David and his daughter are mobile homeless. They live in an RV in Venice Beach, California with their dog and two cats. Both work jobs, but it’s still not enough to save up to rent an apartment. David’s daughter works two jobs while David is currently working parttime. The night before this interview, David was in the hospital because of an injury to his hand and health issues have reduced the hours that he can work.
This father and daughter have been living in a small recreational vehicle (RV) parked on the side of the road for almost nine months. David and his daughter both lost their places to live and started to live in their cars around the same time. Because they were not able to find affordable housing, the two eventually spent the money they had on an RV so they’d have someplace to sleep.
David says mobile homelessness is like the TV show Lost in Space or Star Trek. Every day is a different adventure not knowing where you are going to end up and there’s always some element of danger. David said in their nine months of living in an RV he has seen a lot of reactions with most of them being negative. One of the biggest challenges for people living in a vehicle is finding a safe place to park.
David and his daughter are working homeless. David says all they want is what everyone else wants: A couple of walls, a place to go to the bathoom, some privacy, and a place to cook your meals. A tent on the sidewalk or a mobile home parked on the streets is now affordable housing in America. If we do not fix the affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles County, homeless numbers will continue to increase!
