Homeless in Detroit Stacey Dooley in the USA

This programme contains very strong language.

Life is awful stressful as it is.

I call life a schizophrenic bean.

Cos of its ups and its downs.

Everybody keep telling me that God got a plan,

but why do I have to go through the shit I go through?

'If you're homeless in Detroit,

'you've a higher risk of dying on the streets

'than in any other city in the United States.'

I cried many nights. Like, what am I going to do?

I'm not ready to die. You do what you have to do to survive.

'Homeless people here are surviving in a city that's

'seen more than its fair share of troubled times.

'Over the last 50 years, Detroit has gone from being

'one of the richest cities in the US to being the largest to ever

'declare bankruptcy, with debts of over 18 billion.

'The sheer scale of the city's decay means

'there are now around 70,000 abandoned buildings

'and Detroit is struggling to support its population.'

Oh, my gosh!

It's tore down. The neighbourhood doesn't even look the same.

'Services are being pushed to the limit to help

'the almost 20,000 homeless people living here.

'I've arrived during the coldest winter the city has seen

'for over 20 years.

'To meet the young people living on the streets

'to see where they live...'

-Wow, this is like a proper family home.

-Move back, move back.

Oh, my God.

'..And what they do to survive.'

-Hey, baby.

-He's really trying to date. Don't...

-This is crazy.

-Mm-hmm.

-Crazy.

-It's like this every night.

Over the years,

more than half the people who lived in the city have left.

The ones that remain live in hope, of Detroit getting back on its feet.

But that takes time and money that, right now, this city doesn't have.

I've come here to find out how people are able to survive

in Detroit when it's struggling to support its general population,

let alone the poorest people, who are in greatest need.

It's really quite surreal. The minute you jump in the car...

..you drive a couple of minutes away from the hotel...

..and some parts are rough, man.

Like, you know, all of these abandoned buildings.

They look like they've been sat empty for ages. Look at all of this.

You know, the only businesses,

the only shops that seem to still be operating are the liquor stores...

..the petrol stations...

and the churches are still kept nicely.

But all of this, I mean, it's in bits. It's like it's been abandoned.

I'm on my way to meet a young Detroiter who's been

homeless for over six years.

Tiera is a trans woman -

meaning she was born male but identifies as female.

Her friend Julisa lives in the Palmer Park area

and helps her out where she can.

To make money to live, Tiera works as a prostitute.

I'm meeting her and Julisa at a laundrette where she usually

gets picked up by clients, or as Tiera calls them, "dates".

Right now we are on 6 Mile and Woodward, which is

where a lot of the girls work.

During the day, but mostly at night-time.

All these cars driving around here right now,

if they see what they like, they pull right up.

And may the best bitch win, cos I'm right there.

Come on, let's have a date. We sometimes pull double dates.

So we jump right in.

At night-time, a lot of the cars will park here as well.

As you see, during the day, it looks like a laundromat,

but because they are open 24 hours, at night-time they'll just park here.

If you walk by, this is where they'll pull in and talk to you.

So it looks more like they're doing something other than trying to

-pick up a prostitute.

-A bit more legitimate.

-Yes.

-So they'll pretend they're doing their delicates.

-Yeah.

While they're really dropping a load.

THEY LAUGH

Really dropping a load.

What's it like to work here overnight?

SHE SIGHS

At night...

To everybody else, it's scary. To me, it's a job.

And I ain't scared. It is what it is.

I mean, I feel like if you grew up in Detroit, you have no reason

to be scared. Especially if you're out here doing this.

If you're scared, why be out here?

-So, I ain't scared.

-Do you get busy?

At night, yeah, it gets real busy.

Till some nights a lot of girls be out

and I get to the point where I get so frustrated

I have to walk off from everybody, just to catch a first date.

-Oh, really?

-There'd be too many girls out here.

Too much competition?

I don't call it competition because I have got in over chocolate,

I have got in over...

some of the girls that have been out for years that have got titties,

ass. I have got in. And like I always tell them,

just because you got titties don't mean they going to want you over me.

'With so many trans women living and working in this area of the city,

'it's one of the few places that Tiera feels

'she can truly be herself.'

How long have you felt like you have been a woman?

-Oh...

-SHE LAUGHS

When I first graduated,

-I really wanted to be a girl. And I mean...

-How old was that?

-When I was like 14.

-Right. How old are you, Tiera?

-I'm 25.

Is that right?

-I'll be 26 on July 2nd.

-Stop it! You're younger than me.

Mm-hmm. How old are you?

How old do you think? Go easy on me. How old do you think I am?

Um, you look like you're in your 30s.

SHE SHRIEKS THEY LAUGH

-Tiera, I thought we were friends.

-I mean...

I thought we were striking up a friendship.

-Ain't you like 30?

-I would have said like 21.

-I will take that, Julisa.

-21. I would have said 21.

-But 30's not old.

-27.

-OK.

-Were you working last night?

-I came out here for a second.

-It was too cold so I went in.

-Are you not scared?

No, I mean, when I say I'm not scared, I have guys where I did try

to go in this abandoned building, where you used to stay on Third.

A guy... I went in there, seen him, walked out.

He ran up to me with a pistol.

I looked at him like, you willing to use that?

I'm not scared of no pistol.

And that makes me different out here. Cos I live here.

I've been here my whole life. You going to use it, use it.

Only thing I ask, if you do shoot me don't shoot me in the head,

don't shoot me in the heart.

I mean, hey. This is not easy.

Cos you never know what's going through anybody else's head.

Do you have to carry a weapon with you?

I always carry knives. My purse... Oh!

-Show me what you've got in your purse now.

-I have a knife.

I've got to look for it.

-And you feel like this is necessary, right?

-Oh, it is. It is.

See, cos I have long arms I'll pretty much need something that

while I'm in a car I can just reach over... Yah-yah!

-..and stab them.

-Let's see that.

-I think I found my Taser.

I've got to look for it.

-Do you have to use it much?

-I used it a couple of days ago.

But it wasn't nothing that I couldn't handle.

Just somebody thought they were going to get their money back.

I didn't let them know I was broke. I don't give refunds, so...

I don't think there's a transgender woman in Detroit that doesn't

carry a knife, a blade, some kind of mace. You have to.

You risk being robbed. You risk the police not taking you seriously.

And then we have to worry about all the brutalisation

that goes on on 6 Mile and Woodward.

A lot of girls have lost their lives out here and...

-And I'm not ready to be one of those.

-Right.

A lot of the cases haven't been solved, which is sad.

We've had girls that have been shot in abandoned houses,

or their throats have been slit.

There was one that had been dismembered,

body parts found in different parts of Detroit.

It's just not a safe environment. For anybody, let alone being transgender.

But it's not safe for anybody out here.

You know, when the girls started telling me about the murders...

that are happening to the girls that are working Woodward...

it just really hammers home what it can mean to be homeless

here in Detroit.

You know, there are so many things to have to contend with. But...

..the idea that you've got to kind of accept...

..that there's every chance you could get stabbed or shot

whenever you go to work is just insane.

In the last few years, four homeless trans women around the area

of 6 Mile and Woodward have been brutally murdered.

The discrimination that trans women experience

means employment opportunities are scarce and even with the potential

dangers of working on the streets, it can feel like the only option.

Tiera's hoping to make some money tonight and while she's

out on the streets, her friend Julisa often watches her back.

Tonight, I'm not having no bullshit.

Cos if they play with me, I'm going to take their money, I'm going

to clock 'em, I'm going to punch 'em and jump out the car.

WOMAN LAUGHING AND SHOUTING

I meet the girls back at the laundrette.

Straightaway I get talking to another trans woman

hoping to catch a date.

She tells me more about what it's like to work on 6 Mile and Woodward.

So the reason you're out on the streets is cos your family

-didn't approve of...

-My lifestyle.

-..you choosing to live like a woman?

Experiences like this aren't uncommon within the community.

Almost half of all homeless youth in the US identify as lesbian,

gay, bi or transgender.

Tiera's afraid her family won't accept her for who she truly is,

and keeping her life secret has meant having to

fend for herself on the streets.

So tell me how it works.

What they do - they pull up on you here.

You literally just walk back and forth.

I usually come out and make sure she's OK. If she gets in a car,

I'll chalk down the licence plate or put it in my phone.

We'll meet back here, on the corner where she usually stands.

I'll stay out here till usually I get too cold, then she knows the routine.

I'll go home, she'll come and knock, let me know that she's OK.

-If not, then I'll just look for her in the morning.

-Right.

It's not long before Tiera catches her first date of the night.

-Hey, baby.

-Oh...

-He's really trying to date. Don't come all the way.

-Just stay there.

I'll stay right here. Go ahead, you're OK.

Do your thing. Go make your money.

What's going on?

It's like this every night. I just stand here like this.

-Huh?

-Oh, my God.

Suck some dick or whatever.

Mm-hmm.

20...60...

What you working with?

No.

INDISTINCT SPEECH

Huh?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, but not for that.

-This is crazy.

-Mm-hmm. It's like this every night.

-Crazy.

I told you, you don't have to be out here for long.

We've been out here for five minutes.

I could fuck for hours.

I'll be back, daughter.

-Go ahead, baby. Love you.

-I'll be back. I'm going to call you though.

-Yep.

-See you.

-OK.

After that, we're going to smoke a bowl and then come back out.

That's our routine. She has to smoke. Get her mind right.

We've literally been out here five minutes.

I told you, it's no work. This is what I go through every night.

I'll write the licence plate. Run back. If I was by myself,

I'd be running all the way back across the street to where I live.

And she meets me in front of my building.

-She's gone?

-Yep. That quick. They hit an alley and they go.

I don't know where he's taking her. I don't know when she's coming back.

It's just, a sit and waiting game.

Yeah.

-This is so crazy.

-So... Yeah.

I can't believe she does this on a daily basis.

Can we go back to the laundromat? Cos that's our meeting spot.

I do just feel really shocked. And I don't know why

because I've been talking about this throughout the entire day.

And I know exactly what it is that she does.

But just seeing it, you know, first-hand.

Seeing the guy pull up, seeing her approach him and...

telling us that she's going, was just so bizarre.

We're meant to meet her here in like 20 minutes, half an hour.

I guess we're just going to wait.

'Julisa tells me that car dates typically last 20 to 30 minutes

'but a room date in a hotel can be up to an hour.'

-Julisa.

-Yes, ma'am?

-I'm so cold!

-You want to go back?

No, we better wait.

-Are you freezing?

-Yeah.

-Julisa...

-It's brutal.

-This gets pretty grim pretty quick, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

'Tiera's been gone for a long time and Julisa

'and I are concerned for her safety.'

-I don't like calling her because I don't want her phone to ring.

-Right.

And let her date know she has a phone and try to rob her.

-Right.

-I always wait for her to call me.

-She knows where we are though.

-Mm-hmm.

We said by the laundrette.

-This is just not fun.

-No.

-And I'm freezing cold.

-Me too.

And again, an hour to do everything that they do, to only come out

with 20 or 30, to eat for the night. It's not worth it.

OK, 80. I said, "OK, well, you get 80 out of the coat."

He didn't want to do it.

Finally, at 1.30 - almost an hour and a half after she left us -

Tiera finally shows up.

I'm glad I'm smart enough before I do anything with him...

Because I knew he was going to try to play me.

You haven't actually done anything with this guy?

I didn't do nothing with him. I hope that his wife finds that condom

I stuck on the side of that door. I hope she do!

I hope she do. Cos you think you got off that easy? You didn't.

-So it was just talking?

-Just talking, just wasting my time.

-I could have been in another car.

-So you're no better off?

You've still got no money?

I can't believe you've been gone all this time and still got no money.

Just carry! I hate people when they do that.

-What did you come out here for?!

-Right.

-At least you're safe and OK.

-Yeah.

-The next one's going to be good.

-The next one going to get robbed.

-No!

-Come on, Tiera, stop that.

-Don't do that. Don't be irritated, be smart.

-Think of your long-term goal, not short term.

-It's frustrating, right?

-Being out here, it is. I don't like this.

-I know.

I hate coming out here.

I hate coming out here.

It's freezing cold. I cannot begin to tell you

how painful it is to be out in these kind of conditions.

It's like 2.00, 2.30. It's -15.

I've never experienced cold quite like this.

We're all off to bed now, and Tiera is going to

continue to try and work the streets.

Hey!

TIERA LAUGHS

-He hollered.

-Hey.

This is going to be too much tonight. I can already feel it.

Nearly one third of all the buildings in Detroit are empty.

Around 70,000 abandoned properties, including hospitals,

houses and schools are spread out across the city.

It's quite a sad sight, isn't it?

All the little lockers just sat there empty.

You can't help but imagine all the kids knocking about.

It's surreal.

This used to be the heart of the American car industry

and it was nicknamed the Motor City.

You can still see the remains of car factories like the Packard plant

and buildings like the main train station, but they're now just

derelict reminders of how successful Detroit once was.

It's difficult to believe that there are places like this in the US.

To me, parts of the city look like a wasteland.

I've hardly seen anyone out on the streets

as it's well below freezing out there.

'Temperatures remain dangerously cold across the Midwest and north-east.

'21 people have perished as a result.'

There have been numerous cases of frostbite during

the extremely cold winter months.

Sleeping outside right now can be life threatening.

The shelters and warming centres face huge challenges

and there are less than 2,000 emergency shelter beds in the city.

Thousands of people rely on these organisations for food,

showers and a secure place to sleep.

I'm visiting one of the busiest shelters in Detroit.

This is The Tumaini Centre,

which is part of the Neighbourhood Service Organisation.

It's one of the few places whose doors are open to

anyone in need - 24 hrs a day, seven days a week -

accommodating up to 120 people at a time.

DOOR BUZZES

INDISTINCT SPEECH

OK.

I want to see what the living conditions are like

for people coming here, so I asked Reggie -

the Director of Homelessness Services -

to show me around.

Thank you.

PEOPLE CHATTERING

When the homeless people come into the shelter, they come through here?

They come here. Our monitors stop them.

They check for ID. They check for weapons.

Many of them carry weapons because they protect themselves.

And that's why they carry a weapon.

So they come through the metal detector, then we have a wand

that we wand them with, to see if they have anything on them.

We go through their bags to make sure there's nothing in the bags.

Could be alcohol, could be drugs, or whatever.

All those things are taken away from them.

They can get...we don't keep it.

If they want them back, they can have them. But they've got to leave.

-They can't stay here.

-Right.

Typically, what kind of drugs would you find?

Crack, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, those kinds of things.

-And weapons?

-Usually knives. No guns.

-This is the men's side.

-Right.

We've separated the population - women go on the women's side -

because many of the men here,

many of those women have been assaulted,

some of the men here may have been the ones who assaulted them,

so we keep the population separated

so they don't have to deal with that kind of issue.

Makes sense. All of these chairs that we're seeing now,

is this is where they sleep?

Yes. This is where they sleep.

I'm really surprised to see that there aren't any beds here.

What you see over there is the bins.

And so, everybody that comes in gets a bin.

Their name is put on the bin and they're supposed to put

everything they can carry in that bin.

We don't want to get into taking away a lot of their stuff.

It deals with their whole psyche.

This is where all the ladies are?

They are either waiting to be taken to see a doctor that they've

scheduled, or waiting for intake, they're waiting for something.

-It's just a warm space, isn't it?

-Exactly.

Some of them just haven't been to sleep, so it's

-an opportunity for them to come in, get some rest, get some sleep.

-Right.

In order to come here, you have to be 18 years or older.

When you've got 18-year-olds coming here,

what are the reasons that they've found themselves in the shelter?

Could be, again, mental health. Usually it's mental health or drugs.

Families don't want to deal with them

cos they can't deal with the behaviour. So they put them out.

They have nowhere else to go. They've burned bridges so they can't go to

a friend's house or a cousin's or whatever.

So they end up here.

Your body can't take antihistamines.

INDISTINCT SPEECH

CONVERSATION CONTINUES

This room...the only thing I can really liken it to,

that we're familiar with, is like a doctor's surgery waiting room.

There's nothing homely about it.

Why do you keep standing in front of the TV?

-Every five minutes.

-All she's doing is messing with her phone.

Whatever! Whatever!

INDISTINCT ARGUMENT

Some people are really frustrated in here.

Understandably so. It's not...

..the perfect place to be for lots of people.

But it's warm.

-Relax or go sit outside.

-I can talk to her.

-You can't talk to her.

-I just did. OK.

-Go, go.

INDISTINCT MUTTERING

I think I'll talk to your supervisor.

Things seem to quieten down fairly quickly inside,

but outside where it's harder for the organisation staff to

intervene, I step straight into an argument about drugs.

-What happened?

-He gay. He sucks dick for crack.

He's my man, cos I'm the motherfucker that gives him the crack.

But I'm just saying, little nigga,

you ain't going to do that shit on camera.

So, niggas come to this bitch and get house.

-No, I'm going to beat your ass.

-Why are you annoyed with him?

Cos he's gay and he sucks dick for crack.

Wouldn't you be annoyed if your auntie or grandma smoked crack?

And then tried to sell you for crack?

-I'm going to beat that nigga's ass.

-Listen....

I could go to jail for a month.

Listen, you've got enough to contend with without worrying about that.

Relax.

'I'm not surprised to see arguments like this one.

'Understandably, a lot of the people coming here have their own

'problems to deal with, and the shelter won't turn them away,

'even if they're high on drugs or alcohol.

'There's a lot of commotion and many people hanging around outside,

'but I got talking to 24-year-old Jessica -

'who has been homeless for six months -

'and 20-year-old Shaq -

'who's been living on the streets for over two years.'

-It's real...it's like... MAN:

-Fuck that!

I don't really try to make friends here because it'd be so much,

always something going on. I don't want to get involved.

A lot of staff told me to stay out of that circle.

SPEECH DROWNED OUT BY SHOUTS

I only really talk to him, I guess.

MAN SHOUTING

You've got to be quite mindful of who you go about with.

It's dangerous out here.

All these people, you seen all these people out here?

-You want to take a look out here?

-Yeah, I guess.

'I can't imagine what it's like to live in this tense environment,

'Jessica and Shaq seem anxious and on guard

'and I want to find out how they've been able to survive for so long.'

Is it easier to have less friends and less people around you?

-Yeah.

-You keep your circle small.

You have to.

The people you think are your friends might be your enemies.

It's a dog eat dog kind of thing out there.

Tell me about Detroit.

-Were you born here?

-Yeah, I was born in Detroit.

-Born and raised?

-Yeah.

-Do you like Detroit?

-Yeah. It's rough out here though.

-In what sense?

-In the sense of just like everybody is out for themselves.

Everybody ends up getting robbed, stabbed or something like that.

If you're around areas like this...

I've been in situations as a female, as a woman,

situations you wouldn't even think I should go through.

I'm 24 years old so I've seen it.

I know the type of stuff to stay away from. You know what I'm saying?

If you had the option, if you had the money and the resources,

would you leave?

-I would.

-It's hard for me to leave.

-Hard for you to leave?

It's hard for me to leave.

I already had deals where I can leave and go somewhere else but...

It's hard for me to leave because this is the only place I know.

To me, Jessica seems scared. She says it's hard for her to leave

but it's just as difficult to survive day to day like this.

You can't help but feel for Jessica.

She's this young girl on her own,

trying to find her feet in that shelter.

It's like repetitive chaos in and outside.

It's carnage, it's constant. It's...

It serves a great purpose and it's amazing that it exists,

but it's not easy.

And she's having to find out all of this by herself.

Detroit isn't how I imagined it to be.

A lot of the vacant buildings I've come across have been burnt out,

having been targeted by arsonists.

Each year around 5,000 arsons cause almost 200 million worth of damage,

destroying the neighbourhoods and their communities.

Whilst driving around, we heard about a fire happening

on the west-side at an abandoned property.

Am I all right to jump out?

I'll be two minutes.

POLICE RADIO CHATTER

Oh, my gosh.

BANGING GLASS SHATTERING

SIRENS APPROACH

Shortly after I arrive,

I get talking to Victor, who lives close by.

The fire looks bigger than I thought.

At first I thought it was just a small fire.

But we didn't know if somebody was in there trying to stay warm,

or if somebody went in there to deliberately set a fire.

We don't really know yet. But sooner or later we'll find out.

Am I right in thinking lots of homeless people in Detroit

go to the vacant buildings when they've got nowhere else to stay?

-People sleep wherever they can find some place.

-Right.

But we haven't had any problems with noticing the homeless people

hanging around. We just haven't seen them.

So we just assumed that they were staying away from that building.

But now that there's a fire, it makes us wonder.

-Especially when it's pretty big too.

-Yeah.

Some people say that some local residents get pissed off when the

homeless go and sleep in abandoned buildings in their neighbourhood.

Yeah, some people get real, real angry.

They don't have any sympathy for the less fortunate

and the people who don't have a place to stay or whatever.

I'm kind of with those people who get angry

because there's help out here when people don't have places to stay

and you're homeless or whatever. I was homeless before.

But I never went and stayed in abandoned buildings or houses.

Is this a normal scene in Detroit?

It's normal in certain areas.

Detroit has too many empty buildings.

I don't know how long it's going to take to rebuild Detroit back

up to probably how it was in the '50s or the '60s or the '70s.

I don't know if they'll ever be able to do it. I just don't know.

With fires occurring so frequently in the city, many happening

in vacant properties, it's extremely risky sleeping in abandoned houses.

But back in Palmer Park, Tiera does this every day.

I've come back to meet the girls here.

The buildings in the abandoned neighbourhood where she stays

used to be family homes. But many people left,

and some were forced out when they couldn't pay their bills.

Now, very few of these properties are still inhabited.

Now that's the house over there I was in.

I stayed there for like two days. It was so cold I said, I'm good.

How do you know whether or not anyone's going to be in them?

I mean, they've been in Detroit for a long time.

I can just look at a house and see somebody living in it.

When was the last time you stayed in this home?

Um... Oh.

-Four or five months ago.

-OK.

Tiera thinks she's left some of her belongings inside,

so I follow her and Julisa round to the back of the house.

This is the window.

-Be careful.

-So you prefer going round the back?

I like adventures.

-Through the window?

-Yeah! We're bad girls.

I'll go through the front window.

-What are you looking for? Your quilt?

-My blanket.

-You want me to go through the front?

-Do whatever you'd normally do.

-That window broke out.

-Are you going to open the door?

-Are you going to open this door?

-Yeah, I'm going back here to open it.

-Are you going through the front window?

-Yeah.

Is she going through the front?

-Is she going to let us in?

-Mm-hmm. She's going to try.

-I can't believe she stays in places like this.

-Mm-hmm. Yeah.

And I've seen it and I'm like, oh, I can't.

And this is, like I said, nice compared to where she's staying.

-She got in.

-The front door didn't open.

-You're in.

-You got in quick.

-See if this door opens.

-In the back?

-Yeah.

-Oh, my God, careful.

-Move back.

-Julisa...

DOOR RATTLES

We're going to get told off.

-Shall we go through the window, it's less noisy?

-OK.

This is the Luton coming out in me.

-I'm coming.

-Watch your foot here though.

-Need a hand?

-Yeah, thanks, hon.

-You're welcome.

-Wow. This is like a proper family home, right?

-Yeah.

It is. It could be fixed.

This is what it looks like, so you can have an idea of where they sleep.

It's basically just a shell.

Somewhere you can sleep and not be bothered, but it's not safe.

It's not clean, as you see.

-It's not any warmer.

-I thought it would be warmer.

There's no working water. The bathroom's over here.

People that stay in places like this,

-this is the bathrooms that they have to use.

-Oh, my God.

-It doesn't flush.

You can tell the people that have stayed here.

Everyone just chalks on the wall. That's basically what you do.

Can you show me where you were sleeping?

-Yeah.

-Is that all right?

-This way.

You were saying you think you might still have a quilt here?

Yeah, I still do. It's up here.

-Have you got it?

-It's right here.

-Where is it?

-In there.

-Oh!

-It's still here.

-I thought it was gone.

-This is where you slept, in this cupboard?

-Yeah.

This is pretty much where I'm at.

-That's crazy.

-Yeah.

I try to keep a lot of heat,

considering it's a house, it's still cold.

And I had a date bust this window out.

Almost fell out the window.

-Crazy.

-So what, you had a client in here?

-Mm-hmm.

-And then you slept in this cupboard?

-Yep.

-SHE MOUTHS:

-Fuck.

Hey, guys, I think it's important you see this.

-OK.

-Be very careful before you come in here.

The amount of girls and people that come into these houses,

cos from this room, you can tell what happens in here every day.

-Look what's all around the floor.

-Ah, all right.

The condom's been used.

You can tell...there is literally one, two, three, four, five,

six used condoms.

Wow. I just...yeah.

I never knew that...this is what they use the abandoned houses for.

I just thought they sat empty.

Like, I understood that squatters slept there...

This and selling drugs.

I switch up houses because I don't want people to be watching me.

So I kind of switch up.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-So you never go the same abandoned house twice?

-Uh-uh.

-Right.

You feel like that keeps you safer?

Yeah, cos anybody could be watching me coming home

when I'm done working. And I have money on me.

You going to take the money? You're not taking any of it.

I can't believe you slept in that cupboard.

Yeah. I'm surprised my blanket is still there.

-Are you working tonight?

-Yeah.

-You are? Here.

I will be taking that.

-Give me the bag too.

-Make sure that you use them.

-I need a bag though.

-There you go.

-Girl...

-Let's get out of here.

-Yeah. It smells, doesn't it?

-You don't want to get your quilt?

-Uh-uh.

-I'm going to come back later and get that.

-Watch yourself!

It's worrying that Tiera has to live like this.

The more time we spend together,

the more I appreciate how difficult her life's been for the past

six years, and how severely she, and the other young people

I've met here, have been affected by their surroundings.

Heavenly Father... Thank you for this day, Father.

Thank you for all the gifts that you've given me.

The gift of life. The gift of another chance.

Thank you, Father, for all you do for us.

Amen. ALL: Amen.

It's 3.00pm and I'm at the Detroit Rescue Mission's men-only shelter

to meet 21-year-old Martel, who became homeless

after he was released from prison six months ago.

He agreed to let me follow him inside.

Sign for the meal. Sign for your shower.

Is this quite standard? The guys come in, they sign themselves

-up for a shower, a meal and a bed.

-Shower, meal and bed.

Yeah, shower, meal and bed, like I said.

Once I've run out of the 70 beds in there, I offer them a chair with us.

We put these tables up, set all the chairs down.

-You can sit in a chair with us, out of the elements, all night.

-70 beds?

-70 beds.

-That's quite good. That's quite a lot.

-Goes pretty fast. Goes pretty fast.

-I'd say so.

-Martel, you have bed 62 tonight.

-62?

-Yes, sir.

Thank you. Can I come and see your bed?

Oh, yeah.

-MAN:

-The face of Detroit.

Hey, girl! The face of Detroit.

Hello!

So what's...?

-Hello.

-He said 62?

-62. You're 62.

-62 is all the way at the back.

MEN SHOUTING

-62?

-I think it's against that wall.

Thank you.

INDISTINCT SHOUTS AND WHISTLES

Here you are.

Here we go, right here.

-This is you for the night, right?

-Oh, yeah.

-I'll be sleeping with the comforters.

-Someone's left you a book.

HE LAUGHS

The Panther.

Number One New York Times best-selling author.

-Your kind of flow?

-Oh, no. Not really. You know?

How does it work? Do you always have the same bed?

Oh, no. You get a different bed every time you come in.

Get yourself a meal, take a shower if you want.

They close the shower at a certain time. You watch TV.

You can't watch TV out in front.

How comfortable are these?

-The face of Detroit.

-Oh.

'The men using the shelter felt uneasy with the me being

'in the sleeping area so I caught up with Martel in the main room.'

What's the plan for next couple of months?

-Hopefully I'll be in a BMW or something.

-Really? That quick?

-Oh, yeah. Just like that.

-They're not cheap.

-It's all about hope.

I'm going to be in a BMW in a couple of months.

So this is temporary for you?

Oh, yes. This is temporary. I'm not going to stay out here.

-This lifestyle's scary.

-Yeah.

-Ain't going to lie to you.

What's scary about it? Be honest with me.

To tell you the truth, it feels like I'm still incarcerated.

-Huh?

-I feel like I'm incarcerated, to tell you the truth.

-Still in prison?

-Yeah.

Get up at 5.00, 4.00 in the morning and told what to do.

How to move, how to eat, how they feel.

Ain't nobody trying to live their life, the rest of their life, man.

All these different types of guys around, you don't

know too much about them. You stay to yourself. Stay focused.

Keep paying attention, anything could happen, you know what I mean?

If this shelter wasn't here, where would you be right now?

-On the streets?

-Oh...

Probably so. Probably so.

That's why I thank God this place was here for me.

Yeah.

I can understand why Martel feels as though living here

is similar to prison, but at least they have beds.

It seems regimented

and so different from the other shelter I visited.

I asked Bradley - one of the monitors - to tell me more.

I walked through that brown door six years ago,

homeless, out of mind, crack addicted, alcohol addicted,

spiritually dead. Didn't know what to do.

Family didn't want me, but the Detroit Rescue Mission

opened their doors and told me, come on in, Keith.

We will love you until you learn how to love yourself.

It can't be easy. I've seen a couple of the lads that come in here.

Some of them still have that street mentality.

It's hard to shake that off.

-Yeah, we deal with numerous personalities around here.

-I bet.

You have to have patience, tolerance, love - all that.

It's traumatic.

All of a sudden you're sleeping with 60, 70 other guys.

You're standing in line to get your food.

Normally, when you think of homelessness

you think of people that are on drugs. Alcoholic, derelict.

But people lose their jobs now. You know what I mean?

People have house fires. This is a new homeless now.

There you go, sir.

Martel was waiting in line for a shower, but I want to find

out more about him, and his plans to improve his situation.

How do you pass the time?

-Just kick it here.

-Huh?

-That's how we pass the time, just sit back, relax.

-What, on the pavement?

-Oh, yeah, yeah.

All around. These my streets, yo.

Hopefully I'll get hold of some money. That's what I need.

How do you make money?

I rap. I used to rob people. Rap for it now.

Camera, me - rapping.

-Are you rapping tomorrow?

-Huh?

-Are you rapping tomorrow?

Oh, yeah. I rap every day.

-Give me a line. Show me what you've got.

-All right.

I'll show you what I've got. Uh..

Uh. Uh.

HE RAPS: I've been in this shelter For about six months

Seen a lot of tough niggas Come and go

But it's a different flow Like always

Cos every day I'm thinking About getting paid

Fast lane, took a wrong whirl

It was mad even on that ground, boy

Looking at life with no justice

No father figure No mother for me, no

Cold, the soul I've got my snub-nosed blown

Tellin' the bass-heads I get to tour in their sack.

-See, I do a little rhyming.

-Ah!

You're not mucking about.

Yeah, you know.

-And that rap's about your life?

-Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

In your rap you're saying Mum's not always about, Dad's not here.

-Are your folks around? Your parents?

-Oh, yeah.

-My people are somewhere around.

-Part of your life?

-But, hey...

It is what it is. You know?

When you got out of prison and you came here,

is that the first time you had to use this kind of shelter?

Yeah, this is the first time. Hopefully the last time.

I know it's the last time. Oh, yeah.

I know it's the last time.

I can tell that behind all Martel's talk that he's finding it hard here.

I want to spend more time with him

so I asked him to show me where he used to live.

Over there, that used to be the weed spot right there.

-That was where you got your weed?

-Oh, yeah.

-That building?

-I got into a couple of fights in there.

-I bet you did.

How old were you when you first went to prison?

First time I went to prison I was about...

-I'd say about 13.

-13?!

-Yep.

How many times have you been inside? Roughly.

-Couple of times.

-What for?

Uh...

Actually, I caught manslaughter. I caught murder before.

I caught a carjacking charge but they overlooked a lot of the charges.

Depending on some of the situations that occurred at the crime scene.

-They're serious.

-Oh, yeah.

-Serious allegations.

Oh, yeah.

I had a couple of deep charges, you know.

-But you got off them?

-Oh, yeah.

Is this the first time you haven't had a fixed address?

Um... Basically, yeah.

It's really caught me by surprise. That's what it is, a surprise.

That's why you've got to prepare yourself for everything and anything.

Life is never over, you know what I mean, as long as you're breathing.

Further down the street we come across Martel's old school -

Highland Park Career Academy -

which has been vacant for over five years.

To tell the truth, this is where it all began.

-Right here.

-What began?

-Rap, you know what I mean.

First time I started hearing about rap was right here.

-In this building.

-You and your mates?

Was.

It's crazy, I bet, for you to see it like this now. It's changed so much.

It's tore down. The neighbourhood doesn't even look the same.

Looks different, right?

-Yeah, it does.

-Does it feel weird seeing it like that?

Martel?

I don't even know.

What's going through your mind?

-You OK?

-Oh, yeah.

-Sure?

What are you thinking? Tell me.

It's...

It's just bringing back a couple of memories, you know what I mean?

Just want to get lost.

What memories?

Martel?

-Are you OK?

-Oh, yeah.

-Sure? What are you thinking?

Nothing. Just the irony of standing here.

-How your life's changed?

-Oh, yeah.

How so much has just...overwhelmed me.

Yeah, I bet when you were younger you never imagined

that your circumstances would be how they are.

HE SIGHS

You're brave and you're strong, but you're still young.

-Yeah.

-You know, you have to deal with a lot. You've taken a lot on board.

This is hard.

Hell yeah.

HE SIGHS

Sky looks perfect, don't it?

Yeah, it does.

I was really shocked by Martel's reaction.

He was so overwhelmed by seeing his old neighbourhood and thinking

about how different his life is now, that he just stopped talking.

Martel's community has changed,

and he seems like a refugee in his own city.

But his determination, I hope, will help him

to work his way out of homelessness.

-Hi.

-Hi!

-How are you?

-How are you?

-It's good to see you again.

-You look lovely.

-Thank you. So do you.

-Nice coat.

'Back in Palmer Park, Julisa and I want to get in touch with Tiera,

'or Poochie as she likes to call her.'

PHONE DIALS

Where are you, Poochie?

'The person you called has a voice mailbox that does not...'

I can't even leave a message.

Is that cos she hasn't got any credit?

-No, her voice mail's not set up yet.

-Ah.

-She didn't set up a voice mail.

Where is she, then?

Probably walking around trying to make some money.

-You hear the loud music, that means it's warm today.

-Right.

-So she'll be working in the day.

-Everybody is walking around.

There's been times when she stays out literally all night.

It's just horrible. She gets no sleep. It's not healthy.

I'm hoping that it's a survival thing for her

-and not a lifestyle that she gets caught up in.

-Mmm.

Sometimes I know Tiera isn't always lucky enough to find

an abandoned building or, you know, an occupied basement.

What happens then? Where does she go?

Either her cousin's or she'll just stay out and work all night,

until she feels it's daytime

and goes to a friend's house or somewhere she can sleep a few hours

until it's time for her to come out and do it all over again.

She's done that to you a couple of times?

She's literally been out all night.

Yeah, she'll go out at like 10.00 at night. Come back in the morning.

I can just tell that she's tired and defeated.

I'll ask her how her night is.

She'll tell me that she didn't make one date.

And I'll ask her, well, why didn't you come in to get warmer?

And her mentality is - I have to stay out there until I catch something.

-Has Tiera ever stayed with you?

-Yeah, she has.

She stayed with me for like seven, eight months

when I originally met her. The apartment that I'm in now,

unfortunately my space is not conducive to housing somebody.

It's a lot smaller. So I help her in the basics.

I make sure that she eats every day, check in to make sure she's OK.

She knows that if it's cold outside she can chill there all day.

Does Tiera ever use the shelters here, no?

No, unfortunately she doesn't.

Cos they don't house transgender women with women or like,

separate us. They'll house you with men.

-Unfortunately...

-Because biologically you're a boy?

Right. So unfortunately,

because there are people who aren't as open-minded or comfortable,

she doesn't want to go there and feel like she's being ridiculed,

or it not be safe.

Cos you're dealing with a whole bunch of different people.

Unfortunately, she'd rather come out here and do the battle we see her do.

I think it's very sweet to see Julisa and Tiera.

And see how they both knock about together.

That is a really strong friendship.

I think you have to have a pal out here.

You have to be so resourceful.

And if you haven't even got one person that you can call on

and you can rely on, it makes it even more difficult.

Near impossible.

Being homeless for a long time can make it difficult to

integrate back into society

and deal with deeper issues like drug or alcohol addiction.

But a housing project that's the first of its kind in Detroit

is helping to improve people's chances.

The Bell Building was a derelict warehouse,

transformed into 155 apartments for the homeless.

They offer people a home, and the stability to work through

the problems that kept them on the streets.

I'm meeting former drug addict Kenneth who,

after years of homelessness, is now a resident here,

and has a full-time job as a substance abuse counsellor.

-This is my little area.

-Is it OK to come in?

-Yeah.

This is a nice space.

'Kenneth's apartment overlooks an old factory

'not dissimilar to places he lived in when he was homeless.'

I'm so happy because I come right in from work.

I just... Oh, I got a chair I can just...

SHE LAUGHS

..do that to.

I love this life.

For some people it would be like, oh, this is a small-ass apartment. Shit.

Is it mine?

I mean, living as opposed to survival.

You know, you're able to live now.

I'm able to go do what I want to do without looking over my shoulder.

This is a beautiful day to be responsible.

That's the whole thing, responsibility.

It's my responsibility to take care of my life.

I didn't have responsibilities, now I have them.

I love it when rent time comes around

and I'm able to pay my rent, no problem.

I love it when it's time for me to pay my phone bill.

Even though it's high.

I love that because I didn't have that before. That's what I had.

Shit like that.

-You look at that right there.

-It's so ironic.

It's like, what the fuck, for real? SHE LAUGHS

It's like they knew you were meant to come here.

It's like, yeah, this is you. This life you know.

But damn, that's the life that I could have had.

It must bring back memories as well.

You know what it's like sleeping in that kind of environment.

You get a chill sometimes thinking about it. You do.

My mum used to say I transitioned from a thug to a man.

I said, no, Momma, I ain't going to say all that.

I say, I went from nothing to somebody.

It took a long time.

But these are the end results, and this is my constant reminder.

-That's all it is.

-It's such an achievement.

'Having a home has changed Kenneth's life,

'and although projects like this one can't solve homelessness overnight,

'it's having a huge impact.

'A recent study in the US found that giving homeless people

'a place to live is cheaper than supporting them on the streets,

'and a more effective way of helping people get back on their feet.

'I've grown very fond of Tiera and Julisa during my time here,

'and want to catch up with the two of them before flying home.'

Did you catch a date last night?

No? How long did you wait to catch a date before you left?

I waited for like an hour. Everybody was bullshit and playing.

It was so cold. I just got to a point where I just said, I'm good.

Yeah?

When you've had a rubbish night, you know, if you haven't caught a date,

do you feel added pressure the following day?

You've got to make up the money that you lost?

Oh, hell yeah. You got no money.

SHE SNIFFS

But I try not to let anybody see. I try not to.

Like, if I'm upset and I get in a car, I'll just leave that alone.

I don't want anybody to know I'm going through it.

Everybody's always got something to say.

Like this one guy...

I hope he sees this too, so he can know how it feels.

Cos you're never going to know how it feels.

He disrespected me. I walked into a bar, I went into a bar.

I washed up, took a shower. He walked up to me. "You stink."

I was just, no. He walked up to me and said,

"What did I tell you about coming to the bar like that?"

And I was looking at him like, what did you say?

He was like, "Smell it." When he said that, I was like,

"Oh, OK. I'm running with a lot of people, but I don't stink."

Tiera, tell me the honest truth. Be completely real with me.

Does it hurt your feelings

when people say you don't look a certain way because

you're homeless, you smell a certain way because you're homeless?

-Um...

-Tell me the truth.

Sometimes. Well, yeah, it does. But I just don't care what anybody says.

I don't. I don't care what anybody says. But it does.

-Yeah.

-But I'm happy with the way I look,

because it's how I have to look right now. So, deal with it.

VIDEO PLAYS ON PHONE

Why do I have to go through the shit I go through?

From being in foster care...

I did what I had to do in school.

But after high school...

I'm just falling so down.

I've never let myself get so low. I'd never want that for nobody.

You were saying you've got a boyfriend.

I do but I can't let the person I get with have way more money

than me. I don't want that.

I don't want it. I want to have more money than that person.

But you want to love him as well, right?

Yep. I want somebody that's going to love me for who I am, regardless.

In the future, I'm going

to tell whoever I get with the things I used to do.

I'm going to tell him. See how it makes them feel.

Is that your biggest worry, that you'll be alone?

Yeah.

It was difficult to see Tiera so down.

She and all the people I've met during my time here

are going through hardship,

similar to those facing homeless people all around the world.

But I've never been to a place like Detroit.

Right now it feels like a broken city,

and it's hard to believe it's in one of the richest countries on Earth.

But somehow, people are managing to survive here, they're fighting to

get back on their feet, in a city that's determined to do the same.

When you've hit rock bottom, when you're really up against it,

you have to...

..you have to want it to change,

and you have to believe that it's really going to happen.

Because I think that's the only thing that keeps you going.

We have shots fired over here.

Next time, I'm in Chicago to look at gun crime.

I don't want to sell drugs, I don't want to carry a gun.

It's easy to say but it's hard to do.

You know, we're not in a warzone,

we're not in a country that's going through a civil war.

We're in Chicago.