Inside America’s #1 Epidemic

[melancholy rock music plays]
[Peter] Good morning, guys.
For any of you
traveling America these days,
when you go into our big cities
it’s obvious there are more drug issues.
You can see on the streets.
Over 100,000 Americans
died of overdoses last year,
and more homelessness.
The bad news is the problem
seems to be getting worse.
The good news is
there are some solutions out there.
So today, we’re going out
into the city of Phoenix
and meet up with one of
these organizations
who’s getting people
out of the drugs and off the streets
and into jobs, and back into society.
We have the great privilege
to meet up with a woman
that actually was on the street herself,
and now does the work
to get people off it.
We’re going to get into
the grit of it today on the streets,
but also show a solution
to this big problem in our country.
Let’s do this.
[music continues]
[Peter] All right,
Makindy is our faithful driver.
I got to sign my life away.
[Makindy laughs]
-I was actually just trying
to get your autograph, Peter.
-There you go.
All right, so where are we going, guys?
We’re going to go by CASS,
Central Arizona Shelter Services,
hit some encampments,
and we’re just going to go from there.
-How’s the encampment situation right now?
They shift a lot, depending on the weather
and what’s available at the time.
So when it’s cold
it’s different from when it’s hot out,
because they start moving
toward different resources.
[Makindy] This is the beginning of it.
[Corrine] Of CASS, yeah.
[Corrine] So not more than
three years ago,
that road from here
all the way down to the entrance,
there was a large encampment.
They called it the zone, I believe.
The city moved it out, dispersed it,
because it was getting kind of bad
but it’s gotten a lot better.
The point of CASS is to provide services
and case management.
Circle the cities here, they provide
medical care to the homeless.
There’s food, clothing, laundry.
There’s churches
that volunteer here, St. Mary’s.
[Peter] “Zombie response vehicle”,
what’s that?
[Corrine] I have no idea what that is.
-So homeless people that need resources,
this would be one of the places to go?
-Yeah.
-Okay.
What it is meant for is a 90 day
emergency shelter for single adults.
-Okay.
-And the idea is to provide
you a space to eat and sleep
so you can work,
and then there’s case management on site
to help you apply for apartments,
do the things you need
to do to get housed.
Is this a City of Phoenix thing?
-Yeah, Maricopa County.
-Okay, so right, all in there?
[Corrine] Yeah.
I came out of this world
and then I went into our center.
-And then I came back out to–
-You lived on the streets?
On and off for five years.
I lived out on the streets,
not out here, but out in Mesa.
It’s a little bit different here.
Mesa, they handle it
a little bit differently than Phoenix.
It’s not as much in the open.
You know what I mean?
-Yep.
You gotta hide a little bit more in Mesa.
-So we’re in an outreach car
right now, right?
Yes.
We’re gonna go out to
some people on the streets,
and the point is to
bring ’em into your facility?
That’s one of the options.
It depends what the person wants.
We offer the range of services
depending on what the person’s goals are.
-And from how I understand
how the law works,
no one can be removed
from living on the street.
They have to voluntarily want it.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
-Is that the story a lot of times,
homeless people next to the highway?
-Wherever there’s a place that’s covered
and where it’s difficult to drive to,
you’ll usually see people congregate
there out of the public eye.
-So what you see on the streets
is only a small fraction of what exists?
-That’s right.
[Corrine] Wow, that’s new.
That’s new since yesterday.
[Corrine] Sorry, can you…
[Corrine] Hey guys.
-Morning.
-You guys want some water or hygiene?
-Yeah.
-You guys need socks?
-Okay, so you guys are driving around
to people living out here
and just delivering goods.
-Yeah.
-Okay.
[Corrine] How you doing?
So they got four people.
[Makindy] You need some socks?
[Corrine] Hey guys.
Bringing water and hygiene.
Phoenix Rescue Mission.
[Corrine sighs]
-How you guys doing?
-[Peter] We got a fire pit.
Are you looking for resources
or case management?
-Right under one of the major freeways.
[man] Not right now
but I will be later on.
-Okay.
Is this your usual area?
-Yeah.
-I come down here like every day, man.
So if you see me, holler,
I’ll leave you my card, okay?
-All right, thank you guys.
-Thank you.
-You let me know what you’re cool with
me filming obviously.
You can film until someone says…
Like, they’ll usually tell you.
I just want to respect their dignity
’cause they’re in vulnerable positions.
-Right.
-You can tell.
So what drugs were you on
if you don’t mind me asking?
Fentanyl and meth.
Yeah, I used to be
an IV heroin user before that.
-And it was only a year–
-Two and a half years ago.
It was only two and a half years ago.
So how’d you get off it?
I went into detox
and then I went into the mission.
It was a personal decision
or someone brought you off the streets?
-It was a personal decision.
-You knew that you needed to get off them?
I needed help
but I couldn’t find the answer.
I had been in and out
of services for years.
I was on Methadone
for like three and a half years.
I was on Subutex.
But there was like something lacking.
I don’t know how to explain it.
It was Jesus,
but that’s what you’re seeing
because you wouldn’t recognize
me two and a half years ago.
So is it hard for you, though?
You went through that world.
-You’ve moved on personally.
-Yeah.
But now you spend every day
back in this world.
I mean, you went in there
so naturally, like, no fear.
Yeah.
Because I see the people.
Like, the drugs are just
part of the bigger issue.
-Right.
-I care about the people.
[Makindy] Do you need some water, man?
There’s no triggering,
I don’t get triggered.
-Sir, do you want some water?
-Got water and hygiene for you.
You want a couple bottles?
-Thank you, sir.
-No problem, man.
-God bless you.
-Thank you.
You looking for resources?
-We offer services, trying to help.
You wanna get off the street?
-Uh, I don’t think I’m ready
at this point in time.
But when I am ready, you guys
will probably be the first ones to know.
-Awesome.
-At least as many times as y’all show up,
y’all are the first ones to know.
So this will build up and get run out.
And build up again
and get run out by the cops.
So it goes in waves.
Okay, the cops come here
and then what do they do?
-They’re like, “You have to leave.”?
-Yeah.
Where do they go?
-They move around, they’re transient.
They move all the time.
That’s the thing about homelessness
is that they travel a lot.
[Peter] Why do you think
they hoard so much?
A lot of them are really
attached to their possessions.
It’s like the last thing that they have
or that’s the vibe that they give you.
It’s precious to them.
You know what I mean?
It’s hard to get someone
with that much stuff into shelter.
That actually becomes
a barrier to services.
We can’t transport that kind of stuff
or they’re scared to leave it.
[Makindy] Animals is a big thing too,
dogs, cats.
It’s a big barrier,
that’s family for them.
-Corinne, how’d you get into that
lifestyle if you don’t mind me asking?
I was introduced to drugs really young.
I think it was the prescription
opiates that I was introduced to.
Like just a regular prescription.
-Like Vicodin?
-Yeah, Vicodin. Yeah.
I just remember like feeling…
I grew up with a lot of trauma.
Not to say that’s a requirement
to become an addict, ’cause it’s not.
But I remember feeling like it numbed
the depression and the anxiety.
And then it just… It’s a hook.
And it gets worse and worse.
When I was in high school
the Oxycontin got really big.
That was introduced to me.
It would be at parties.
But you’re more open to it
if you’ve already experienced it.
Meth has this weird way
of going hand in hand
with like a harder opiate use
if that makes sense.
Like you’ll notice
that people that use Fentanyl
or they use blues,
they also use meth.
It kinda… It goes hand in hand.
That was my experience, too.
I actually don’t like meth.
It’s very anxiety inducing.
I only used it when I was
already using opiates.
It keeps you awake ’cause when you
use opiates you fall asleep on yourself.
And you’re not trying to fall asleep
when you’re homeless
because you’re much more at risk.
-So when you’re out there living
like they were, are you always on guard?
-Are you worried about your surroundings?
-Yes.
Yeah.
-Or you’re not too drugged out
where nothing matters?
No, it’s a constant.
I can only speak for myself.
I was in a constant state of worry.
You’re worried about the cops,
about your warrants,
you’re worried about
people stealing your stuff.
As a woman, you’re worried
about getting assaulted.
Gosh, like it’s constant
survival mode all the time.
[siren blares]
[Peter] Yeah, that says a lot right there,
that shot.
[siren gets louder]
These guys are dealing with
a lot these days, yeah?
Yeah.
-Like a lot of their work
is just drug overdoses.
All the time, all day.
-I want to get in with
the emergency services guys,
’cause they’re at the front lines of this.
They gotta have
a real unique perspective on it.
There’s a higher need now
because of the Fentanyl.
Like, it’s worse than IV heroin use.
So meth is magnitudes less
of a drug than Fentanyl?
Meth has different challenges,
like it destroys your heart.
We all know what
long-term meth use looks like.
Fentanyl is different. It’s newer.
People will have these,
like, serious infections.
But they can’t feel
the pain of their infection, right?
So they’ll just stay out using, you know?
-When do you think
Fentanyl really took off?
-Around the pandemic,
the time of the pandemic.
-So just basically the last five years?
-Yep.
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Now back to the story.
Do you see the encampments
over here at this park?
-So that’s legal or just a temporary thing
that’s gonna get removed today sometime?
-It’s not technically legal
but they are a bit easier on them.
-So you’re taking the Narcan?
-Just in case.
This has been a lot of activity
here of people ODing.
[Corrine] Hey guys.
Hey, you want some water?
Phoenix Rescue Mission, how you doing?
-Thank you.
-You’re welcome.
-You want one for him?
-Yeah.
-How you guys?
-All right, how are you?
-Good, thank you.
We have some hygiene, socks.
-Thank you.
-If you guys are trying
to get in a shelter, or a program,
or just be assessed for needs,
we’d be the people, we’ll come to you.
My name’s Corinne. That’s me.
What’s your name?
-AJ.
-AJ, it’s nice to meet you.
We work with, we do [mumbles].
-You do, okay,
so you know Eric and everybody?
-Yeah.
-Good, you’ve started that process.
I don’t know if he’s given you these.
We have a women’s center.
-Yeah, it’s kind of a long time.
-And it’s gonna take time.
And it should take time.
You should give yourself that time.
I went through our women’s center.
-I stayed over a year.
I was actually
a little bit nervous to leave
’cause I had built such a community there.
This is the information,
I’m gonna leave this.
-Okay.
-This side is what we do,
it’s mobile case management.
This is street outreach.
So take that and hold on to it.
All right, you guys. Okay.
So is that the majority of it?
They take the resources,
you present what you’re doing.
The majority aren’t going to
take the next step?
-The majority, yeah.
-They’re happier…
Well they’re not happy, obviously,
but they’re more comfortable
in their drugs
than taking the uncomfortable step.
-Yeah, we call it planting seeds
’cause this will get so uncomfortable
that they’re gonna remember
the resources, right?
-I mean, they’re swarmed with flies.
-‘Cause there’s food over there.
But yeah, you’re right.
-And plus we come back.
-Yeah.
-It’s not just a one-stop shop.
We continue to go to the same spots.
-Okay, okay.
-So they can trust us.
-Exactly.
-Yeah.
-That’s exactly right.
-Look at this playground.
There could be needles in the grass.
-There could be Fentanyl powder.
I feel bad for the kids also
that can’t now play
in their local playground and park.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
[Peter] You playing golf?
[man] Well, I’m hitting
a few of the same shots
since I was a kid playing at Maryvale
here at the recreation center,
I started playing
around the recreation center.
My friends wouldn’t notice.
I was doing that whenever I was,
I don’t know, 19 years old.
It was pretty fun.
-You’ve been living out here for a while?
-Yeah.
-You know these guys offer help,
like resources, housing, all that stuff?
-Yeah.
I know that they’re gonna be playing
at the Princess Golf Course so far.
I remember that’s a good place
to have some practice at.
-No, but I’m saying
this organization here,
they offer housing, they offer resources,
rehab, all that stuff.
But you would rather not do that.
Why would you rather be out here?
-Well, I’m gonna go to Maryvale
Golf Course today, I hope so.
[Makindy] …help her,
everything that she needs, God.
Pray that you would open doors
for her that she’s never seen.
Lord and I pray that she knows
that she’s loved immensely by you, God.
And she’s seen by you, father,
even in this situation.
We thank you, father, God.
You love and you bless,
in Jesus’ name, we pray.
-Amen.
-Amen.
-Thank you.
-Yeah, no problem.
I’ll try bring more socks
’cause I know you like socks. [laughs]
-You wanna circle back around?
-That’s cool.
-Hey, take care, man.
-Oh, nice.
You’re excellent.
You’re always welcome. I promise.
-Thank you, bro.
-Okay, how’d that go?
-Good.
She’s got her eyes on
a recovery center already.
She’s already got a game plan
and that’s really… that’s awesome.
I love when they have a game plan.
-So she has to basically
break herself free from that crowd then?
-Well, she’s on probation,
so her probation is asking that of her.
-And that was you though,
literally two years ago?
-Two and a half years ago, that was you?
-Yes.
-That was you?
-Yes.
I’ve slept on the cold concrete.
I’ve slept in dirt piles,
like behind buildings, by a dumpster.
It’s awful.
-Are you proud of yourself
for overcoming that?
-I live every day so amazed
and blessed that the Lord is faithful.
That’s how I feel.
I’m grateful to be alive.
I’m grateful that my
children have a mother.
-You were raising them like that?
-No, no, my children are young,
they’re little.
They were removed by DCS,
so when my son was three
and my daughter was three months old
my family, I was staying with my mom,
and they called DCS,
rightfully so,
’cause I had been bouncing
back and forth between relapsing,
wasn’t actively living
on the streets or anything,
but I was struggling mentally
and I was in a relapse.
-DCS, for those that don’t know?
-Department of Child Safety.
-Okay.
-Removed my children from my custody,
and that just broke me,
like I can’t even describe it.
That was my wake-up call.
[children playing]
[Peter] What a wild situation, guys.
When you see all this money going in,
these new resources,
like you got these kids right here,
and then we have this situation here,
and look, these people
seem to be harmless,
but the drugs out and about,
probably not something
you want your kids around.
And the resources, the housing is there
from my understanding,
and it’s there in a lot of US cities,
but there has to be a voluntary want
to make that change,
and if you can survive out here
and do your drugs and live off
the things that are provided to you,
then it’s not a necessity I guess.
Phoenix, it’s a huge city,
a conveyor belt
of aircraft coming in here,
and so we’re showing you this part of it,
and just so you know,
there’s the other side of the tracks,
and always keep that in mind
with videos like this.
We’re looking for these situations,
’cause that’s what the story is.
-Ma’am, how long have you been out here?
-Years.
-Years?
-Yeah.
-Do you want to stay out here
or you want to get off the streets?
-No, I’m trying to stay out of here.
[Makindy] You can put this there.
-You good? You need help?
-Thank you.
-No, I got that part.
-Okay, go ahead. This way.
[woman groans and mumbles]
At least the bag is gonna help, though.
-[woman mumbles]
-Okay.
All right, well have a good day, okay?
[sirens blare in the distance]
So Kindy, why does someone like that
not want to take up
the next step of services?
Why would they not want
to go into a shelter
or be in a better environment?
-A little comfortable.
New environments, sometimes it’s scary,
and so the long life
of living out here as well.
-She said years, I don’t know how long.
-Right.
She’s in bad condition right now,
so it looks like she’s probably
been battled through a lot.
Whether it’s health problems
or drug addiction as well,
but sometimes they’re not ready.
-Okay, here’s my point, though.
If they don’t want
to actually take the next step,
they can be out here indefinitely.
Yeah.
-Because you guys are gonna
give them water and food.
So is there any part of you that’s like,
we’re helping to continue this on
or is it all in the,
hey, we can get enough people off
that it all makes it worthwhile?
Yeah, it’s probably gonna be
the second thing,
where as long as we keep showing up,
showing love out here,
and it’s all God.
This is the reason why we do it
is because we’ve been rescued by Jesus
and what he did in our lives,
and so we could see it happen, but–
-Were you homeless?
-Yeah, I was.
-Okay.
-In Florida I was sleeping in my car,
showering in bathrooms,
and restaurants, and stuff.
‘Cause we were evicted,
it wasn’t because of drug use.
-Okay.
-It’s very different especially in Florida
’cause we don’t have that much
Fentanyl use but I’m sure it’s coming.
-It will grow there too but–
-Start Florida or Miami Rescue Mission.
There is a Miami
Rescue Mission, actually.
[Peter] Oh, that’s right near
the elementary school.
Like, right next to it.
-Absolutely.
-[Makindy] This shop?
-[Corrine] Yep.
[Corrine] Go through.
And then if you sneak to the right here,
there’s usually people.
-Oh, yeah.
-Yep, right there.
-So these businesses just have to deal?
Is that the story?
-I don’t know how their response is,
I really don’t.
‘Cause this changes every single day.
Different people.
Hi, guys, does anyone need water?
Are you looking for
resources, case management?
What type of resources?
What are you looking for?
I’m already… I have housing already.
You do?
-Socks? I need some socks.
-Yeah, we have socks.
-You said you have housing already?
-Yeah, they already signed me up.
We don’t have snacks
but we do a food bank.
-Do you have your EBT?
-I do.
Okay, it’s open until noon every day.
But we can take you to our food bank
and get you some emergency food bags.
-Thank you.
-Is this your usual area?
-Yeah.
-I’ll give you my card
so you can reach out to me.
I’ll just meet you where you’re at.
-[Peter] You doing all right?
-Doing okay.
Last night cold, or no?
-It was freezing last night.
-Yeah?
-These guys okay to you?
-Mm-hmm.
-Call me, I’ll come to where you’re at.
This is our program if you’re interested.
We have a residential program.
The other side is street outreach,
this is what I do.
Okay.
IDs, birth certificates, social security
cards, navigation, shelter, medical,
whatever you need to help you
get moving out of the scene, okay?
-Thank you.
-You’re welcome.
-I’ll give you guys a call, thank you.
-Yeah, of course.
-Have a good day.
-You too.
-Yeah guys,
it is all over this part of Phoenix.
We’re just right off the main street.
-[Corrine] How you doing?
-As you saw behind the auto zone.
-Holy moly, it’s Santenello.
-What’s up, man?
-I watch you all the time, man.
-Thanks, dude.
-I was wondering when
that was gonna happen.
-Peter, right?
-Yeah, Peter.
Now you’re in the video.
-Am I?
-Yeah, if you wanna be.
-I guess you could do that.
-What’s your story?
-I’m a big fan of you.
-Thank you. What’s your story?
What’s going on out here?
-I’m a Phoenician of 44 years.
I’ve hit a couple bumps,
you know what I mean? Snags and sh*t.
I’m right at the Phoenix rebirth,
you know what I mean?
I watch you everywhere.
You started in the UK and all that.
-Ukraine.
-UK… I mean Ukraine.
-Yeah.
-I didn’t mean the UK.
-Those are the original videos.
-Where you had dinner with people.
-Yeah, thanks, man.
-Dude, I watched all of them.
-Okay, what can you teach us?
You know my style of filming and I
always wanna get the local’s perspective.
-Right.
-Tell me about your world.
What are your thoughts?
Take care, man.
-I guess you could just say that
Phoenix is more of a cowboy
type of plain or valley.
Okay.
You need to keep it close.
Don’t trust anybody
too, too, too, too long.
Okay.
Other than that,
be aware of your surroundings, man.
Don’t give too much.
Okay. Are you living out here?
Actually, a couple miles down the road,
I’ve been out here for a while,
for about 11 months now.
You don’t seem to have a
bad drug problem or anything.
No, I just kicked methadone cold Turkey
and then I’m about off the Fentanyl.
I mean, I am off Fentanyl.
I won’t get sick.
So my next idea is to go to
a faith-based place.
-These guys.
-These are your guys.
-Yeah.
Yeah, like I’m heavy in the word
and stuff, like daily and all that.
But I was thinking about going
to a sober living house
but I don’t think I really need that.
I’ve been tired of drugs for a decade now.
-So you kicked Fentanyl on your own?
-I kicked Fentanyl, yeah.
And then I kicked methadone cold turkey
just like a month ago?
But it was a struggle, man.
-You know Nightmare on Elm Street 2?
-Yeah, classic movie.
-When Freddy comes out?
-Yep.
-That’s how I feel like at certain points.
-I didn’t eat for 8 days out of the 18.
-Wow.
I think I did some internal damage
to my organs.
But yeah, but the city’s…
the city has a lot of blessings in it.
Silver linings and stuff.
-What do you mean?
-Always a silver lining
in the rain cloud, man.
You can take something good from anything.
A lesson learned.
-You can learn from everyone.
-Yeah, a lesson learned.
You can learn a pick up from everybody
and a conglomeration of it, man.
Just compile it, and, you know,
the best of it, anyway.
-So what do you want in life?
What do you want right now?
-I have four kids. I don’t see ’em.
For certain reasons.
Two different mothers
but if I can get a hold of them,
which they have tried to reach out
’cause they’ve grown up.
But I feel so odd
to meet somebody after 22 years.
Last time you saw ’em,
they were freaking two years old.
And you only had probably 5%
of that two years of life.
So that, and just spreading the word and–
-What’s the word? Silver lining?
-Love and forgiveness.
-Love and forgiveness?
-Yeah, no matter what.
-That’ll work, man.
But man, who would have thought
coming around in Maryvale,
around the back of, f*ckin’…
Freakin’ AutoZone
Like right here
I ran into Peter Santenello.
-All right, brother man.
-Take care.
-Nice to meet you, man. All right.
-All the best.
Yeah, sometimes people ask me,
“Who’s your audience?”.
And I have to say at this point
it’s pretty much everyone.
From the Amish who sneak their phones
away from their parents,
to guys like this,
to a 78 year old grandpa.
That’s what’s cool about
showing the world and people’s stories.
A lot of people are interested.
And it’s not one story out here.
You can’t label… Like anything,
you can’t label the homeless population.
You can have people on drugs,
people not on drugs,
people evicted,
people choosing to be out here,
people so deep in the drugs
they have no clue what’s up from down.
It’s everything.
[siren blares]
[Makindy] …fearfully and wonderfully made.
So we’re so glad
we got to meet her, father.
So I pray God that any help she needs,
God, she knows it’s here.
So we love you, we bless you.
In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
-Amen.
-Amen.
[woman yelling] …call the police on you!
I’m not your mama, b*tch!
That’s why you homeless,
you don’t know how to respect women.
Shut the f*ck up!
I don’t give a f*ck about your attitude,
about you being homeless,
or about the f*cking ice
you only can afford!
Shut the f*ck up!
-You done talking?
-Are you done talking?
B*tch, are you done talking?!
-Sort of a hardcore Circle K.
-Pretty much,
but let’s just get our drinks.
[laughing]
-Sort of slide out of here.
[yelling continues]
-I mean, she does take control
of her store.
-She probably deals with a lot of BS.
-Yeah, she does.
-I’m sure people stealing stuff
all day long.
-He just wanted free stuff.
-Yeah, pretty much.
Grab stuff and just walk out.
[Peter] Ma’am, I like how
you regulate this place.
[laughing]
You just laid down law.
[laughing continues]
Law.
-They just is doing too much.
I’ve been here since 7:00.
Don’t be tripping about 4 cents
and then you throwing a dime at me,
but b*tch, you wanna trip
about four cents?
-He threw a dime at you?
-He threw a dime at me.
He wanted to trip about
four cents that I can’t give him,
’cause we don’t got no pennies.
So that’s why I start cussin’ his ass out.
-Ma’am, I’m doing a video
on the homeless situation.
-Is it pretty bad right now?
-It’s so bad.
They come in here,
stealing, and taking everything.
They coming in here,
and taking cases of beer,
and they not worried about being homeless,
’cause why you stealing beer and sh*t?
-So you have to have thick skin?
-I do.
I’m not scared of these customers.
I’ll call the police on them.
-How are the police doing,
they showing up?
-They show up, ready to lock them up,
and trespass ’em.
-What’s your name?
-Lexi.
-Lexi.
-Peter, good job.
-Thank you. Have a nice day, guys.
-Appreciate it.
-Have a great day.
-Take care.
-[Makindy] Oh, Corinne.
-[Corrine] What?
-Corinne missed it.
-You missed everything.
-I heard some cussing.
-Was the–
-Cussing…
-Yeah.
-[laughing]
-What happened?
-I told you that this is one of the worst.
-This is the worst.
-Oh, it came to life.
-Lexi laid down the law in there.
-Somebody threw a 10 cent at her.
-[Corrine gasps]
-And she blew up.
-Absolutely blew up.
-Oh my goodness.
[Corrine] Don’t mess with Lexi.
[Peter] No, Lexi,
employee of the year I would say.
-Especially working here.
-For keeping that place alive.
-This Dollar General
is one of the worst as well.
-Their sliding glass doors
have been broken so many times.
-I’ve walked in,
people literally walking in,
stealing things, and walking out.
-Our windows
have been broken several times.
-That’s why you have the bars here, huh?
-Yeah, they broke our windows
multiple times.
-So we locked this gate after 5:00.
-This is all Phoenix Rescue Mission here?
-Yes.
[Peter] So Corrine,
this is the nerve center here,
where everything’s going on?
-Yeah, this is our office.
This is our base for outreach.
-We’re all program graduates.
-You’re all graduates? Awesome.
So you know that side of things obviously.
-Oh yeah, lived experience.
-I’ll be six years off the streets.
-Wow.
-I’m coming up on six years
off the streets as well.
-Six years?
-Nine.
When I was sitting
in county jail doing a year,
they had a program called Bridge.
-Uh-huh.
And they would send people in
to teach a class
and then also tell people
about the mission.
And so when I got out I went there
and I ended up staying two years.
They offered me a job
as a case manager assistant,
and then, I don’t know,
what, seven years, six and a half,
seven years later,
I’m now leading the outreach team.
When I first got here there was 3 of us
and now there’s 43, 44.
[Peter] 44, okay.
So is this fitting for you guys,
“If you’re going through hell…”?
‘Cause is it going through hell
to get off drugs,
I don’t know if
you guys had drug issues,
but get off the streets, make that change?
-Yeah, the hell is out there
and the hell was inside of me too.
You know, just the despair
and the feeling that I had
going on out there, for sure.
-So today when we were out there,
some people, none of them
seemed to be doing great obviously
but some were really down and out
and it’s so odd to me where you’re like,
you can actually have
a clean bed to sleep in,
and predictable meals,
and a roof over your head,
and the vast majority
are not interested in that.
What’s the mentality there?
‘Cause you came to this side,
but what is that mentality?
-Well, I’d say for me,
I started off in my homelessness
because that’s where the drugs were.
And it just became a lifestyle.
And so it turned into a situation where
I was helpless to control my thoughts.
The driving force of that
was just chasing the drug.
How am I gonna get it?
So I’d rather eat out of dumpsters
than go and have three meals
in a cot somewhere.
I would rather do it my way
than have someone tell me
how to live my life
and I can’t have drugs.
-Okay, so one of the points of friction
I would say from the outside,
is that legally, as a society,
we can’t bring people off the street.
We can’t force them
off the streets, right?
So it has to be voluntary.
And if someone’s in the drugs
and they’re feeling like you did,
then we’re in a tough position
because of that reality.
Like your organization only works
if somebody wants it.
-Right, and that’s what’s key,
is that I believe that
everybody out there has a motivation.
I didn’t think that
I was ever gonna be homeless
just because I was having a
party lifestyle and having fun.
And then turns out I really enjoyed
the drugs that I was using
to a point where
I lost everything for them, right?
But I didn’t really… Nobody ever wants
to just be living in an alleyway.
-So you just wake up one
day and you’re homeless?
Is that sort of how it works?
-You just choose to do that.
You don’t really think clearly.
And for me, it became my lifestyle.
So if I wasn’t allowed somewhere
because of it,
wherever I may be
then I was allowed to at least
do it out there to a certain degree
until I got caught up
by the police or something.
-Is that how you got out of it?
You got caught up by the police?
-No, I think going back
to just moments of clarity,
I remember being in the alleyway
and just wondering how my life
got to be where it was at.
You know, I’m digging out
of dumpsters every day.
I’m fiending for these drugs.
I mean, I’m picking up
needles off the ground
and slamming dope with them, you know?
I gave up on myself,
which in turn, I gave up on my kids.
I gave up on my family.
I had that moment of clarity
where I had some motivation to say, like,
this isn’t
actually what I want.
And so us, as case managers,
when we get out there,
that’s what we try to tap into,
that there’s something there
that that person wasn’t raised,
or didn’t grow up, or had any ambitions,
or goals to be in that position.
That’s where we want to begin to help them
and see, “Hey, you know what?”
it may look like a long journey
or like a huge mountain to go over,
but it’s possible because if I can do it,
anybody can do it.
[Peter] Right, you guys all did it.
-Mm-hmm.
-Yeah.
[Corrine] Welcome.
-The female campus?
-Women and children.
-Is this a zen theme you got going here?
-It’s the walking path.
-It goes around.
-Our clients like to get their steps in.
-Did you go here, Corinne?
-I did, yes.
-This is where you went? Okay, cool.
What a nice zone.
[Corrine] It’s cared for by the clients,
so self-sufficient.
[Peter] It’s beautiful.
-This is our children’s
facility here on the right.
-Okay.
-There’s a really awesome story
behind the childcare that just happened.
They were a 3.5 star rating
with the state almost two years ago
and they told us that
we wouldn’t surpass that.
And when they recently did the last one,
we got a 5 star rating
in the State of Arizona for childcare.
-Which is like unheard of.
It’s such a small percentage
out of all the childcares in Arizona.
-So it’s a massive operation now?
-It is now.
-[Peter] Hi.
-[Corrine] Hi.
-You have a men’s facility too, right?
-Yes.
That one’s much larger.
They hold about double the amount
of people at the men’s center.
…if there’s women who are willing
to chit chat with us,
-Yeah.
-We’ll ask.
-So be careful with the camera?
-Yeah.
-Everyone should be in their rooms
if they did not want to be on camera.
-Okay. Oh, that’s cool.
-So we should be in the 100% clear
to go wherever we want.
They were instructed between
3:00 and 4:00 to stay in their rooms.
-Is that why no one’s around?
-That is correct.
-[laughing]
-Okay.
-I didn’t know that part.
-We take care of our clients.
-That makes more sense.
-Right.
So obviously a lot of people
don’t want to be on camera for this.
-Yeah.
-Totally understand.
[Peter] A lot of these women
have pending cases?
-Protection for them, their children,
and anybody else involved.
-Yeah, okay. Okay.
-Corinne, how long were you here?
-22 months.
-Okay, so it’s long term?
-Long term.
-A year at least.
-Does that help being long term?
Yeah, it gives you time
to stabilize, budget,
figure out your finances,
debt, court stuff,
where you’re going to live,
what you want to do.
-Next step?
-Next step.
-What’s the normal type of process?
Is it that long usually
or what’s the story with that?
-You see like the 30, 60, 90 day programs,
that’s more across the board
for treatment.
-So this is a bit different,
bit of an outlier because it’s longer?
-Exactly.
-Okay.
-If you’ve been doing Fentanyl
the last five years of your life,
30 days probably won’t cut it?
-In my opinion, yes.
-In my opinion.
-Okay.
-So this is what it’s like?
-Yep.
-So three women?
-Yeah, per room.
And then once you get into
graduate towers,
it’s just this building over here,
it’s two per room.
Moms get their own room
though with their kiddos.
-It’s literally free for someone…
The people we saw this morning,
it would be free for them?
-Completely free.
Bed, clothes, safe.
-It’s just a mindset?
-It’s just a mindset.
-This probably seems so sterile
and almost too clean and nice.
Like maybe there’s a feeling,
“I don’t deserve this.”?
-It took me a while to be like,
“What’s the catch here?”.
‘Cause I came from a lot of like…
It took me a while to feel safe,
but then once I realized
that I could utilize the time,
it was like off and running.
It’s amazing.
There’s nothing like it.
-Are they cooking themselves?
-Not in these buildings.
In the graduate towers,
yes, there’s stoves.
-Graduate towers, okay.
-Yeah.
[Corrine] But you’re well-fed here.
[sirens blare in the distance]
‘Cause I was, like, going…
-[Peter] Your name again?
-Erica.
-Okay, so you just came here yesterday?
-Yes.
-What brought you here?
-Drug addiction.
I have to reunify with my baby
and it was becoming hard
doing this out there.
-Were you homeless until recently?
-No.
-No? Okay.
Is it day one of being clean?
-Well, yesterday was my first day
and today was the second.
-So physically you’re looking very good
for coming off drugs, I gotta say.
Usually it doesn’t look this good.
-What were you on?
-Meth.
-How long do you think you’ll be here for?
-A year, yeah.
And so by doing so, becoming clean,
you can see your children again?
-Yes, I could get my
one and a half year old back
and then the family court,
I’ll be able to get more
visitation privileges on my 11 year old.
-And you made the decision to come here?
-Yes.
-Good for you.
-Do you like the environment?
-Yes, I do. It feels like different.
It’s like, I had been to a rehab
for a month and it’s not the same thing.
-Like there’s a different environment.
-Okay.
-Like you feel there’s
a lot of positive people here.
Okay.
Not negative like other places.
Can they get pretty negative,
the environments?
Other places, yeah. Not here.
-It does have like a…
It’s my first time here.
It has like a peaceful,
tranquil feel to it.
Maybe it’s the trees
and the nice architecture.
-It’s really nice here,
like, people are nice.
‘Cause I think a lot of people
that are here want to be here,
not because they’re ordered to be here.
-Day by day is hard,
but we’re proud of you.
-Yeah, a lot of people run.
-Yeah, they do.
-‘Cause they want to keep on using.
-It’s easier sometimes.
-It was just already a thing where I’d use
and it’s like, your body just hurts.
Like the vitamin in your body,
like you’re not eating well.
-Right.
-I just really wanted to leave it
but I just couldn’t.
-The hardest part’s been done,
fair to say?
Like making the big choice?
And then there’s a lot of
rewarding things along the way
like they fix your teeth and stuff.
I don’t have a whole lot
but you know, it’s just starting.
-Well, good luck.
-Yeah.
-You got it.
-Yeah.
-You got it.
-Thank you.
-[Peter] You ordered catering?
-[laughing]
[Peter] What’d you cook us?
What do you got here?
-All kinds of stuff.
[Peter] Keep going. What do we got?
We got the cheese tray
-We got a fruit platter,
we got some buns and cheese.
-All right.
-Serving desserts on the bottom shelf.
-Grandma’s apple pie?
-Yeah, you know.
-You’re on fire right now.
What’s going on? Is it a party?
-Yeah, we had two parties today.
-Oh, you all work here?
-Yeah, we work here.
-Okay, cool.
How’s it going?
-Good.
-It’s going fantastic.
-Awesome.
-Very grateful.
-Thanks for coming out.
-Thank you. Take care, ladies.
-Okay, here’s some statistics
I brought up today.
-Can you hold this a second?
-Sure, I’d be honored.
-Now you’re part of the production.
-You’re the interviewer now.
-All right, ask me anything.
-[laughing]
Okay, so I pulled this off
Maricopa County’s website.
9,400 actively homeless households,
September 2024.
In April 2020 it was 3,000.
-Yep, and those numbers
are only going to increase, yep.
-I mean, households means family,
child, maybe broken family,
but kids involved, obviously.
It’s gone up.
-Yeah, it’s gone up.
-Quite a bit.
-Yep, and it will continue to go up,
and there’s no signs of it
going the other direction.
Our rescues that happen year over year
play a wonderful role
in getting that number down,
but there’s things outside of our control
that continue to happen
in the world around us
that put more and more people
in vulnerable situations
that they could end up on the streets.
-And I was just in Downtown Phoenix
a year ago, and there now.
I hate to bring bad news
but it looks way worse
as far as people on the streets.
-That’s why we have to do what we do.
-A noticeable difference.
-Right, right.
-All right,
on to greener pastures this way.
I just want to drop some numbers
so people know.
I don’t know how Phoenix compares
to other cities right now,
but that seems to be
a trend across the country.
-It’s increasing.
-It is.
-So one amazing thing about
the CLC is we’re known for–
-CLC, for those that don’t know?
-Changing Life Center, Phoenix
Rescue Center for women and children.
We’re known for child reunification.
So people with active DCS cases,
we’re known for
reunifying kids with their mamas,
and we provide
the safest place to do that.
We check all the boxes for DCS.
We’re what they are looking for.
We see a lot of mamas
get their kids back, I was one of them.
So I have a CLC baby
at home with me, yeah.
[Peter] All right, guys, just want to
finish up today with a few final thoughts.
The Phoenix Rescue Mission,
quite an impressive organization,
and you can see people
like Corinne and others today
that have gone through it
and come out the other side
and put their lives back together,
and those are the great success stories.
And the organizations
that are providing those services
are important right now.
The one’s doing it right.
As I travel the country all over
to different cities, different states,
the Fentanyl problem
has gotten us off guard.
I think it came so quick.
It’s so cheap.
It’s so powerful.
And as you saw today,
many of those people,
when offered services, housing,
rehab,
are not interested.
They just want basics
to get by till the next hit.
And so what’s missing in correcting
or working on really correcting
this problem is policy and law.
And I don’t know how it’s done
but it needs to be a conversation.
And as the drug goes out to more people
and becomes even cheaper,
and more addictive,
5, 10 years, if we don’t change
the way things work,
unfortunately, I believe we’re going to
have a lot more of this in our country.
So thank you, Phoenix Rescue Mission.
For those that want to donate,
link down below.
They’re doing great work.
And thanks guys,
for coming along on this journey.
I feel like it needs to be one of
the top topics in the country right now.
It’s very important, very serious.
And until it gets addressed,
it’s only gonna get worse.
Thanks for coming along on that journey.
Until the next one.
[melancholy rock music plays]