memory is fried. So, like, y'all saying little things and I'm starting to remember, and it it sounds so dumb, but like I'm remembering things I've never like I had forgot the moment it happened, like and the cleaner thing is what brought me and a memory that I haven't thought about in years because I I just can't remember anything anymore. And um, my ex-boyfriend, like, I was on drugs at the time, and I was so selfish and addicted to things to numb my pain, and he was on the run because he's been dealing with stuff. He used to take like Windex and go to Walmart and like wash people's car windows for money so he could supply my addiction habits. So, yeah, yeah, thank you. But like it's little things like that, like you don't even know what he it was for food, it wasn't just an addiction, it was like food making sure I was okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

Exactly. So, you know, when people try to like police behavior like that, like that's not your place to do that.

SPEAKER_04 28:29

Yeah, so we don't know never what's the you never know what's going on. Never we never truly know like what somebody's truly going through, and like I'm not gonna lie, y'all. Those three years, y'all probably would have thought what was going on, but y'all never knew. Yeah, because one thing about it and two things for sure, my mask was great. Yeah, my mask was so beautifully made that nobody noticed. I was always everybody's light. Mind you, I'm in the pit of darkness. I was always everybody's light. People would call me, hey Cassandra, um, I need advice, resources, and I was there. But if you were to ask me what my house looked like, what my what what I look like after I close my door and I lock it and I'm in my home, y'all, y'all would have never guessed what I was doing.

SPEAKER_01 29:12

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:13

So like it's just a lot that people just fail to realize.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Because also, like, you learn how to build that mask, yeah. Yeah, yeah, and that's something that you know.

SPEAKER_04 29:21

You're taught to never show emotion, to never show your suffering.

SPEAKER_03 29:24

I mean, think about being even in the working world, right? You go to work and thank God, like we we work for an organization, even we we're like a part of the ab, right? And like living the various lived experience councils where you can talk openly maybe about things that you're going through or your past. But who in corporate America really cares?

SPEAKER_04 29:41

Facts. Like, who really cares about it?

SPEAKER_01 29:43

They care in the sense that they don't want you to talk about it. Yeah, literally shut up.

SPEAKER_04 29:46

Because, like, even not to bring up Baltimore, but when I was spoken at Baltimore, I had brought up like how much of a difference would it make if your supervisor walked up and approached you and was like, Yo, I see you're burning out. I know this line of work is hard, and I see that you're burnt out, and I need you to take the rest of this day for yourself, go do something for you, go home. I need you to go home. The moment I break down and just start crying at that moment. But imagine how many lives and jobs would be saved and salvaged because of that. If my supervisor was just like, I see the burnout in you, and you can't give me your best work today. So go home and go heal whatever's going on. Couldn't like fix it, you'll be paid. You feel me? Yeah, because I think you you need this because I still need you. I still need like if I if I heard those words come out of my supervisor's mouth in the time where like I'm dark, bro, I'd be saved. Like it's just something that we fail to realize is like empathy really matters something like that.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

Like it's conditional, and why is that? That's a I don't understand why.

SPEAKER_02 30:51

Like, yeah, and I was I'm going through like went through a hard time, told my boss, listen, last minute before I had to go to work, a family would pass away. I have to I have to go. You know what he did the next time? He said, Oh, I understand. I give you paid time off. Yeah, you could take the rest of the week off.

SPEAKER_03 31:08

Oh, that's so good.

SPEAKER_02 31:10

If I was at my other job, oh, it's okay. You can take that day off.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

We have boxes of tissues in here, so like, you know, you'll be back tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 31:18

Like what?

SPEAKER_01 31:20

Even that like that corporate kind of like greed is insane because like when I worked in a kitchen, uh my appendix was about to explode. I was on the floor. I was on the floor, like curled up in a ball. Like I, you know, uh I was going through a medical episode. Yeah, and my manager comes up to me. I'm literally curled up on the floor, and he's like, if you're not gonna work, just go home. And I went straight to the hospital, and they're like, Yeah, your appendix almost exploded. And I'm like, Okay, that's crazy. And he's like, he texts me, he's like, Oh, I'm sorry. Thought you were faking it. Like, first of all, I wouldn't be like that dramatic because if I'm vacant, but like, but also like you don't have like no matter what it is, like who cares? Like, just have some compassion. Literally, when I'm about to like, I could have gone septic, like you know, like crazy how that works sometimes.

SPEAKER_04 32:03

I could have I could have croaked right in front of your eyes, literally. And guess what? You would have been lawsuited by somebody.

SPEAKER_02 32:10

You know, it's crazy. A lot of people are terrified to say that something is wrong with them at work. Yeah, I didn't because they do not want to get fired because they have to leave. That's so true. It can be the it can be literally their last breath that they're about to take. Yeah, like I'm not gonna say anything.

SPEAKER_03 32:24

A thing that's um that's what I was gonna say earlier. So we were talking about the fact that a lot of us aren't educated on certain things, right? What I found out, I have a friend whose mom has basically like a perfect credit score. Oh, yeah. And she oh, me too. Listen, working on it, working on it. Which is crazy. I think because you are not paying all the money on me, like I even use, I can't. And for me, I don't know, like oh, but I've never seen an interest rate under, I think mine was like 23%. Like it was it was pretty high. When I was thinking, I maybe uh those numbers may be inflated, but I it wasn't it was a minute back. No, I'm scared to even like think of a car note. So um me not having a car.

SPEAKER_01 33:09

So um I'm gonna step away. I'm one bump too high.

SPEAKER_02 33:15

Passenger princess is me.

SPEAKER_03 33:17

But just think about it though, right? Like we all are not silver split fan. We all have some kind of situation that has had its own turmoil or adversity or what have you. But think about the fact that people who already have or the haves, right, in society, already just by default, they get a leg up, like, oh no, we're not gonna charge you extra because we know you got a 900 credit score. It's like a reward for already having everything you need. Because okay, they don't have nothing.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

You make money for having more money, and it is more expensive to have less money. Which is you would think that'd be the opposite, but no. Like, how did I go from negative 220 to negative 230? That don't even make sense to me. Yeah, versus if I had like a thousand dollars, I could make interest on that and all of a sudden now I just for having money is making me money. You know what's crazy?

SPEAKER_04 34:03

It doesn't make sense is that rich people don't pay taxes like that. No. What? Like when I found that out, I was like, rich people don't pay taxes. Like they find legal ways to excuse the money they make.

SPEAKER_02 34:16

I was like, you genius teach me. Listen, I honestly feel like they should have paid the taxes. Right. Give me that.

SPEAKER_03 34:26

Well, and I so I I've I held the same view. One thing I will say is they what I found is corporations, they pay tax, right? Even like the rich, they pay tax, but most times they just do write-offs, like yeah, they get ridden off. They're so and this is why they say your network is your net worth too. Yeah, because yo, it's even like earlier we're talking, and I think it was you, Sandra, who's like, oh yeah, um, can you show me how to do that, right? Yeah, like we have to be the network for each other. Like, we have to be the people who now are educating her because we next up, right? Like, we are the we are the we're the earlier the adults.

SPEAKER_04 35:03

That's something that's something that I used to say at every conference that I haven't said recently, so thank you for reminding me. But like, I was like, y'all fail to realize, like, to the higher-ups, the CEOs, the COOs, the COCs, all these people that like y'all are about to retire very soon.

SPEAKER_02 35:19

Very soon.

SPEAKER_04 35:20

Think about this.

SPEAKER_02 35:21

Think about this.

SPEAKER_04 35:21

Y'all leaving us, y'all leaving us soon. Not yet, you guys. So, but like, we're next, right? So, I'm probably the next president. Yeah, like next on some real stuff. Like, you don't know what I'm I'm gonna be the next congressman. Immediately the president, okay. Um, but y'all not training us to be those takeovers, yeah. So, like, we're behind schedule because y'all don't have faith in training us because you're too high up in power to want to share it with somebody else. But God forbid, God forbid one of y'all sentiment dramatically something happens and you're sick or you pass away, who's taking your spot? Yeah, think about that. I used to say that all the time like, y'all time is ending soon, and we're the next up. What are you bringing to us to help you to make this better?

SPEAKER_01 36:11

And that's a a good point, too, about like having experience, right? And that's why I'm so appreciative for HSM for allowing me this opportunity because I don't have experience. How do you build experience? I was told so many times that if you want any kind of office experience, you you have to have office experience.

SPEAKER_02 36:23

I'm like, No, how do I?

SPEAKER_01 36:24

How do I start?

SPEAKER_02 36:25

You don't have to know nothing. Yeah, no facts.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

It's like I can use a computer, but also like you're telling me that I need experience in an office to have an entry-level job in an office. Doesn't make sense. No, Microsoft.

SPEAKER_02 36:36

No, you don't need to know nothing like that.

SPEAKER_04 36:37

Unless you know somebody that is like, you know, gonna college and universities, right? But when you leave with a degree, they're like, Do you have experience? I need at least five years' experience. What the I just have my degree.

SPEAKER_01 36:51

What did you think about it?

SPEAKER_03 36:52

Yeah, like dance from the doors. And you know, I mean, I think it goes back to like society and the problem that people have with realizing that the reality of certain situations. And again, Tanner, you have so many quote. I mean, y'all all got great quotables for this episode, right? Realistically speaking, if you don't have the that experience prior, like how are you going to even get your foot get to the door? Like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

Why do you have to have experience to gain experience in the first place?

SPEAKER_03 37:27

That's what I'm saying. Exactly. Let's talk system change, all right?

SPEAKER_01 37:30

Yes, the point of us being here.

SPEAKER_03 37:31

Yeah, um, because I think I think a lot of great things are spoken about today, right? Like about actual tangible solutions, right? We we spoke about the fact that there are many places that are closed that could be open, right? Like places that that could be inhabitable that just are not accessible. Like you have places that could have people in them, but due to the state of the world, the economy, things like that, people don't really feel like people have a right to have a place to live that's comfortable. Like it just it doesn't really make sense. We also spoke about compassion, right? Like how America has a compassion problem. I think the world has a compassion problem. But our main job, right, as fly members and as youth action board members is to kind of dissect policy a little and kind of see where we're at right now with the state of the movement. Like the cycle just kind of continues. We get it every four years. You either vote for the person that you want it and they get it or they don't, right? So it's just uh that is our society that we live in, and we live in this system and we know the powers that be right now.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

Um but that's the thing, too, why it's so important to have like system improvement, people who like actually are invested in this, because like I mean, it's the easy part. Like we've talked today about problems with our society. That's the easy part is to see things that are wrong. What's hard, and it's like you know, the crux of any kind of political issue, is like how do you deal with those problems? Like, what do you do to improve them? Yeah, literally, and that's the hard part. I was like, there is no consensus on that. That's what politics are based off of, you know what I mean? And like what we're trying to do.

SPEAKER_04 39:03

And it's you know because we weren't also like this is me speaking to us as like the lower class of society, right? Like, we fail to realize, like, because we weren't taught to know things, right, that we're supposed to know, that like if we were to seek, because the beginning of the constitution says, we the people, and we as the people don't read the constitution to know what power we do have, yeah. And that's so sad to me that like no one really wants to read the constitution because there's rights that we don't even realize we have that are being taken away from us. Like, wake up, society, like we are the people, yeah, figure it out.

SPEAKER_03 39:42

Well, really thinking about everything that's taken place, right? I know that one consensus that we all had was just the cup that point of compassion, right? Um, and I definitely think on my end that that is a part that has to be worked on a little bit, right?

SPEAKER_01 39:58

Like these people and it's also important, that's why we need to have more people with that experience coming in. And so like they're not being imposed upon, but rather like being creators of their own change, too.

SPEAKER_02 40:08

So true. I feel like we should have those lived experience and people that are not basically lived experienced in the same room with each other.

SPEAKER_04 40:16

I'm not gonna actually hear us as Gen Z, when I tell you when all these people of power like finally step down, because it's time, and we take over, the world's gonna be so better. I don't even know how to explain it to y'all, but I just see it. No, I feel like if we if if this is the beginning, this table alone is the beginning of Gen Z, like think about if we have the point of view we have and we get into those positions, imagine how many people we can aspire to do the same as us. I'm pretty sure we got backup right behind us.

SPEAKER_03 40:44

Okay. Okay, that's what I'm saying. Oh, yeah. So Taylor, you brought up more lived experience, but a consensus was just compassion. What do you think would really help this system? Education, more education, teaching us more. I totally agree.

SPEAKER_04 41:02

Because we have more power than we think we do.

SPEAKER_03 41:04

Yeah, I came into that. What about you, Lily?

SPEAKER_02 41:07

I just think in general, awareness. Yeah. Because if you're not aware of what's going on in the society or if you're not aware what's going on within the youth and young adults, basically the people that's gonna replace you, yeah, nothing won't get fixed.

SPEAKER_03 41:19

Yeah, well, increased awareness, that's a good one. Okay, and I feel like those all go hand in hand, right? Like they all go hand in hand. I mean together. Okay, all together. Well, thank you guys for being on. Okay. Um, we will be back very soon. And thank you guys again for listening to the bird comics. Yeah, facts. We heard the bird. The bird is the word. Well, thank you guys again for being on, Tanner, Kaz, I literally. Thank you. Thank you guys. Peace out. Yeah, I like that. That's perfect.

unknown 41:57

Yep.