0:00:13 > 0:00:17In the United States, child poverty has reached record levels
0:00:17 > 0:00:20with over 16 million children now affected.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24To us, it's just how we live.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28You don't get to make choices in how you live.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32One in 12 Americans are now jobless
0:00:32 > 0:00:35and many children are growing up
0:00:35 > 0:00:37with little hope of long-term employment.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41The president says he's trying to make jobs,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45but I don't think there is a job out there for me yet.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52We're going to start with numbers one through 20.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Food banks and homeless shelters are facing unprecedented demand,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59as even middle-income families sometimes lose their homes
0:00:59 > 0:01:01with just a few days' notice.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07If the TV could fit in your school bag, you could take it.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09If it didn't fit, you couldn't take it.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13We asked three children
0:01:13 > 0:01:17what life in modern America really looks like through their eyes.
0:01:35 > 0:01:41My name is Kaylie Haywood and I live in Stockton, Iowa.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45I'm ten years old and I live with my mother
0:01:45 > 0:01:49'and my brother Tyler and he is 12 years old.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54'I don't think we're a rich family,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56'but, like, I think we're kind of a poor family.'
0:02:04 > 0:02:05Oh, yay!
0:02:05 > 0:02:08That one was good, that one was good!
0:02:08 > 0:02:10SHE CHUCKLES
0:02:26 > 0:02:28- Uhhh!- Sorry, sis.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31- Stop pulling.- I'm sorry.
0:02:31 > 0:02:32How do you think you have customers?
0:02:32 > 0:02:34SHE LAUGHS
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Customers... You can't pull at Mom when I'm doing this.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38Uhhh!
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Kaylie's mum Barbara used to work in a factory,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46but lost that job nine months ago.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48After struggling to find another,
0:02:48 > 0:02:51she's decided to retrain as a hairdresser.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53I don't want you to fricking cut me.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55- I'm not going to cut you. - You better not.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57I've been in school long enough, I won't cut you.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Or you're dead.
0:02:59 > 0:03:00I mean it.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Kaylie's never met her father
0:03:02 > 0:03:06and, though her grandma lives nearby and helps out when she can,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08the family is struggling to get by,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12on just 320-a-week unemployment benefit plus food stamps.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15I'm hungry.
0:03:15 > 0:03:16SHE LAUGHS
0:03:16 > 0:03:19I knew you were going to say that as soon as you...
0:03:19 > 0:03:21you're going to have to wait now, sis.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24I'm just starving.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28'We don't get that three meals a day,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32'like, breakfast, lunch and then dinner.'
0:03:32 > 0:03:36When I feel just like hungry, I'll just like, I'll feel like,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39like I'm so, like, sad and all droopy
0:03:39 > 0:03:41and then, I'll be feel like weak
0:03:41 > 0:03:45and then, some in the mornings I'll be like so starving,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48but then, I'll like, be like, "Ahh! I need some food!"
0:03:48 > 0:03:52But then, like, I'll get like...but then, I don't think of food
0:03:52 > 0:03:54and then, I'll just think of something else
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and then, I'll not be hungry any more.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01There's good days and bad days.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Sometimes, when we have cereal, we don't have milk,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05we have to eat it dry.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Sometimes, we don't have cereal and we have milk,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13it's often like...switch and swap.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Sometimes, like when I switch the channel
0:04:16 > 0:04:20and there's a cooking show on, I get a little more hungry.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22And I want to vanish into the screen
0:04:22 > 0:04:24and start eating the food.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Iowa is one of the breadbaskets of the world,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33but this is no land of plenty for Kaylie.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34Needing every cent,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37she and her friend often walk along the railway track,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41despite the danger, to look for old cans.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44My best friend is Jordan and we grew up together.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47We like to go canning to make money.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- A lot of people throw their cans away.- Yeah.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53You know that garbage is recyclable.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55Cans!
0:04:58 > 0:05:02With canning, I just walk around, look for cans
0:05:02 > 0:05:06and I walk, I walk like around the whole town.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10The not squished ones are five cents.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12- And the squished are two.- Yeah.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18Over 60,000 bankruptcies were declared in Iowa last year alone.
0:05:18 > 0:05:19Over Kaylie's lifetime,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22the economy in her town has seen a sharp decline.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27In 2004 was when this shut down...
0:05:27 > 0:05:29And now, look at it. It's crappy.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It used to be SO special.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35Didn't that used to be a movie theatre?
0:05:35 > 0:05:37- What?- That.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41- No...- What did it used to be? - It was the old bank.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46I bet there's old money in there.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49I'm not going in there. The floor fell in.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52That would be awesome
0:05:52 > 0:05:56if there were like...thousands and thousands of dollars.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Tyler!
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Those were ours!
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- Fricking drop them!- Kaylie!
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Drop em!
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Kaylie?
0:06:18 > 0:06:21When we can't afford to pay our bills,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23like our house bills and stuff,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25I'm afraid, like, we'll get homeless
0:06:25 > 0:06:29and me and my brother will starve.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33You never know what will happen in your life, so...yeah.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54The homelessness that Kaylie fears is already a reality
0:06:54 > 0:06:56for over 1.5 million children across the US.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01My name is Jasmine and I am nine years old,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04and I live with my brothers Joshua, Jaylan and Jonny.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09My name is Jonny Davis,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11I am 13 years old,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13going to be 14 in three months.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19Jonny and Jasmine have been living in a Salvation Army shelter
0:07:19 > 0:07:22for homeless families in Davenport, Iowa, for the last three months.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26My dad had got a business
0:07:26 > 0:07:30and he was making about a good 5,000 a month.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33We had good and fancy things then.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36We had a, like, a three-bedroom house,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40our living room had a 32-inch flatscreen TV in there.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46My mom's and dad room had a 42-inch flatscreen TV in their room.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49And that's what TV we'd watch the Super Bowl on.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51When the recession hit,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54the family's home improvement business folded
0:07:54 > 0:07:56and they soon struggled to pay their rent.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59They clung onto their house for as long as possible,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02but that meant that, when the time finally came,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05the kids had just a few days to pack up everything and leave.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Anything that could fit in a bag or a suitcase, you could take it.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Whatever, dude, like this TV, the yellow one in the living room,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16that only made it because it could fit in my bag.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19If it couldn't fit in my bad, then it would have been left behind too.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23CHILDREN SHOUT
0:08:23 > 0:08:25No, he didn't, all right.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28I won't say, um...I hide the fact that I'm homeless,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30but it's not something once again
0:08:30 > 0:08:32that you just want to come out and broadcast
0:08:32 > 0:08:35and say, "Well, hey, you know, I'm homeless."
0:08:35 > 0:08:39That's the same as somebody with er...let's say HIV or AIDS.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41They don't come out and tell you, "Hey, you know, I'm sick."
0:08:41 > 0:08:44You know, because you will be treated differently
0:08:44 > 0:08:46and it's the same as somebody that's homeless.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Hey, that's enough, that's enough.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Didn't I say stop?
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Didn't I?
0:08:55 > 0:08:59All right, it's time for shower and bed.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03I'm embarrassed because I'm poor
0:09:03 > 0:09:06and because I live in a shelter.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13You don't want a lot of people to find out that you live here,
0:09:13 > 0:09:15cos people will make fun of you.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19You know, it can really hunt you after a while.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22It starts, you start to have no friends,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26people will tease you about it and stuff like that.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30It makes me feel like I just...
0:09:32 > 0:09:34..wish I never lived here.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40We ask you, Father, today for good homes
0:09:40 > 0:09:43and good futures for everybody staying here.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Good incomes so that they can have security in their home.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49There's a kid at the school
0:09:49 > 0:09:52who looks...dresses worser than me.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54But he has his own house though,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56he's got a house to call home.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00He don't have to go sit down with thousands of people to eat dinner.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03He can run to his refrigerator and open it up.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05And I can't do that.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07I have to wait till a certain time.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09And I have to eat, because if I don't eat,
0:10:09 > 0:10:13I will starve all night until the next morning.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Make sure you stay in line so you can get your plate, OK?
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Yes, sir.
0:10:20 > 0:10:21Stand right here.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26And as soon as she goes, Jonny, you go after Jasmine.
0:10:26 > 0:10:27I feel like I desperately miss...
0:10:27 > 0:10:31is just being able to cook for my own family.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36To buy food and put it inside. Put our groceries up.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Just the stuff that you used to be like, "Oh, grocery shopping..."
0:10:40 > 0:10:42And I took it for granted.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45And now, I just, I miss it, I miss it.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Why don't you just lay them out right there? Chill, Jasmine.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54- Why would you do that? - It's to open up the boxes.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Open them with your hands.
0:10:56 > 0:10:57No, it's taped. That's taped hard.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Jasmine, no.
0:10:59 > 0:11:00I told you...
0:11:00 > 0:11:02'When you live in a shelter,'
0:11:02 > 0:11:05you have to obey by the rules
0:11:05 > 0:11:07and do your chores.
0:11:07 > 0:11:08If you don't, you get a write-up.
0:11:08 > 0:11:15Some of the chores are sweeping, mopping, doing dishes,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17putting away hot and cold food.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21And...doing the trash.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24If you don't, you get a write-up.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29You get a write-up for staying out too long at night-time.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34You get a write-up for having problems
0:11:34 > 0:11:38with the front...front, the ladies at the front desk.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43If you have more than eight or something, you get put out.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49What type of animal is the North American roadrunner?
0:11:49 > 0:11:50D, a bird.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54- Correct.- You should know that off the cartoons.- Yeah.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59With over 200 families waiting for a place in this shelter alone,
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Jasmine's family know that if they are kicked out,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03there's nowhere else to go.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Delivery is here!
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Don't smash.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11You want a delivery?
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Take those off, don't have any movies.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Kaylie, what are you looking at?
0:12:34 > 0:12:36It's loud!
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Homelessness threatens Kaylie too.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45The family's electricity is going to be cut off
0:12:45 > 0:12:47unless their gran can pay the bill,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49so money is tighter than ever.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52This is embarrassing, Mom.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56'We go to Salvation Army and get 60-cent shirts.'
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Two dollars, wow, but that's too much.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Here, Kaylie.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Blue tag, that's 45 cents.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09'We can't get nothing at the mall.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12'Like I've been when I was about like seven.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15'When my mom, like, had money.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17'Like lots of money.'
0:13:18 > 0:13:2075 cents.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26DOG BARKS
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Can I eat now?
0:13:31 > 0:13:34- THEY WHISPER: I'm hungry. - I know. So am I.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Get me something to eat.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38You're going to have to wait till Grandma comes home anyway.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40- Give me something to eat!- OK.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46- What do you have in the house at the moment?- Nothing.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49We have to wait till Grandma comes home. She doesn't get it.
0:13:49 > 0:13:50SHE CHUCKLES
0:13:50 > 0:13:53'My mom is having a hard time on economy.'
0:13:53 > 0:13:56She has very little in her bank.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03And like, she can't pay all of her bills at the same time.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07The bills here at the house, it's just too much for me to handle.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11I've never seen it this bad.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16To get jobs, it's very hard, it's very, very hard.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19My mom has got a masters in accounting
0:14:19 > 0:14:22and has been looking for another job for a year.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24And she still hasn't found anything.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And she has a lot of education.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37More than 49 million Americans are now living below the poverty line,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40many as a result of unemployment.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Things haven't been this bad since the Great Depression.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50THEY SCREAM
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Woohoo!
0:14:54 > 0:14:58My income is 1,480
0:14:58 > 0:15:03and the total of my bills is 1,326.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07And that does not leave me money for food or gas.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16A lot of times, I have to give my money up to buy groceries
0:15:16 > 0:15:20and buy gas for the car and lawnmower.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28For mowing other people's lawns and...
0:15:28 > 0:15:34I got 10 and I put in six of it for the gas.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39And gave the rest to my mom for some food.
0:15:39 > 0:15:40And...
0:15:44 > 0:15:46It's kind of what I do with my money.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49I don't think I'm going to do mowing for a living.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55I watched this one show where it said they're raising the gas prices.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58And my mom can't even afford gas.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01We have to be careful how we use our gas.
0:16:01 > 0:16:02How we use everything, mostly.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06Because these days everything is expensive.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12There's now a real danger that this month's rent won't be found
0:16:12 > 0:16:16and the family will have to leave their home.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18I don't want to move.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24I like living here because my friends are nice to me.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Like, I want to just stay put here.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Rent and bills means it costs over 1,000 a month
0:16:31 > 0:16:33to stay in the family home.
0:16:33 > 0:16:39But a single room in a motel could cost less than 700 a month all in.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Right now, there doesn't seem to be a way out.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46So my only options are to give up my house
0:16:46 > 0:16:49and move into the motel room.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51And move my stuff into storage.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55And keep going to school.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59And I seen a doctor last week for depression.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04And she put me on some antidepressants
0:17:04 > 0:17:07and Xanax for my panic attacks.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13I mean, I don't even know if I can find a job when I get out of school.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Or if it'll ever get any better.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26SHE SOBS
0:17:31 > 0:17:34I'll have to find day care for Kaylie.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38I mean, she's ten, but still...
0:17:40 > 0:17:43..her and Tyler, they're brother and sister. They fight.
0:17:43 > 0:17:44SHE LAUGHS
0:17:44 > 0:17:48I'll come home and one will be hanging from the ceiling fan
0:17:48 > 0:17:51and the other one will be God knows where.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Scared.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08The house isn't the only thing under threat,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11one of the family's dogs may also have to go.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14We won't get to keep our dog Nala.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17It's extra money
0:18:17 > 0:18:20and we're going to get rid of her.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25Nala, like, I want to spend as much time with her,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28but, then again, I want to spend time with my friends.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Let's go, Wildcats!
0:18:35 > 0:18:37I'm an epic failure!
0:18:39 > 0:18:43BOTH: Go, go! Fight, fight!
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Win, win!
0:18:45 > 0:18:47You'll go fight, fight, win.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Go, go! Fight, fight!
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Win, win! Go, go, fight, fight! Win.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Come on, you got this! You, you got this!
0:18:57 > 0:19:01'When I'm dancing, I'm mostly happy.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04'It's like I'm in a different world.'
0:19:04 > 0:19:06I'm always dancing nonstop.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11Erm...I just love dancing, I'm just truly in love with dancing.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15It's like my destiny to become like a famous dancer
0:19:15 > 0:19:18or a famous cheerleader.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20I feel like it's my destiny.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38The search for a new life with a job and a home
0:19:38 > 0:19:42brings 400,000 people a year to San Francisco Bay Area,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44but rents here are the highest in America
0:19:44 > 0:19:46and work can be hard to find.
0:19:47 > 0:19:5211-year-old Sera, her sister and her mum moved here in 2009,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54but when the economy collapsed,
0:19:54 > 0:19:55her mum lost her job
0:19:55 > 0:19:57and the family now have to survive
0:19:57 > 0:20:00on just 600-a-month unemployment.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04They're living in a one-room, rent-subsidized apartment.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09It's kind of hard because you don't have your own room.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14You just have your little area and then...
0:20:14 > 0:20:18Like, this is my mom's area, over there is my area
0:20:18 > 0:20:20and over there, is my sister's area.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22This runs incredibly slow.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26'It's very small. I do not like small spaces. At all.'
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Don't be mean to my computer.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32I'm not being mean to your computer. It just runs really fricking slow.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34'My mom's got a fold-out bed.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37'My sister's got a blow-up bed that she's too lazy to blow up.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41'And I've got floor pillows, they are really quite comfortable.'
0:20:42 > 0:20:46It's messy, but look how much stuff we have.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49And then, look at how small of a room this is.
0:20:51 > 0:20:57You wouldn't be able to keep it very contained either
0:20:57 > 0:21:01if you've got three people living in a really small room
0:21:01 > 0:21:04with one small bathroom and one small kitchen.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06It's not that easy.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10And plus, we've got a lot of stuff and a lot of books.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13So it's really, really hard.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20SHE LAUGHS
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Throw it at her, ha-ha-ha!
0:21:23 > 0:21:25SHE LAUGHS
0:21:26 > 0:21:28I win!
0:21:28 > 0:21:29You do not win.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36When we take a shower and when we cook, the windows fog up
0:21:36 > 0:21:40and like it gets all drippy and stuff.
0:21:40 > 0:21:46The mildew it, umm...it's annoying.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51You wash the walls and you think it you dry it all,
0:21:51 > 0:21:56couple days later, there's more mildew on it, on it.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00So it's like, "Oh, my God..."
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Because these walls are bumpy,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06so it's hard to clean it all.
0:22:08 > 0:22:09Aah!
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Not all you need right now, right?
0:22:13 > 0:22:17'I don't think it's a good way to be growing up.'
0:22:17 > 0:22:21I guess it was just the family I was put into.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23It was all for some reason.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Maybe it was because we're strong?
0:22:27 > 0:22:28I don't know.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Sera used to live in a homeless shelter,
0:22:33 > 0:22:36so even one small room is a step up.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41But what the family really wants is to get long-term subsidized housing
0:22:41 > 0:22:44before the help they get with the rent here runs out.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48We're trying to get into this bigger place called Thomas Payne.
0:22:48 > 0:22:55And they said anytime between early February and late February
0:22:55 > 0:22:57and it's April.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02And we haven't gotten in yet.
0:23:04 > 0:23:05I know one thing,
0:23:05 > 0:23:10if we don't get Thomas Payne, we go back to a place called the shelter.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13I don't want to go back. That's how I feel.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16I do not want to go back. I've already been there once.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Once is enough for me.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22I think we all don't want to go back.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28'If we go back there, we'd be sharing a big room
0:23:28 > 0:23:31'with a dozen or so more people.'
0:23:33 > 0:23:37That's the shelter right there.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39There are four floors.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43We lived on the second floor.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48I don't want to go back because I can cook for myself here.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52And I can go to the bathroom on my own here.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56I don't have to have my mom and my sister take me to the bathroom
0:23:56 > 0:23:58in the middle of the night.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03But this apartment is only temporary and they will have to move soon.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06I think it's kind of scary that...
0:24:06 > 0:24:09really, we don't have much of a choice
0:24:09 > 0:24:11if we lose this place.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16This is NOT the great American dream.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29In Iowa, the moment Kaylie has been dreading has arrived.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Bitch!
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Nala, she's like my favourite dog
0:24:33 > 0:24:36and now, we have to take her to the pound.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40We have to get rid of Nala, but not Tanner.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46'Nala's so adorable.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49'Like if you, if you had her,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51'she would sleep on your bed
0:24:51 > 0:24:53'and she would sleep on you.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56'She's like your little guard dog.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00'We're getting rid of my perfect little, lovely dog.'
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Yes, Nala, I hear you're stressing out.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19I love you, Nala.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Does she have any favourite toys or games?
0:25:33 > 0:25:36- She needs lots and lots of bones.- OK.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39She'll chew one in like an hour.
0:25:40 > 0:25:41OK.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43SHE WHISPERS: She hates baths.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Oh, yeah, doesn't like baths. No.
0:25:46 > 0:25:47This is my animal lover.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50She'll have to go into our isolation rooms
0:25:50 > 0:25:53since she hasn't got any vaccinations yet.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56So she'll be in an isolated area right now. All right, sweetie.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Do you want the leash and collar back at all?
0:26:02 > 0:26:04- Just the leash.- OK.
0:26:04 > 0:26:05And the collar!
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Why the collar? She can have it.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Cos...Mom!
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Fine! Meanie...
0:26:17 > 0:26:18SHE SOBS
0:26:24 > 0:26:27SHE CRIES
0:26:40 > 0:26:41SHE BARKS
0:26:57 > 0:27:00With Nala gone, the time has come to leave the house
0:27:00 > 0:27:02and move into a motel room.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06This will be the family's home from now on
0:27:06 > 0:27:09unless Mum can get them all a place in a homeless shelter.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11I thought we were getting a double bed.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14And there's no mini fridge.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17- That was with the double bed.- No.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Dang it!
0:27:20 > 0:27:22And there's no microwave.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27OK, we have to ask them about that.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29God.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31I thought we were getting a double bed.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Well, we're going to have to ask them about the mini fridge.
0:27:35 > 0:27:36It's so small.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38It's going to be small.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Plain and simple, it's going to be small.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45This is as big as my room.
0:27:45 > 0:27:46Yeah.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55- OK, one each.- We'll go back round.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00One of the many downsides of life in a shelter
0:28:00 > 0:28:04is that sickness spreads between families all too easily.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05Jasmine?
0:28:05 > 0:28:10Everybody's been having the runs, stomach aches, the whole nine yards.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13She just, we were going out to take her out to school this morning
0:28:13 > 0:28:15and she just threw up all in the hallway.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19Although Jasmine's dad has now managed to get a job at minimum wage,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22his employer does not cover the family for medical insurance.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Almost one in seven Americans are now without health insurance,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28more than ever before.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Without cover, the family has to find clinics and pharmacies
0:28:32 > 0:28:35that will treat people on basic state Medicaid.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38A lot of places don't take Iowa Medicaid.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42Cos they know it's from public aid, it's public assistance, low income.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44No income.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47So a lot of places won't take you.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50And then, a lot of them say they don't take new patients.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54So then, what do you do? Go to the emergency room.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56Then, you end up with another bill.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02The latest problem is that Jonny has caught
0:29:02 > 0:29:04a highly contagious skin infection,
0:29:04 > 0:29:08so the family's room has to be completely disinfected.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10He was getting even worser,
0:29:10 > 0:29:13so he said, "We have to go to the hospital."
0:29:13 > 0:29:16And that's when Josh got sick, so we really had to go to the hospital.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19So now, he has to be quarantined off from the rest of the family.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22Now, you've got to sleep on the fire escape!
0:29:22 > 0:29:24HE LAUGHS
0:29:24 > 0:29:29But you just make sure you just don't touch anybody.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31I'm watching you.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34When he was first infected, there was no choice
0:29:34 > 0:29:37but go to the emergency room of the local hospital.
0:29:37 > 0:29:38Don't touch it.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41The discharge lady came in asking questions
0:29:41 > 0:29:42about the Medicaid or whatever
0:29:42 > 0:29:45and she was like, "Oh, I guess I'll have to look it up.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48"If I can't find it, we'll have to bill you."
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Yeah, so there's another bill coming.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56That's life though, what can you do?
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Roll with the punches, right?
0:30:01 > 0:30:04The mice...because he's stuck, he's stuck, he just got stuck!
0:30:04 > 0:30:06It's not big at all. So small.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08Mice only coming in here.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11Because they're coming from under there or under there.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14All those Reese's Pieces and all of that stuff you be having all over.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16It's not me!
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Exactly! Why he always coming from in this corner?
0:30:18 > 0:30:22Because Jaylan got all that crap underneath his bed.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25- Every single time I saw him... - That same crap!- Mom...
0:30:25 > 0:30:27Both of them, I saw them from this corner.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29'This building is kind of old,'
0:30:29 > 0:30:33mice have been here for a long time before we've been here.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36Of course they're going to get in here.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40We just, we...my dad just said, "Any mouse that comes in here,
0:30:40 > 0:30:42"we're taking them out."
0:30:42 > 0:30:44They're not going to stay for long.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46They're going to know not to come in this room.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51Look at this, look at this, look at this.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54- Tell me that wasn't you. - That was Jaylan.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57- No!- That was the err...Cheesies.
0:30:57 > 0:31:02Jaylan you see this? That's why the mice keep coming in here.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Don't bring nothing else in here, you hear me?
0:31:04 > 0:31:05Or you'll be in trouble.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08That's all going to be on you.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15As a mother, you always got different thoughts
0:31:15 > 0:31:17in your head and mind and...
0:31:17 > 0:31:20Wishing that you could change things and wishing things were different,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23but what are you to do? You can't keep beating yourself up about it,
0:31:23 > 0:31:24but, at the same time...
0:31:27 > 0:31:28..it's just hard.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35Having a family is hard, maintaining a family is hard.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39Keeping us indoors is hard.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54THEY LAUGH
0:31:58 > 0:32:00Guess what I got in my grades?
0:32:00 > 0:32:01What?
0:32:04 > 0:32:07- Ooh, ooh!- That's good.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09One for the Willis team!
0:32:09 > 0:32:12That saved you from 70 lashes, didn't it?
0:32:12 > 0:32:14THEY LAUGH
0:32:14 > 0:32:17So did you do good?
0:32:17 > 0:32:19I got two A's, two B's and two C's.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21That's what's up, Jonny.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23Oh, wow! I'll have to get you a skateboard.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25Grades is my only way out of here.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29If my grade's not good, I know I can't go to universities,
0:32:29 > 0:32:31like my dream is to go.
0:32:31 > 0:32:32I know if my grade's not good,
0:32:32 > 0:32:34I can't play football like I want to.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38If I don't succeed doing what I have to do in school
0:32:38 > 0:32:41and making good grades, I will fail.
0:32:41 > 0:32:42I'm going to live this life,
0:32:42 > 0:32:46life of shelters, going through hard times, can't feed my kids,
0:32:46 > 0:32:50trying to figure out what I'm going to lay over my head every night.
0:33:01 > 0:33:02SHE YELLS
0:33:02 > 0:33:05Homeless kids are eight times more likely that other children
0:33:05 > 0:33:07to be put back a year at school.
0:33:07 > 0:33:12Kaylie and her family have been living in the motel for four weeks.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14It's the summer holidays at the moment,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17but if their mum can't find a permanent home soon,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Kaylie and Tyler will have to face the next term in school
0:33:20 > 0:33:21as homeless children.
0:33:23 > 0:33:29Living in the motel is like, like it's cool but then not so cool.
0:33:29 > 0:33:30I'm always cleaning.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35Tyler barely ever helps.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39He cleaned once, twice, three times. I've cleaned...
0:33:42 > 0:33:44..kind of a lot.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Now then, you come hold this.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50No, let it go.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53It's not fitting, look.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Well, then, frigging stop using your foot and be a man.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59It's not fitting!
0:33:59 > 0:34:01And don't smack me.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03It's not fitting.
0:34:08 > 0:34:09Yes, it is.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Be right back.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18The cold stuff that needs to be freezed is in the sink.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26'We don't have a fridge, just this sink is our fridge.
0:34:30 > 0:34:36'We have to get ice mostly every day because it melts during night.'
0:34:36 > 0:34:41It's all crunched up and there's not much space. See?
0:34:43 > 0:34:45TYLER MOANS
0:34:45 > 0:34:48He takes up the hallway to go to the bathroom.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50SHE CHUCKLES
0:34:50 > 0:34:53We had much more space in the house.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58There's no friends, no-one to play with.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00I miss Jordan.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07I pass the time by watching TV or talking to Alex.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12Helping him do the laundry and then putting stickers on the cards.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19How are you doing today?
0:35:19 > 0:35:20Erm...good.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22Ooh, it's hot in here.
0:35:22 > 0:35:27There's new people came in in room number 124. Like you.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29And they have kids about your age.
0:35:31 > 0:35:32Are you sure?
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Yeah, you check them out.
0:35:34 > 0:35:35SHE CHUCKLES
0:35:35 > 0:35:37- 126?- 124.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41This motel is one of the few in the area
0:35:41 > 0:35:44that allows homeless families to stay long term.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47Most insist they book in one night at a time,
0:35:47 > 0:35:50so they can be forced to leave at a day's notice.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54How many families live here?
0:35:54 > 0:35:59Here, it depends, sometimes people come for our weekly stays,
0:35:59 > 0:36:04sometimes for you guys, like, longer.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08So in summer, there is...in winter, there is more people
0:36:08 > 0:36:12for their extended stays who are homeless.
0:36:12 > 0:36:17And, in the winter, the shelters them are all, you know, filled up,
0:36:17 > 0:36:20so people can't sleep outside.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29'When I struggle for money, there's nothing to eat.'
0:36:31 > 0:36:35All there is is cans of vegetables.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39So I've been eating vegetables.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43There's really not enough food.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49Kaylie has also joined the 37 million Americans
0:36:49 > 0:36:52who now depend on food banks.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56One in five children across America now receive food aid.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58We get 15 items, right?
0:36:58 > 0:37:01- ..Mix...- Beef stew.
0:37:01 > 0:37:02No, No.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07Apple sauce, you can have apple sauce. With cinnamon.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10OK, we need veggies... Oh, here, SpaghettiOs,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14meat balls, or ravioli.
0:37:14 > 0:37:15We need more canned goods.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17So potatoes for the vegetable soup.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Thank you.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Oh, Mom, did we get ground beef?
0:37:23 > 0:37:24You keep saying that,
0:37:24 > 0:37:28but we don't have a fridge to put it in right now.
0:37:28 > 0:37:29That's why I didn't get it.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35If I could change anything,
0:37:35 > 0:37:39it would be being poor.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44I really don't want to be poor cos then, you can't get,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48cos then, how can you pay your rent, how can you get food,
0:37:48 > 0:37:50how can you get a roof over you head...
0:37:52 > 0:37:54..if you're going to be poor?
0:38:05 > 0:38:10We're still in the same itty bitty apartment we were in before.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13And we haven't gotten into Thomas Payne.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17They said one month.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21- SHE WHISPERS:- We've been waiting two, almost three!
0:38:23 > 0:38:26Thomas Payne is long-term subsidized housing
0:38:26 > 0:38:29the family could stay in for good.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31But they're running out of time for a place to come up,
0:38:31 > 0:38:33so they're back at the shelter
0:38:33 > 0:38:36to sign up on the waiting list here as well.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39No kid should ever have to go through two homeless shelters
0:38:39 > 0:38:43just to get into a sustainable apartment or a house.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46This form that I'm going to have you sign
0:38:46 > 0:38:48is just the family shelter intake policy.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51The intake policy says you need to limit your belongings
0:38:51 > 0:38:53- to one bag per person.- Uh-huh.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55I know it might be hard if you have a lot of stuff...
0:38:55 > 0:39:00Wait! Can it be like a bag of clothes and stuff
0:39:00 > 0:39:02and then a computer?
0:39:02 > 0:39:05- Probably.- ..Cos the computer doesn't really count as a bag.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08It's an electronic.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10Is that going to be a problem? You seem nervous.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12- Sad.- Sad?- Yeah.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16Well, you can look into putting some of your stuff in storage while you're in the shelter
0:39:16 > 0:39:19and then, when you get out, you can have your stuff back.
0:39:19 > 0:39:20As they probably told you on the phone,
0:39:20 > 0:39:23it is unfortunately about a six-month wait
0:39:23 > 0:39:26- to get into shelter right now, which is really long.- Uh-huh.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28It's one of the longest waits that we've ever had
0:39:28 > 0:39:30and, unfortunately, we don't have much shelter space
0:39:30 > 0:39:32to accommodate at the moment.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34But, during that time on the waiting list,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37the most important thing is to be calling and checking in once a week
0:39:37 > 0:39:39- in order to stay on the list.- Right.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41So that's definitely the most important thing.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44So how is everything else going in the apartment right now?
0:39:44 > 0:39:46Um... Things are going OK.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48I'm just looking for food banks right now,
0:39:48 > 0:39:50because food's really expensive right now.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54- We have enough rice to feed us tonight and tomorrow, that's it. - Yeah.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57OK. Well, we can definitely get you a bag of food before you leave here.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59So we have a choice of canned food right now.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02We have beans and franks...and tuna and Spam,
0:40:02 > 0:40:04so you can take your pick.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06- Spam!- You said the magic word, she loves Spam.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09OK, Spam. I'll get you some Spam, then.
0:40:09 > 0:40:10OK, great. Thank you.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam!
0:40:13 > 0:40:14Yes, I know, you love Spam.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16SHE LAUGHS
0:40:18 > 0:40:20OK, so here is a bag of food.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23- Some canned foods, some mac and cheese...- Mac and cheese!
0:40:23 > 0:40:25..and some cereal and then there's two bus tokens
0:40:25 > 0:40:28and those are good for one fare and transfer each on a bus.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31- OK, great, thank you so much! - Oh, wow!- No problem.
0:40:31 > 0:40:36'The people who cut budgets are the ones that are making it hard'
0:40:36 > 0:40:40for my mom to get by in today's world.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48Sera lives in a part of San Francisco known as the Tenderloin.
0:40:48 > 0:40:53It's a neighbourhood synonymous with drugs, violence and homelessness.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55The reason why I wouldn't go on the street very much
0:40:55 > 0:40:57is because, well, I live in the Tenderloin
0:40:57 > 0:41:00and that pretty much talks for itself.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07There are people on drugs out there
0:41:07 > 0:41:10and I don't think an 11-year-old,
0:41:10 > 0:41:15or anyone older or younger, should be around this stuff.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17Especially the drug dealers.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19Because it makes your brain squish.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25It basically makes your brain go like pudding.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30What do I do on the weekend?
0:41:30 > 0:41:37Look out the window, watching the people on the streets. And um...
0:41:37 > 0:41:42I call it spying on the people down on the street.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Cos I have these little binoculars
0:41:47 > 0:41:49and I look out the window.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53And it's funny, because one person actually looked up
0:41:53 > 0:41:55and saw me looking out.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57I'm like, "I'm not doing nothing..."
0:41:59 > 0:42:00My sister has taught me
0:42:00 > 0:42:05if a man throws the first punch and misses,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08you throw a second punch and not miss.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15And I know where to hit a man where it hurts.
0:42:15 > 0:42:16I do.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21From my mom and my sister.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Kaylie, you want to move stuff to the other house?
0:42:40 > 0:42:41Hey!
0:42:42 > 0:42:45OK, I know I said yes.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47With help from a charity,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50Kaylie's family has been able to find a house to rent
0:42:50 > 0:42:53and today they are leaving the motel.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57But moving house is one of the most stressful things a family can do.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01Even more so when it's the second time in just a couple of months.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07I'm looking forward to moving away from here,
0:43:07 > 0:43:12because I really do not want to live here because we don't have space.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14Kaylie!
0:43:14 > 0:43:15Kaylie!
0:43:20 > 0:43:22Kylie, just wait, I'll do it!
0:43:24 > 0:43:27Start by going to pick up all that stuff by the sink over there.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31Oh, my God! I got to pack my toys.
0:43:33 > 0:43:38Bad enough we left my toys at the fricking other house.
0:43:47 > 0:43:48Aaargh!
0:43:51 > 0:43:54Kaylie, you're picking, I want that sink cleaned out.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57Kaylie! Sink, underneath of it!
0:43:57 > 0:44:00I want all that stuff cleaned out the sink.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02Well, you're standing in my way,
0:44:02 > 0:44:04you see me over there cleaning it!
0:44:06 > 0:44:08Trash. You going to take it to the dumpster?
0:44:08 > 0:44:10Go, Jesus!
0:44:10 > 0:44:12'She is one crazy mom.'
0:44:12 > 0:44:15She's tiring, but I still love her.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18She really needs to work on the yelling.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22I don't care if she hears this, sister,
0:44:22 > 0:44:24she needs to work on her yelling.
0:44:25 > 0:44:27Cos I do not want to get yelled at when we're moving.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29She does this all the time.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34The only stressful moment
0:44:34 > 0:44:36is now when we're moving
0:44:36 > 0:44:38and she says she was going to do it happily.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43MOM YELLS
0:44:44 > 0:44:47What part of "You shut up" do you not get?
0:44:49 > 0:44:51Fricking...arrgh!
0:44:55 > 0:44:57I want to scream.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02I'm going to explode.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11The family can barely afford the rent for the new house.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15In fact, they are depending on their gran to pay the first month
0:45:15 > 0:45:18and hoping the charity will help them after that.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20There's no money left over for furniture.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23Hey, Tanner, let's go and look at our new house. Come on!
0:45:23 > 0:45:25This is our living room,
0:45:25 > 0:45:27this is the kitchen.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Come on, let's go upstairs!
0:45:30 > 0:45:32There's Mom's room.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34Oh!
0:45:34 > 0:45:38How can you do this up all these stairs? Come on, Tanner.
0:45:40 > 0:45:41SHE LAUGHS
0:45:41 > 0:45:43And here's my room!
0:45:44 > 0:45:46What are you doing?
0:45:46 > 0:45:49Now, I'm going to have to put a rug over that. Come on, Tanner!
0:45:51 > 0:45:55At my new home, I kind of like it and I kind of don't.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58I mostly sleep on the floor.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00It would be more comfortable with a bed.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03SHE LAUGHS
0:46:04 > 0:46:05Winter.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09There's really nothing to do, just fold my clothes,
0:46:09 > 0:46:13mess them all up, fold them, mess them all up, fold them.
0:46:13 > 0:46:14Or clean.
0:46:15 > 0:46:19But there's not much to clean, but the kitchen.
0:46:19 > 0:46:20So...
0:46:22 > 0:46:24Some kids have large houses.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28They can have whatever they want.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32But I think my mom,
0:46:32 > 0:46:36she kind of made a wrong turn or something.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38So that's what all started this.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47The good news for Jonny's family is that they have finally moved
0:46:47 > 0:46:50to a self-contained apartment in the Salvation Army shelter.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53They can now lock their own front door.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55But this also means they no longer qualify
0:46:55 > 0:46:58for free meals in the shelter canteen.
0:47:02 > 0:47:07We are in our new apartment in transitional housing.
0:47:07 > 0:47:08My mom says it's harder,
0:47:08 > 0:47:12because she has to spend a lot of money to feed us.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15And to spend a lot of money to get the house together and buy stuff.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18You getting too big.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20You always want something extra.
0:47:20 > 0:47:21I don't want nothing extra.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25- Yes, you do - you want a phone, you want shoes...- I got a phone.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28I'm not wearing no Earthwalkers outside. No, sir.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Jordans and Nikes.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34- Jonny, Nikes and Jordans are expensive, just for a name.- I know.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36That makes no sense.
0:47:36 > 0:47:37You need a job.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40Nikes are not expensive.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43Look, I've been buying Josh shoes after shoes after shoes.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45I can't afford it. Now, what?
0:47:45 > 0:47:48Walmart? You got to take Walmart.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52What else can I do? At least his feet not dragging the ground.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56There were some Jordan flip-flops in there for 30 bucks.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59Now, that's a great deal, you cannot find no Jordan flip-flops,
0:47:59 > 0:48:01the brand new kind, for 30 bucks.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04- They're probably not real, but... - Is that a great deal?
0:48:04 > 0:48:07When I can go to Walmart and buy...
0:48:07 > 0:48:11The shoes I'm wearing I got from Walmart for 5.
0:48:11 > 0:48:15I'm talking about name brand stuff. That's a good deal, Mamma.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19- My sandals are nice, right? 5. You want some of those, right?- Ma!
0:48:19 > 0:48:22See, that's why I like you all when you all small.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25They like, they accept stuff. You getting too big.
0:48:27 > 0:48:32Your feet growing, you need grown people's shoes now.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34Oooh, please stop growing!
0:48:34 > 0:48:36SHE LAUGHS
0:48:38 > 0:48:40We had more money in the shelter part than we have here,
0:48:40 > 0:48:43because now, everything is all on our own now.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48Down there, we took everything for granted.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51You get free food every day,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53you get a free place to live.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56MOTHER LAUGHS
0:48:56 > 0:49:00Here's one of Tom's old business cards.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02Oh, yeah, I remember T&C!
0:49:02 > 0:49:05- T&C, Tom and Classy.- Yeah.
0:49:05 > 0:49:06SHE LAUGHS
0:49:06 > 0:49:08It was me and him all the time.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12Until the recession, the family had their own business.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15The plan now is for Tom to do odd jobs in his spare time
0:49:15 > 0:49:17to raise some extra cash.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19I know we lost a lot with the business.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22Me and Tom every day putting our heads together
0:49:22 > 0:49:25trying to think about what else can we do
0:49:25 > 0:49:28to get ourselves out of this?
0:49:28 > 0:49:33See what we can come up with to make some extra money.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35So we wouldn't be in a hole all the time
0:49:35 > 0:49:38or just barely trying to find food.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41I mean, I would think at least everybody in America
0:49:41 > 0:49:44can have some food and housing.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47The poorest man, a place to sleep and food.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49And it's not that way.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51It's a little rough.
0:49:51 > 0:49:53A lot rough.
0:49:56 > 0:50:01'All I want is to play football, but football is expensive.
0:50:01 > 0:50:06'I can name a few of the items I need and want for my sports,
0:50:06 > 0:50:11'but I've just got to wait until the next time my mamma can afford it.'
0:50:11 > 0:50:13Ooh, good one, good one!
0:50:13 > 0:50:14'I'm 14.'
0:50:16 > 0:50:18My life is...
0:50:20 > 0:50:23..almost over until I'm a grown man.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27And if I don't have an opportunity to show somebody to play football,
0:50:27 > 0:50:31football won't exist in four years from now.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33If I don't get to play on the team this year,
0:50:33 > 0:50:36that dream is going to slowly start fading away.
0:50:36 > 0:50:40That's what happens to some of the dreams of kids.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42They pretend it's something
0:50:42 > 0:50:45and they can't afford it or can't do it.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56MUSIC PLAYS
0:50:56 > 0:51:00# ..Has it gone as we'd expected?
0:51:00 > 0:51:02# But will we be better off
0:51:02 > 0:51:05# If Romney gets elected?
0:51:05 > 0:51:09# Then, we'll really get
0:51:09 > 0:51:12# What we deserve! #
0:51:12 > 0:51:19CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:51:19 > 0:51:25Today, the San Francisco Mime Troupe is performing political satire.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29My mother, she's desperately poor!
0:51:29 > 0:51:32- Poor? In America?- Yes!
0:51:32 > 0:51:38The good news is we got Thomas Payne
0:51:38 > 0:51:42and they're just doing maintenancing.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45Next week, we're going to sign the lease.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50My house!
0:51:50 > 0:51:53I've counted how many stairs there are - there's 15.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55'When I saw this house for the first time,
0:51:55 > 0:51:58'I was speechless, I couldn't talk.'
0:51:58 > 0:52:02This is our large bathroom, mine and my sister's.
0:52:02 > 0:52:03I love it.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05This is my room.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07I like it cos it's got my bells on the door.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10This house is ours.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12No room mates, no, um...
0:52:15 > 0:52:18..probably no eviction notices.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24I won't forget this experience, because it's...
0:52:24 > 0:52:27it's a life-changer, you know.
0:52:27 > 0:52:28SHE CHUCKLES
0:52:30 > 0:52:33No kid should have to go through this.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38Um... Yet, every day, kids do.
0:52:39 > 0:52:40And...
0:52:42 > 0:52:44..it's just crazy.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47We're going to a tea party. Ooh, tea...
0:52:47 > 0:52:49'It's not a fun experience,
0:52:49 > 0:52:53'it's just annoying that people say, "Oh, it doesn't matter,
0:52:53 > 0:52:57'"it's just a little problem, it's over now, get over it."
0:52:57 > 0:52:59'No.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02'It's not over,
0:53:02 > 0:53:03'it changes you.'
0:53:05 > 0:53:09I may be still the same old obnoxious Sera,
0:53:09 > 0:53:14but, deep down, I'm a whole new person.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16Well, I'm a whole different person.
0:53:36 > 0:53:37'We're back in this motel again
0:53:37 > 0:53:40'because we got kicked out of the duplex.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43'My mom didn't pay the rent.
0:53:43 > 0:53:48'And so, then, we went to Motel Six
0:53:48 > 0:53:53'and then, we went to this Twin Bridges Hotel
0:53:53 > 0:53:54'and then, we went to here.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58'Oh, God, we went to so many places'
0:53:58 > 0:54:00even talking about it is making me dizzy.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02SHE LAUGHS
0:54:02 > 0:54:04Come on, it's over filled, Kaylie.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06Look, it's not going in.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09Oh, well, move, I can make it work.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12Yes, it will!
0:54:12 > 0:54:15Mom's latest plan is to get a trailer
0:54:15 > 0:54:17so the family can have a more stable home.
0:54:17 > 0:54:22But, in the meantime, Kaylie's education is suffering.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24Why can't I go to school?
0:54:24 > 0:54:28I will get you in school, but we've got to wait till we get a trailer,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31which is only, like, a few days away.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34So there's no sense of putting you in school over here
0:54:34 > 0:54:37if we're going to be switching to Iowa over there.
0:54:37 > 0:54:39OK.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43We've been moving around a lot between Iowa and Moline
0:54:43 > 0:54:47that my mom can't sign us up for school.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49I wouldn't want to go to school
0:54:49 > 0:54:54and then going to a different school, like, one or two weeks later.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59If you go to school and then, like, one or two weeks,
0:54:59 > 0:55:01you're going to have to move,
0:55:01 > 0:55:04but then, you have to move from all your new friends, all your teachers
0:55:04 > 0:55:07when you have such a good time.
0:55:07 > 0:55:13And so, my mom says we're going to get in school
0:55:13 > 0:55:18when we move into the trailer that we are getting.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22The trailer is very liveable, it has floors,
0:55:22 > 0:55:24we're going to be re-doing it.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26Am I going to have to crawl in with the snakes
0:55:26 > 0:55:28- to get the pipes unfrozen?- No.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30No, it's all, that's all taken care of.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33- The best thing to do is put hay bales around it.- I know.
0:55:33 > 0:55:34We're going to get some of those.
0:55:34 > 0:55:39We're going to be moving the trailer probably in a couple of summers.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41But that'll be two years away.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44Cos we have to have a two-year lease.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46If we stay there two years.
0:55:46 > 0:55:48'I really want to be in school.'
0:55:48 > 0:55:52Because if you don't get a good education,
0:55:52 > 0:55:58then...you don't get much money,
0:55:58 > 0:56:01you don't get a good job,
0:56:01 > 0:56:05you end up sleeping at your mom's.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09You end up, you end up being behind a lot of rent
0:56:09 > 0:56:11'and then, you get kicked out.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14'You end up being homeless and then, with no food.'
0:56:14 > 0:56:15Attack.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19If I keep missing school,
0:56:19 > 0:56:21then, I see my future poor,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24on the streets, in a box.
0:56:24 > 0:56:29Not even. And...asking for money.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31Everywhere...
0:56:32 > 0:56:36..everybody. And then, stealing stuff from stores.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38And, yeah...
0:56:39 > 0:56:42..I don't want to steal stuff.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44I don't want to do any of that stuff.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47I want to get an education and a good job.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00Poverty affects every aspect of a child's life.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04Their education, health and future prospects all suffer.
0:57:05 > 0:57:09Since 2007, the number of homeless children across the US
0:57:09 > 0:57:12has increased by almost half a million.
0:57:12 > 0:57:16Unless the world's wealthiest nation can build more effective safety nets
0:57:16 > 0:57:19for its most vulnerable, young citizens,
0:57:19 > 0:57:21millions more could follow.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26People who come in a homeless shelter,
0:57:26 > 0:57:28they can just be somebody
0:57:28 > 0:57:31who was living good at one time and had it all
0:57:31 > 0:57:34to a bill that didn't get paid.
0:57:34 > 0:57:39Off a utility bill, a payment, a foreclose, anything.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42Anything can easily take them straight down to the floor
0:57:42 > 0:57:43and into ground zero.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49Life is a lot of a maze.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51SHE CHUCKLES
0:57:51 > 0:57:55There is ALWAYS dead ends
0:57:55 > 0:57:57and you've got to turn around,
0:57:57 > 0:58:00pick yourself up and turn around and go the other way.
0:58:00 > 0:58:05But, in the end, you always get out of a maze.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10The way I live...
0:58:11 > 0:58:13..it's a lesson.
0:58:15 > 0:58:20I believe that I'm going to get a perfect job that I like
0:58:20 > 0:58:22and that I want to do.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25People can't stop you from believing in your own dreams.
0:58:55 > 0:58:59Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd