HOLLYWOOD STAR’S HOMECOMING: THE RAMIREZ FAMILY’S EXTRAORDINARY SACRIFICE

Living in a van, I'm sorry, that is way  smaller than any 300 square foot apartment. You're gonna have to make some decisions  in your life that's gonna be tough. I'd love for you to give us a little  rundown on what your daily routine is like. And this is why. This is why, everybody. I know for a fact, there's a lot of people  in our communities that are in the same struggle and making these same choices. Everybody for different reasons. But I know for a fact, I worked at the YMCA in  Downey, C

alifornia. And I knew a handful of amazing people that were living in their cars. And I knew them for six months. I had no idea. One guy in particular is a friend of mine  today. And you know what? He's doing very well today. And he's selling real estate.  But at the time, he was living in his car. And I just knew him as a guy in the gym that,  you know, lifting weights and he's really fit. But he was working. He was working for a temp  agency and living in his car. So, I want you to tell us wha

t your daily routine is like, because I know for a fact, a lot of people going through this. And I just don't think  there should be such a stigma when you hear these things. And instead, more of a, why don't we embrace each other and stop, figure out what the problem is and why we're  not all being able to strive in the positions that we deserve to strive inside. So  the most important thing was safety, right? The most important thing is safety. So  before the routine, I mean, the first time we

was out, it was like, wow, we're really like-- there's  no-- there's nothing back. We can't go back track. That's it. It's like, okay, now  we're out here now. So now it's like, okay, well, what do we do? Like, we're at the park  now. So now after the park, okay, let's go get something to eat. After we get something to eat, now it's getting dark. You know, now it's like, well, where do we go? So I drove all  the way to my job. And we drove for like the first couple of days, we parked  in the pa

rking lot and we stayed there. You know, a night shift is like a couple of  people park and we parked in the back. And, you know, we need to use the bathroom. I was like,  go in, go in and use the bathroom at the job. I'm like, so what? You know, go  in the bathroom, we still do, you know what I'm saying? And I remember the guys  would be working at night and I'll come in there and they're like, what are you doing here, man,  work starts at 7. I was like, yeah, you know-- I love this job. A coup

le of noodles,  yeah. Stay away. He gonna put water in the noodles. And he's like, came all the  way to the head, yeah. In your pajama. Yeah, with a little fluffy slippers. You gotta make  it like-- you know how we all got it. You know, it was a story the other day that he just got it. He got it, man, you know, it's better than crying sometimes. And so the main thing was safety.  So, okay, and then hygiene, right? So I know, like everybody else that's doing what we're doing, like we're not the o

nly ones. I know you got  a membership at Planet Fitness. I got my son a membership at Planet Fitness and then later  on, my wife finally came around and got it. And with the benefit of having that, they give  you a free guest pass to whoever. So I was like, great. I get one, you get one. Oh,  my son doesn't have to get one, but then my other son can go with  her. So anybody can go in as guest. So they don't need a pad. They don't need  to-- they're not charged. They just-- we just get charged m

onthly. So, it's not bad. So we go, we get up, you know, we'll wake up in the morning. We'll, you know, stop  at RaceTrac or something. Just like a 7 -Eleven over here. Oh, okay. I was like-- wait, like gambling? That's the problem. That's what I'm talking about.  The RaceTrac will go with, you know, it would do some coffee, stuff like that. Really, I'll tell you this routine, the hard  routine-- my wife can deal with-- she's got to deal with this. So she's still studying to  be a psychologist.

She's getting her master's. She has online course. My two second oldest kids, they're online, trying to graduate high school. Okay, so when they pick  me up in the morning-- me my son work together. They pick us up in the morning. So they pick  us up in the morning. I'm asleep in the car. They're going around. Sometimes I'll get a  full three four hours of sleep. Sometimes I just can't. So then she'll park at Planet Fitness, and then, you know, they'll go to the gym or -- What we usually do righ

t now, they'll go to the  gym, when they're done with that either I'll wake up or I'll stay asleep, you know, and then we'll go to the library. We're doing Whole Foods, we're  doing laundromat, Peachy Clean Laundry and-- shout out to peachy queen. She  leaves us out there till 12 closing. She sees my wife's doing her homework and we just-- me and my kids would just chilling, we'd be like in the laundromat, you know, in the  parking lot. And then we'll get done, you know, they'll do that till abo

ut  five, right? I'll go to the gym. I get energy enough to go to the gym now, clean  up, after I'm done then I'll come get them. We'll go get some food. I usually pick places  like, you know Food 4 Less or something. We'll get some salami sandwiches or  something. I've been eating nothing, but deli sandwiches. My blood pressure  must be at a thousand so I have that, right, noodles or whatever and then we'll go drive to the job and then she drops me off. She's still got to finish up. She's got a

ssignment after assignment after report after essay after-- so she's got to go and find another spot to go. So usually she'll drive 20 some miles to drop me off and then she'll go right back  to the town we lived in, you know, we stayed around and then she'll either  go to the laundromat or she'll-- you know, she'll be the only one working on the  computer at Planet Fitness where everybody's working or everybody's working out at night. Yeah, and that's really her routine, you know. My routine is

simple, you know, when I'm here,  we're all doing the same thing. But I'm following her because she's gotta do the library thing, I'm off. But yeah, that's pretty much, that's pretty much it. And then just keep  her safe. The main thing is to keep her and, you know, my daughter and the  boys safe because you never know, you know what I'm saying? But luckily, I don't know, we haven't got sweated, man. We've been fortunate. Nobody's  sweated us. I think even in this situation, another thing that

I've been studying,  is no matter what changes you go through, you gotta stay connected with your community  and your resources. Whether that's blood family, friends, or just strangers. And so we have-- I  have developed relationships. Being in California, I used to be a membership director  for Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce. And in that, I was connected to a lot of  different businesses, different professional, and I, everybody was my best friend. Everybody  was my best friend. We was at hot

els all the time, always got a good deal. Took  care of our families. We weren't staying there for that moment, but  because they knew me, they said, oh, Sandra's family, oh, they can eat breakfast. If their kids is here, let them eat breakfast before they go to school. And so I say this  because even here, it was hard, especially with the pandemic, I wasn't able to be myself. I wasn't able to make those connections the way I wanted, I will say the way I wanted, but  like the Peachy Laundry, lov

e the owner. She's amazing. She's just great with her, you know, her business, her clients, and then just the community. She's amazing. And then there's  other people like RaceTrac, when they see me, you know, sometimes they'll close  it down because safety, you know. There's times people, I don't know what  happens, but the police cars are there. I'll let my husband know. But then, so when  they see me though, they're like, oh, no, no, let her go in. She got to use the bathroom.  She has to tak

e care of stuff. And like, I love that because, you know, I don't  feel alone and I love that my husband understands the importance of safety, but keeping those connections and building new connections with people, with resources  is so important. I love that, that village, right? It's having a village. That leads me to say this, you're working. If there's an opportunity out  there, I want to put your, a way to contact you, social, something. If there's an opportunity out  there and somebody rea

ched out to you and they're like, you know what-- and there's an opportunity  that's paying more than what you're paying now or that could help get you into a better position, is that something you're eager and looking for? I know you have a plan, but  hopefully somebody watching this sees what you guys are doing and the sacrifice you're  making temporarily to get to a much better place. I know a lot of people probably out there are  going to watch this and just hear that and be like, this sound

s absurd. Like why,  just get a studio apartment, you know, and pile in there and you're not sleeping on  the street or in a car and whatever people's opinions are, that's their opinion.  You've decided as a team and a unit, you've been married for 23 years.  If my math is right, you said 2020, you've been holding it together, you have four, is  it four children? We have a lot, 10. 10 children, you clearly, clearly love each other  and clearly are riding together. So, doesn't really matter what

anybody thinks, right, about your choices, but what is important is that you made a choice and it's  temporary choice and you're gonna get to your destination I have no doubt, I know you both, but  if somebody out there is is looking and said, man, you know what, I have an opportunity or is  that something you're interested in? Yeah, I mean I would definitely look into it. I mean  I'm not-- I would love to, you know, check that out. Yeah, I mean I'm not looking for like  any kind of-- I'm just s

aying somebody goes wow this might-- the reason I'm saying that is  I would love to attach, you know, like an email or something where people could reach out if they  want to or just ask you questions of inspiration. There's other people that are dealing with this  and might want to just reach out to you and go "Yo, brother, you know, this is what  I'm going through," and you could talk. So if you're okay with that, we'll attach  your... Of course. You can attach my email or my Instagram-- or so

mething like that. And like  I said, we don't want no handouts, none of that stuff. We're just doing what we need to do. I'm glad we're able to do that and we're not asking for no money. What I just want to do is  just make sure that my family, my home is taken care of and that we can have something. You know, something happens if, you know, God's got to take me or whatever, you know? I  love that. I was going to say you had mentioned something about a studio. And so that's a  big reason why we'

re also in this situation. So if you're... I'm just going to say system, if  that's the wrong word, please forgive me. But I feel like in this system, you can only live in  certain places with a certain amount of people. We do have two dogs, which are holding  it down to bless their hearts. And so we're not able to just get that. That's  a whole reason why we wanted the land. The other thing is just to put a little thing  about land. You know, if you have a family and there's so many people that

I'm hearing,  children are inherited assets including land, real estate, and they just don't have the right  paperwork in place. If you're in that position, I would totally recommend find some  legal advice, get some kind of mentor to help you get that paperwork done, because a big reason why we're in this situation is because I do have family,  but the land doesn't have a current secession. So without that current secession, I can't legally put my house on it. There is a way to do it, but my f

amily's not really  working with me on that, and it's not a bad thing. Sometimes, you know, they're in Greensburg, I'm in California, so, you know, we just didn't have that relationship maybe, so it's not a  bad thing. It's just the right things were not in place. And so I just want to help people, and you know, furthering even in my career, I have a focus on family as well as  mental health and substance abuse. You know, when you're dealing with this  and you have that other layer to deal with,

please, please just go like get help, and  just believe that you're okay. It doesn't matter what you're feeling, what you're  thinking, just don't do it by yourself, because you're not meant to do this by yourself,  and you can get through it. And so right now, I'm actually connecting with a  group, it's called Hope in Georgia, and I'll be speaking to women pretty  much the same thing, so that they don't, you know, feel like they're useless, they  don't have value, they can't really give, no, y

ou have exactly what you need  your life, and then from there, you just keep making the connections and going  forward. That's beautiful. Yeah. Good stuff. Thank you. Well, we're going to close out. I know, Wilson, you got to get to work. Is there any last thing you want to shoot into the  cameraman, because-- I just, you know, I mean, the glass is always half full, you know. I  mean, I could mope and I could be upset, you know, and you know things-- You're gonna  get hit with different things a

s life, you know, goes on throughout the day, but just  live in the now and just, you know, do your best just to focus.   Reach out, call somebody you know. I just call my sponsor yesterday and I felt better. He listened to me. I listened to him. I actually helped him by calling. You never know man, sometimes you just reaching out to people you help more than you think, you  know. It's just getting out of ourselves, stop isolating and feeling like  we ain't worth, it worth nothing, you know. I

think that's the problem with us. When  you start feeling like that, you're feeling like walls are closing in you got to get open and that's so hard in this society, you know, especially men. You know, we're not  supposed to get open, you know. We're supposed to swallow that pride and just take it and just  deal. But you know me dealing with stuff like that, I launched it out on her. I launched it out on the  kids, you know, and it's just I'm tired. I'm tired of them, tired of like, you know "Oh

, dad's mad again". "Oh, here he goes..", you know what I'm saying? Like let's channel some better vibes, you know. I said all that to say, you know this-- it don't matter what people in this world are trying to do or what they're trying to create in this world, the changes they're trying to make. You  know, we have each other, we have our family and we're here for a short time. We're here for a  short time. I think we just-- then nothing's more clear than it is now in this time that we live

in  and I just you know, I'm just love-- man, reach out and always just have hope, you  know. Have hope and be okay with who you are. Don't be ashamed, you know, I mean, I know that  was kind of long. Oh, it's great. It's great. I want to thank you both really sincerely for  being on and share sharing your dream. Honestly, it's a courageous thing to come on  here and share it and, you know, I've had mixed feelings the whole time about  doing this, like we've talked because there's so much stuff

that comes up like-- I commend your courage on coming up here and just talking because you didn't need to do this. There's, you know, we're not paying you. There's, there's no, you didn't have to do this. And I  appreciate that because I know when we talked, you were just like, I had said to you  that our podcast is meant for residents of National CORE.  I mean, it's for the world, but we really focus on our residents who are in  affordable living and that your story, I think could be really rel

atable with a lot of them. So hopefully people do get some out of this story. I thank you for doing that. I think you did a courageous thing today. [Music] [Music] Hey, what's up  everybody? Welcome back to FYI podcast. Super excited today. This is an incredible story,  a journey that began in LA, ended up in Atlanta, and now is in Arizona. I'm sitting  here with Wilson and his lovely wife, Saundra Marie. If you remember on the part  one episode with them, we were in Atlanta, Georgia. They were

living in their van with their  family. It was an incredible story. It was a story full of risk and sacrifice.  And I got good news today. That sacrifice paid off. We're sitting in their lovely  home now in Arizona. It's beautiful. The community is great. I couldn't  be more excited for them. So Wilson, welcome back. Welcome back. Thank you guys for  doing the show. It's not always that we get happy endings. Not that this is an ending.  This is a beginning, but you know, part one, when we were

out in Atlanta, that was  tough. That was a journey that impacted my life, definitely, so I want to kind of jump into this.  First of all, tell me, how does it feel? How does it feel to be here in your home with your family? I mean, it feels good, I mean, I'm very grateful that things worked out, I mean,  we went through a long road, it was-- you know, and I'm just glad that,  you know, that we have some place to call home and stuff, it was tough, man.  Yeah. Yeah, we went through a lot. Saundra

, talk to me. Yeah, for me, I really  appreciated just everyone coming together. We literally took a moment and said, we want better for us, and this is what we have to do, and so we came  together and, wow, so many hours, so many days, so many weeks later. Yeah,  it feels good to have a room. You guys are definitely what this podcast stands for, right?  Finding your inspiration, finding motivation, making sacrifices to get from point A  to point B. You've definitely done that. Give me a special

moment since you've been  living here. I mean, there's got to be like, what's been an exciting moment for you? Like sitting on your porch, or, you know, at night, what has stuck out to you? We'll  start with you Wilson at being in your own home, and what's a special thing that's  stuck out? Definitely just my kids, you know, my kids finally saying, finally,  man. You know, finally lay our heads down, and we have a room. I know my daughter  was excited, and just like, you know, just felt like a

load would  just take it off our backs, you know, and, you know, we're like, hey man,  we got a house, you know, we got a house, and we're like, yeah, yeah, we got a house.  That's right. And it's just like, you know, we can't forget, man, the little  things, you know, I got those first, and provides first, and stuff. So I'm  definitely grateful for those things, you know. Those are special moments out there.  Yeah, for me it's definitely just the simple things in life just literally having a be

d to lay down in  and you know when we were in the situation within the van, honestly, we were like "we could do this,  this was awesome" but man, we had that first moment where we laid down it was priceless... it was priceless. Living in the car, you know, you've probably seen or experienced, you know, some pretty  heavy emotions, has any of that trickled into now your everyday life being in a home and I know  you just mentioned even if it's in a positive way, so like Saundra just mentioned lik

e laying in  the bed together, like that's something most of us take for granted, right? Like you were in  a car so you guys weren't able to, I assume, cuddle or now you're in a bed together and, you know, you could hold each other. Is there anything else that's kind of just, whether it's  positive or negative, that feels hard to adopt to? No, I feel, I just-- I know-- not really. I mean, I  know I've had moments where I told my wife like, man, you know, I'm  glad we're not doing that no more,

you know. Like, I'm glad we had-- it was like we had a  date, you know? I mean to move on, you know, and so many people that don't-- you know what I mean?  but I think health wise I think we're-- me and my wife, were getting swollen ankles, like I don't know if it was sitting down so much or just  eating out, we were eating a lot of sandwiches and stuff like that and I'm just, I mean, I'm  happy that-- we only think we got out, like -- I mean we was out and about so we was like always here, he

re, quick trip or race with-- which is  you know, and we would-- you know, now we have home-cooked meals. It's you  know, just the simple things in life and it's just like, you know. I just told her earlier you know I ain't got no ankle swelling no more. You know what I'm saying? Like my socks  ain't tight and I don't know what was going on. That's one thing I'm grateful, that I'm totally  grateful, that we're situated for the moment. When you were out there and making that decision, did you eve

r, did you ever feel like maybe I'm making the wrong decision by being  out here? Did that-- I mean, we made a decision because we just  couldn't-- I mean, it was-- I want to say, I feel like we were successful  and I didn't want to feel like that because, you know, I was acting when I was in LA and  we were, you know, trying to get a decent job, but I couldn't hold anything down with  auditions and having to, you know, to go and do things for TV shows. So we were in a bind there and then when w

e went to Georgia, things were good  and we were getting started and we got into another bind and so to make a decision to  say like, I'm not going to keep paying, you know, X amount of dollars and now,  you know, a new lease is coming and we're going to have to pay more and we're barely  getting by now. So the decision was kind of like always been kind of like a feel good, you know, like if I felt it, like an impulse, I just would like to say, let's just do it.  My wife's always been like, when

I said, let's go to Georgia, she said, let's go. And I said,  let's move out and just live in the car, she said, I'm with you, you know? It wasn't like, what about the kids? What about this? We talked to the kids, but they  understood, you know what I'm saying? But at the same time, man, like I never felt-- I never felt so much freedom, you know? At the same time, the freedom was-- we didn't have no ties that bond. It was nothing binding us to anything. I mean, and we spoke to some people and t

hey're like, you live in a car? You know, like  [unintelligible] [unintelligible] They thought it was crazy, you know what I'm saying? But I'm just  like, it probably is crazy, but I mean, what's right? You know  what I'm saying, like, what's right in this world anymore, or ever, you know, it's decisions you gotta make, and people, you know, gotta understand, it's  what we feel, you know, so, yeah, like, I had a lot of ups and downs. Like, it's good decision, you know. You can't sleep one night,

  it was a terrible decision, you know, like a street lights is on me and shopping  mall, or, you know, and the dangers and all, and, you know, sometimes, man, dangers are not-- I  mean, I was asleep, the car was on, heater was on, something could have happened, you know what I'm saying, but I was like, I'm grateful that, you know, God  protected us, you know. What I want to kind of tap into that for either one of  you could answer, because I imagine that has to be something that you're consciou

sly thinking of, like, I have my kids in the car, you know even if you know, like, which it sounds like  you knew, like, no, this is the decision, you made a conscious decision, and turned out that it worked, but were there moments, like, that it was  like, when everyone's asleep, like, damn, what if this don't work, you know, what if something happens to us while we're asleep? I think the audience  was probably asking that, right? Thinking like, wow-- Well, what did that feel like, and what mot

ivated you when you were thinking those things, like, I'm making a bad  decision, no, the wife's in the car, the kids are in the car, or vice versa, but  what motivated you to stick through your plan, because I think in life, that's a  problem, not none of us, I shouldn't say that, but a lot of us don't stick to our plan. We set  a plan to lose weight, we don't stick to it, or the same money. You guys set a plan, you stuck to it, and now there's success, so I kind of want to know, like, what was

it  like? Did you have moments where you like, this is a bad plan? This isn't going to work.  You know, for me when you're saying that, it's making me think, and hopefully, someone out  there can understand what I'm saying. You know, when you're in a relationship, sometimes it's a  bad plan. You don't understand how to change that. How do you get out of that?  How do you keep yourself safe, protected? And I'm saying this to give people  hope, that whatever your plan needs to be, you gotta carry

it out. But when you carry it out, you do need support. A lot of times you can't do it by yourself. So I made sure that I met  people in the community. I have a background in PR. I do have my college education. So I knew the security at the QT, you know, down the street from my husband's job.  The security guard from a little shopping center ended up being my cousin from Louisiana. That was so cool. And then just really knowing our spot. So our family didn't have a structure.  And you know, the

y worked 12 -hour shifts, got off early in the morning. So we went straight  to Planet Fitness. Planet Fitness was super huge. One, it just helped us stay active. Number two, I was able to do my school work. But ultimately, we had an amazing  relationship. So we made sure wherever we went, that we were familiar with the area, Whole Food also. One time I was doing my computer work, all the lights were out. And one  light came on and it was the light where we were. And I remember one time I asked,

"Is it okay if we stay after?" No problem, like, oh my gosh, I wanna cry because people  are watching and they wanna help. So just always, you know, look and build your support. I love that. That's powerful. Know your surroundings. Build the village and  the support around you. When you were living in a car, I want you to go back in your minds to those nights. Some people out there will be thinking, you know, this is dangerous, you know. This is too dangerous. It's not a good decision. What  sp

ecifically did you know in your mind that this was gonna work and this was worth it? Like what or was it just blind faith or was there something that was "I know this is  dangerous. I know this is not the normal decision but this is why I'm doing it." Was there that moment or was it just blind faith? It was a little bit everything.  I mean, I just gave-- as unstable as I may be in my thinking in ways, but I always talk to God, you know, what I needed to do to just fortify  what we're going throu

gh. It didn't make sense, you know, some days were great, some days  were happy, and for the most part It was it was good. But it's just the  fact that there was no-- it was just open, you know, you're just in the open roaming,  you know what I'm saying, with nothing to back you, you know what I'm saying, and I could see  where people would see where that's the dangers. I did everything I could, you know, I tell my  sons and my daughter to protect themselves, you know. They understand that, you

know, and put  it in their head and you go keep telling and telling until they got sick of it. And you know,  I think the main thing is when I was working 12 hours and my wife would go "I got to study" and she  would leave and I didn't know where she was and I got tired and I fell asleep. And now I was like, what are you doing? Like, you know, they would be knocked out somewhere else instead of where  we said we would rendezvous or where you know, I told her to come back to the parking  lot beca

use it was real secluded. Nobody was there. It was night shift. So, you  know what I'm saying? Those kind of things, I mean, it doesn't matter what we do, people are gonna  think of you how they're gonna think of you but I know that will pull us through  somehow. I didn't know if we was gonna get a house, own a house, I mean we went, you know, trying to get a trailer. We were trying to live in other states, looked at going to Louisiana, you know, maybe transferring job over there. We was trying

to see if we could do RV. So you guys  were stacking money though. I mean you had a plan. It was like you're stacking money as  you're going so you knew at some point though you're gonna-- We were stacking money. We  actually got-- we had been in Georgia in a few bids getting a home but we did get an approval for  a mobile home in Louisiana. I remember in the last interview-- but the issue was not having a land and so  that was difficult and we had it where there was, you know, it was it was sup

posed to happen but  it just did not and so that was very difficult because that would have made that time period  way shorter. So just being on this journey like, "what? we had a plan and that didn't work, now  what?" but for me I didn't see it dangerous because, you know, I think about airplanes, cars, people like I don't want to fly but there's a lot more accidents in cars. A lot of people, you  know, unfortunately, get robbed. I had heard of some things happening in Georgia in which, you  kn

ow, down south, just where we were and so it can happen in your home, it can happen at school,  it can happen, you know, just walk into the park so dangers wasn't the issue. I do believe that  this allowed us to help our kids be more aware and more prepared and our kids are of age and  so what I love is that we're propelling them, launching them into, you know, young adulthood  and honestly I love their feedback, you know. At first they were like, well, mom, dad, you know what,  whatever you're

gonna do we're sticking with you we're like, you can go to godfather and you know  because we did want to take care of our kids but going through it they're like, you know what, I feel like I can do anything if we're together. See, that's what's incredible to me  about this story. It's talking to you, when you guys made a decision, you presented the kids  with another option. Well, they're not kids, they're young adults with another option and they  were like, no. They made the decision to stick

it out with you guys. You presented them with other  options like your godfather's house or uncle's but they were like, no, we want to do this together  and on top of that, wow, the amount of discipline, sacrifice that you all learned as a family  and knowing you were stacking money so it wasn't like every night like, oh, what are we  gonna do, it's like, no, we're gonna get there. I mean the doors were closing like, okay, the RV  and not the land but-- and then it finally lands here and wow, h

ow proud your kids must be of you guys, vice versa how proud you must be of your children. How does that make you feel, like your  kids were ride or die with you and stuck it through? It make me feel good that they,  you know, that they hung out they stuck with us and stuff and I feel good that, you know, that you have this for them and stuff and that there was some kind  of reward at the end, you know what I'm saying? I mean we had a lot of let down, like  you know, we try to get a house in Geo

rgia, try to get a house, like you know, I told you. I had to  try to go back and get to try again in Georgia and then I get a house and then we said, okay, well, we  just gonna have to rent, you know and then we had a trip out here and we were passing by and  we saw my oldest son and you know he was going through some stuff, you know, and so I made  the decision, I said, you know, let's just move here. And we was already gonna say, okay, we're  just gonna rent out there, we're just gonna have

to just, you know, get our credit score  up, because we had some issues with our credit score. Anyway, the guy I ran into, they  did something, I don't know, but anyway, stay close to your, you know, your  money and be smart with your credit score and research if you're going to be,  you know, trying to buy houses, you know, really trying to take into account what you need  to do in order for you to grow in your life, because those little setbacks affected us  still, but the challenges were set

again, and we just went through it. So we came out  here and, you know, to help each other out, you know, so that was a blessing, and then we  got the house, you know, based on our incomes, you know, not just mine, because, you know,  we, you know, with everything that's going on, everything's a little bit pricier, so we have  to, as a community, as family, build together, you know, we wasn't talking for a while,  you know, we had issues when he was younger, and got able to bring that together,

you  know, so it's, that's another benefit, you know, that we're here and we're patching up our wounds and building, he called me pop  and, you know, it's just things that I never thought was gonna happen, you know, so I mean, to other people, like it may not be that great of a success story, but to me, I think  it's everything because we've come full circle. I don't think success stories get  greater than a family coming together, having a full communal experience together,  and sacrificing to

gether, living together, bonding together, growing together,  and making things happen together. I don't think there is a better  story than that, man. Yeah. So, I love that we segued into you guys getting  here, so now we're here, what's life like? We pulled up before Wilson got here, and when we pulled up the garage doors open I see a bunch of weights, you  know, nice and organized, very militant and I'm like, oh we're in the right house,  it is Wilson's house. This guy loves to work out and

the garage door's open so  I ring the doorbell nobody's home and I'm thinking you know you're in a good community  when you could just drive off, leave all your weights there, not worried about them being stolen because where I live there in LA, you know... So how cool is that to be  in a neighborhood that you could do that? It's cool. I should have closed it. I don't know why I didn't close the gate but I mean the garage door is... But yeah I mean  we feel protected, you know, I feel like, okay

you know, like we're-- it's still  not what I want, to be honest and be open about it. I'm just grateful God gave me this. I mean--  You're still striving for-- I mean, yeah of course whether we get it, I don't know, but I'm  grateful for what we got. I think this is just a stepping stone into something else because I  don't know how long, I don't know how long I'll be here. I'm not saying that we're gonna do  anything detrimental to make it go bad but the way everything's going, we don't know

, but for what we have for right now, this is great, man. You know I wanted to like, I really appreciate your leadership. Your leadership is amazing. You know, whatever leadership in  whatever family people have, be grateful. Take a moment to say thank you. And I wanted to go back to the getting that home, just to help people be aware. You made great points.  You know, for me and my husband, we have pretty much similar ideas. We respond differently  but some people talk about the different fac

e of homelessness and so our story might be  one of those different faces. I honestly don't consider it homeless I called it systemless  because we literally have the mobility to do whatever we needed and we have to be careful  not to be in a structure that you're paying someone else's-- everything, you know-- livelihood  because that's not how you were meant to live and if you have a faith factor in your life, it's so important to revisit what that means, what that is because I want to go back

to your question- Why? What was the motivation? If it was totally faith? Faith for us is an understanding to  reset our true purpose, our true passion, on a heartfelt level, not just what people are  telling us, what your family is expecting, not even our plan if that makes sense. It's a unified  plan for not just family but building authentic communities that have resources to help each  other out as needed, not the way they want but as needed for human kind to exist. Oh it's  incredible. I'd l

ike to ask for people that are out there right now living in the same  circumstance you were six months ago, what advice do you have for them knowing that that end  game for you has been so successful? What advice can you give them? I just say no fear. I mean, if you're scared that's a challenge. You have to take it. That's what I go by. If I feel like I  don't want to do it, that's my best challenge. I just say like you gotta take that challenge.  man. You can't be scared of the challenge, you

know, that's a decision you gotta make so beat it, man. You gotta take it and be okay with it. A lot of people are not gonna  agree with you and that's okay because you're not doing it for them. You're doing it for you.  You're doing it for your family to survive, to do something. You're gonna have  to make some decisions in your life that's gonna be tough and that was a tough  one. It was like just get another place, pay another extra five, six hundred dollars, just  save that money up. But eve

n when we saved the money up, we still had to pay for the car, pay  for the brakes, pay for new tires, pay for this. So the money came in handy. We saved  money but we also spent money we probably wouldn't have had if we were working on getting  a new place where we would just give money to the landlord and not getting any equity. Nothing. Right. So yeah man, sometimes you just got to bear down and you just got to say, I don't  know what I'm doing. You've got to have faith. You can't-- you're go

nna have to knuckle up, you know, you're gonna have to bear down, you're gonna have to say like, I gotta do what  I gotta do, you know. You gotta have faith and it's like you gotta make things  happen, you know. No one's gonna do it for you. So, you know, that's what I'll say  he's gonna go for it. You know, for me, I always say breathe because breath is life from  God and then I say be bold because without action, nothing is gonna happen. And as you  do that, believe that you're living your aut

hentic self. You know, sometimes  people might not take that positively, especially if they do have a faith factor.  But it's important to be authentic even if it is wrong, like you find out, you  know, if this wasn't the best decision. But if you never took it, you'll never  know. You'll never know what your next step should be or even is going to be or even  can be. And just remembering that being stuck, being held back, living someone else's truth,  living someone else's life, that's just not

the plan for us. I also wanted to say, you know, being in a situation, a lot of people would see this as, you know,  homeless with a different face. And for me, in my experience, I saw it as systemless, because when we looked up, literally, anything we saw, it was ours. We were home.  We made the best out of every situation. We experienced love and unity  greater than anyone could. I can't even express. One of my friends said, "Did you save the money?" And I was so hesitant, because I wasn't su

re how to answer that,  because even though that was like the goal, that's another thing, you can have a goal,  but then you're being directed another way. Even though that was the goal,  I believe the true reward was to increase and refine love and trust that we, our family, had for each other. Because being in a van, I'm sorry, that is way  smaller than any 300 square foot apartment that anybody, like it is tight, you know, you're overlapping, mind you, not even physically, but like emotionall

y, you're just  crowded, you're just on each other all the time. And we had to look at each other and say, "I love  you, let's do this one more day." We can do this one more day together. And it's amazing, life is amazing. Please make the most of it. I also believe that it's not  meant for us to stay in one area, the nation is huge, we have 50 states, but there's  a world for us to explore. So if it's in your mind, in your heart, to explore more, do it, breathe, be bold, and do it. - Well said,

listen, God, I wanna thank you. I want to congratulate  you both. I'm incredibly proud that you, my friends, your story has inspired me,   keeps hope in me, the fighting spirit. It's something I need to see. I think we all need  to be reminded that nothing could hold us back, you know, and you're definitely true  testament to that. So I want to thank you for coming on the show. Thank you, man.  Thanks for coming down. Absolutely. Thank you again for having us in your beautiful home. There's so m

any ways to look at homelessness, systemless. There's decisions  that some people make. We live in a society that kind of throws rules on us, and a lot of us are stuck in the rat race, you know. We work endless hours just to cover, you  know, the basic bills that just get by. I just sat down with two people that did see that. They didn't only see that, but they did something about it. They took action, they had  faith in God, they had faith in themselves, and they had faith in their family. This

 is America, it's free country, and we make decisions that we feel we're comfortable with. And I'm honored to sit here with these two and their family who made a decision, and it was  a great decision because it paid off. So I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you got some  inspiration. FYI podcast with Paul Tully. Check us out on the next one. Hey, well,  I just want to say thank you guys for, you know, following us on our adventure.  Quite the adventure it was, but we're here, and I'm glad and give

all the grace and  honor to God, and God bless, and keep going, keep following your dreams, and keep doing  what you gotta do. Okay? All right guys, gotta go. Hey everybody, thanks for watching.  Tune in on this next episode. We're sitting down with Lola. Lola's story is truly inspiring.  She's the daughter of two immigrants who came to this country with nothing, but after years of hard work, Lola went on to get her education and work  for one of the most prestigious companies in New York City a

nd be a financial advisor. Tune in. [music]