Gino and Erica have been on the streets of Hollywood for six months. Before becoming homeless, they were living with Gino’s sister but when she was evicted their only choice was sleeping outside.
Gina has been on and off the streets for the last eight years. When I asked him why Gino responded he didn’t know. The issue is we (homeless services) don’t make it easy for homeless people to get out of homelessness.
Gino and Erica survive by panhandling and the kindness of strangers. Gina says many of the homeless services don’t help much and for the others, they are too old to qualify for support.
When I asked Gino and Erika how do people treat them Gino responded that the majority of normal people hate homeless people. Erica added it’s not easy to get out of homelessness. Most people believe that homeless people can just easily get a job, Erika added: “no one wants to hire anyone without an address.”
