(soft electronic music) (train rumbles) - It is good that people are enjoying their lives.

I wish I could be in their shoes, enjoying what they enjoy.

I am not jealous, not upset.

I look at it, they're enjoying their life.

I made stupid choices, but the stupid mistakes that I made made me the person I am today.

And I'm okay with that.

It's a hard thing killing time when you have nothing to do.

Walking around, wasting time.

A lot of time playing on my phone, reading the news, just wasting time, you know, until sleep time, you know, until I can find some place to go to sleep.

But you know, it's kind of hard being homeless when you have no place to go other than the library, you know?

So, you know, sometimes I like to duck in the alley just so I watch my phone, get out of people's way, just so I can have some me time, some alone time, you know?

'Cause that's all you have down here when you're homeless is time.

Nothing but time, and sometimes it drags.

(somber music) (gate clacks) Around January, 2011, I became homeless by having my house foreclosed on.

I was with a girl for 15 years, we bought a house together, and lo and behold, I didn't know that she wasn't paying the mortgage.

So I went through the foreclosure, lost a house.

Then I was sleeping on people's couches for a little while and that got old real quick.

Then I started sleeping outside, but out in the burbs, because that's where I worked, that's where, you know, I had my house, and they don't allow you to be homeless out there.

They either said, go downtown or go to jail, your choice.

I slept underneath the Van Buren Bridge for my first winter, and this was before all the tents were allowed and popped up everywhere like it is today.

I was new to all this, I was homeless, so I couldn't go and get a job, you know what I mean?

'cause you're not showered, you're not housed.

You can't go for an interview because, you know, I don't have the clothes for an interview.

I don't have an address to put down, you know what I mean, for on the application or the resume.

I ended up meeting a couple people and learned from them and just survive.

I would like a large cup of coffee, cream and sugar, a chocolate frosted cake.

- [Cashier] Sure.

All right, that'll be four 68.

- [Dan] Thank you.

- [Cashier] All right, thank you.

- What a crappy day out.

(traffic hums) That alley down here.

There.

This alley down here, they would let you sleep in it.

They would let you sleep here.

Right here, as long as you're up by 5:00 AM, and you cleaned up your mess.

Excuse me, they would let you sleep here.

But now, they have a new nighttime guard, and they will not let you sleep here at all.

So it's our places are, places are drying up, and the only place that's not drying up is Wacker Drive.

If you're down on lower Wacker, you're outta sight outta mind, they don't care.

A lot of things happen to 'em over Wacker, 'cause cops don't come down here.

I wasn't attacked, but my friends were attacked.

They were attacked by three people with knives and guns, and the reason they were attacked was somebody put out a rumor there that there was drugs and money in their tent, and they sliced their tent up, and they beat 'em pretty good, you know?

And the other ones down the way, they got beat really, really bad where one of my friends lost the side of his eye.

So right here, here's where I had my tent.

Right here.

It was peaceful, as peaceful as it could be down here.

I had a pretty good tent mate next to me, or a tent neighbor, but I had to leave because it's so loud, and it's dirty and dusty.

You would have the emission dirt on you, you'd come up and you'd be just covered in soot, and that'd be only for being an hour down here.

As you can tell, the noise down here is horrible, so imagine trying to sleep here.

It's really, really hard.

So I had my tent, and I wasn't here when the police came.

And so when the police come, and if you're not here, they throw your stuff in the dump truck.

And I lost all my belongings, and now everything I own is in my backpack.

It is what it is, you know?

It's a tough life to live, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

(somber electronic music) (traffic hums) (door clicks) So here's one of my sleep spots, not on the 13th floor though, 'cause that's unlucky number.

I usually go down to the 10th floor.

As you can see, we're out of the elements.

I usually lay my cardboard here, and put my backpack there, and I sleep up against the door, so nobody can get in.

So I only have to worry about one or two places of danger compared to three.

And then this could be also a quick, zoom, gone.

But this is probably the safest place I sleep at night, in the stairwell, you know, out of the elements.

It's quiet, comfortable, and dry.

But this is gonna be locked up pretty soon, and be probably one of the last places indoors we'd be able to sleep in because of things that people do inside stairwells, you know?

And I don't blame the owners from doing it because it's big business, you know, costs more to park in an hour than people making minimum wage.

Crazy.

(footsteps tapping) Prime example, somebody stole a fire extinguisher.

That was there yesterday.

Having a set place to go and lay your head at at night where you have shelter, you're not sleeping in the environment, and get up, take a shower, being housed would be life changing.

(traffic hums) (soft instrumental music) Just want to get my housing first, and then figure out a game plan or what the next step is.

I had to fill out the paperwork to get the social security replacement card, so I can get housing in the future.

You know, they make you jump through hoops to get your paperwork that you need, so you can eventually get housing.

(soft electronic music) (traffic hums) My whole family's always been into drugs.

Like ever since I was a little kid, I could always remember drugs being around the house.

My mom was a single mother, she was young when she had me, so I leaned on my grandparents, and once they passed away, I was probably about 16, 17.

It was at the funeral, and I was hysterical.

And my aunt Barb gave me some prescription pills to calm me down, and that's how I got introduced to opiates was through a family member.

And pills led me to heroin.

This place is Family Guidance.

This is the place that is going to get me off of my addiction.

It's my road to recovery.

I have a plan.

I'm gonna stick to that plan, and I won't have that demon inside me anymore.

I'm still an addict.

I'm still using, but I'm on the program to try to get off.

I am working towards a functioning level where I don't have to use anymore, but I am not there yet.

I don't want to be known as the homeless addict.

I know there's better for me.

I want to be working again because that's all I know.

I want a good job, I wanna pay my taxes, and I just wanna enjoy life.

- [Lloyd] Dan.

- Hey, hey, what's going on bud?

How are you?

- Good.

What are you up to?

- Eh, just watching YouTube.

- Yeah.

- You know.

- How was your night?

- A little wet.

- Yeah.

- A little cold.

- It can be.

- You know how it is being out here.

- Right.

- You know.

Lloyd's a photographer.

He's been documenting the homeless community for seven, eight years.

When I'm with him, we can have our conversation from the Bears game to drug use.

Everything in between.

- You don't, and you don't panhandle?

- No, I don't panhandle.

- So how do you get your money?

We talked about this before.

- I'm blessed.

I have good regulars that I still talk to or I do odds and ends for money here and there.

- Yeah.

- But I'm getting sick and tired of being sick and tired.

- Yeah.

- And I started the program, and you know, hopefully that'll lead to better and promising things in my future.

- Right.

I know you've got the whole thing about surviving down here pretty much down.

But it seems like, you know, the last time we talked, things are getting pretty rough down here.

- Yeah, this is the worst.

- You know.

- This is- - I mean the violence.

- Oh, this is the worst.

- Yeah.

- And a lot of homeless on homeless.

- All right, maybe you wanna take a walk?

- Sure.

- Okay.

- We kind of meet up, we'll get a cup of coffee and then we'll try and find people known these people, even though they are addicts, we've known 'em a long time.

I think this alley's funny 'cause anytime anybody goes down there, they kick them out.

- Yeah, right.

- Real quick.

Even for snipes.

- You talk about snipes a little bit.

What are they?

- Snipes?

Hang on.

That is a snipe.

- Yeah.

- [Dan] It is a cigarette butt, somebody has discarded, but to us it is survival.

- Right.

- So they're called snipes.

- Yeah, but with me, I bring- - Tickets.

- Tickets to the show.

Yeah, most definitely.

- So this is like my entrance to the movies.

- Yeah, here's.

Right here, I'll show you.

Like, as you could see, right?

- Yeah, you didn't stay there last night.

- Yeah, well we tried to.

- Oh.

- So.

- Until.

- Until.

- You were in another close call last night.

- Yeah, most definitely.

As you can see, it's one of the spots I slept, cardboard right there.

Somebody was there, and you know, three times, they circled, you know, and I was like, "Taz, you awake?"

And he said, "Of course, I'm awake."

- Right.

- And I'm like, "You know what's going on?"

He's like, "I know exactly what's going on."

He goes, "They just went that way," so then.

- But I mean, every night now, you're getting closer and closer violence.

- Yeah, most definitely.

That's exactly where it's at nowadays.

- [Lloyd] Right.

- [Dan] But they're called now, they're called lurkers.

- [Lloyd] People waiting for other homeless people to make some money so they could take it from them?

- Yep, exactly.

And they were waiting for us to sleep so they can get us.

- Right.

- You know?

- [Lloyd] This is the area where you were sleeping and like off and on?

- Yeah, yeah, off and on for about two weeks, two and a half weeks.

When it doesn't rain, I lay down cardboard right here and put my head there, feet here, you know what I mean?

It's a little bit of shelter.

- [Lloyd] Yeah, but not so much for the rain though, right?

- [Dan] No, not for the rain.

- Tell me about that time when you were attacked here by those two guys.

- Oh yeah, right here.

You know, they just attacked us.

He'd attacked me and wanted to have what I got and I didn't have nothing for 'em.

- [Lloyd] Of course not, yeah.

- You know, they went away empty handed.

(soft instrumental music) In 13 years, I've never looked at myself as being a target until now.

And it's just completely different.

It's completely different.

(soft music) (traffic hums) I don't have a physical address where I can check my mail or my PO box.

So Night Ministries lets the homeless people use their address to get mail.

And Mondays from noon to three, you pick up your mail if you have any mail, and my social security card's there, so I'm going to grab it.

If they ask for it for housing, I don't have to say, hey, I need to get it.

I got it, it's done, here we go.

What's up buddy, how you been?

- [Employee] Pretty good, how are you?

- Ah, surviving.

- [Employee] Are you looking for something fancy?

- [Dan] Yeah, my social security card.

- [Employee] Hey, it's pretty fancy.

Yes, that.

- [Dan] Do I need to sign something?

- Yeah, so.

Right there, and then you can open that.

But I'll want to take a picture, so.

- Most definitely.

- [Employee] We have it in case you lose.

- Lose it, yeah.

- Or gets stolen.

- Yeah.

(phone dings) Woohoo, look at that, fancy, fancy.

Do I have any other mail by any chance?

- [Employee] I can look.

It doesn't look like we have- - Awesome.

- Anything else.

- Thank you sir.

- Welcome.

(somber instrumental music) (train chugging) - [Dan] I'm sick and tired of living this life.

I've lived it for the last 13 years.

I don't want to do it anymore, I'm done.

(traffic hums) The Department of Human Services was having a event.

I stayed there for two hours, filled out the application.

I got a call yesterday, my case manager called me, said my application was approved, when was a good time to meet the landlord.

- [Landlord] Everything's new in here.

- [Dan] Yeah, most definitely.

- [Landlord] Here's a kitchen, everything.

- Being housed, I'll have a home base, something to build on.

Once I get the apartment, and I can close that chapter and worry about what's ahead of me.

Becoming a productive member of society again, and moving on.

Yeah, it's nice.

It's not bad.

It beats sleeping on the streets.

- [Landlord] The bathroom's new, too.

- It's good to go.

Oh, I like that.

It feels good to be having shelter before winter comes.

You gotta be optimistic, but can't get ahead of the game, you know?

(soft electronic music) (traffic hums) I got the call from my rapid rehousing agent, and let me know that my lease was emailed to me and now I'm just looking at it to make sure everything's fine.

No animals.

Which is all right.

I'm not in there yet.

So.

I've always learned to prepare for the worst, hope for the best, you know what I mean?

So there could be a curve ball thrown in there, and I might not get it.

So I don't like to count my chickens before they hatch.

You know, even though it is a big step, I'm gonna have to sign it, and hopefully I'll get my keys this week.

The sooner the better.

The sooner the better.

It's about time.

That's all, that's all it is.

I'm about time.

(gentle instrumental music)