The Cold Reality Homelessness, Frostbite, and the Fight to Survive

Jean Carlo yeah you're homeless here in Manchester in New Hampshire yeah I am how long you been outside right now it's like uh 4 months and you're making your bed here making my bed and I've just given you socks and you wanted white socks I offered black I usually don't carry them both but um black socks make your feet sweat more and you don't want to have sweaty feet out here and then if you do you want to take your shoes off at night when you sleep yeah your feet will dry out and you'll be mor

e comfortable well you were telling me about people that you know are drinking and they go to sleep they go to sleep with their shoes on and your feet are cold and even though you have your shoes on you still get frostbite and your blood things out when you're drinking alcohol so that's a that's a big thing it can you could even die from it you can uh freeze out here right now it's only it's we're only getting temperatures in uh 22 but when it goes down to uh 5° it's that's one becomes lifethrea

tening out here yeah and you said people are getting their toes amputated yes they are toes and part of their legs on some some people oh my gosh yeah wow so you got to be and and we had a guy y Scotti who um hangs out by seven days he passed away 3 days ago he froze to death he was he he he didn't cover himself he drinks too much and his blood is really thin you know um it's kind of shocking he was a harmless guy and and we all helped him out but you know you know life is better to him you know

so he's tell me about homelessness in New Hampshire it's tough out here um I have to hustle food sometimes and I do that very well but it's it's tough and it's cold and you know summer can be okay but it's a it's a tough World out here and you're getting kicked out of places where the police don't want you and the homeless shelters are full and there's a lot of thievery and there there just a lot of home homelessness we're almost at the homelessness peak of the depression right now so I've been

kind of shocked because Manchester has around 100,000 total population last census and I've been walking around and there's a lot of homeless people there is there's too many for for a City to s i mean there's too many homeless people everywhere but for a smaller Community this was a little bit shocking to me it is it's it's uh it's the rent is too high um it's even going up in even these rooming houses and uh you know people are using drugs to uh to escape and the drug use is making you come o

ut here more you don't pay your rent you're not working enough and that's part of you know contributing to the the problem you know we all have our demons you know yeah I don't have one sorry I'm sorry sir yeah I mean you know I I have 28 years sober but the reason I used was to escape pain yeah we all do the same it it makes you happy for a little while then it's all back to reality and then it's just it's just a a cycle that just keeps going and going well people people don't understand that i

t's not a switch that you can't just turn off right no we all we need help right it's the it's the you got you got to get to a point where you you got to you got to you got to know that it's it's time to help yourself you know right but then there has to be help available often when you want to go into detox or rehab there's nothing open and you know as you said the the shelters are full and yeah there is that and there's also when you get out when you get out and and you're still back on the st

reet here and um you know you're you're back to the same thing you're back you you meet up with the same people that you got to find another way to get away from that you're right so like you know most rehabs are 28 days I don't know what there are here in in California they're around 28 days cuz that's all insurance will pay for yes and then you're exited back out to homelessness where you're going to drink and use yeah eventually you'll break down and do it all over again exactly it's it's peo

ple don't understand how broken it is that's why they're they just want homeless people gone right so they're pushing for force treatment but there's not enough voluntary treatment there isn't it's a it's a cycle that just keeps going and going that's why people you have people going in recovery four or five times and and they're always they're always uh till one day they figure out how to how to get away from it uh become stronger and you know uh it's always good to have Jesus in your life you

know yeah and find find that escape you know that way yeah so what you know there's people walking by looking at us looking at you making your bed here what would you want them to know about homelessness that they probably don't know um that I'm a human being just like them um and uh you know I'm taking one day at a time but um We're All God's Children and um some people are really uh giving and some people are not and uh I think the people who are that wake me up and give me some food or even m

oney and um you know I just want to thank uh you know thank them that that uh for doing that and some people really have a heart and some people are cruel but you're always going to find you know that's part of life you know it is and at all all socioeconomic levels there's good people and bad people you know what what gets me is often on the streets people who have nothing are so generous right they are and you know um I eat a lot of that chicken on the place right there chicken in a basket yea

h and there's a lot of people that will help me get food there and um I do the same at Market Basket yeah but Market Basket doesn't like me to do that these people have no problem with it oh good so they're they're they're very nice and um it's nice to have that when you're really hungry if you had three wishes what would they be uh peace um homes for everybody and uh a world of love thank you very much for talking to me you're welcome sir