America's Poor Kids This World


America's Poor Kids

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In the United States, child poverty has reached record levels

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with over 16 million children now affected.

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To us, it's just how we live.

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You don't get to make choices in how you live.

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One in 12 Americans are now jobless

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and many children are growing up

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with little hope of long-term employment.

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The president says he's trying to make jobs,

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but I don't think there is a job out there for me yet.

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We're going to start with numbers one through 20.

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Food banks and homeless shelters are facing unprecedented demand,

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as even middle-income families sometimes lose their homes

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with just a few days' notice.

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If the TV could fit in your school bag, you could take it.

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If it didn't fit, you couldn't take it.

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We asked three children

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what life in modern America really looks like through their eyes.

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My name is Kaylie Haywood and I live in Stockton, Iowa.

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I'm ten years old and I live with my mother

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'and my brother Tyler and he is 12 years old.

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'I don't think we're a rich family,

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'but, like, I think we're kind of a poor family.'

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Oh, yay!

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That one was good, that one was good!

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SHE CHUCKLES

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-Uhhh!

-Sorry, sis.

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-Stop pulling.

-I'm sorry.

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How do you think you have customers?

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SHE LAUGHS

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Customers... You can't pull at Mom when I'm doing this.

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Uhhh!

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Kaylie's mum Barbara used to work in a factory,

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but lost that job nine months ago.

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After struggling to find another,

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she's decided to retrain as a hairdresser.

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I don't want you to fricking cut me.

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-I'm not going to cut you.

-You better not.

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I've been in school long enough, I won't cut you.

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Or you're dead.

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I mean it.

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Kaylie's never met her father

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and, though her grandma lives nearby and helps out when she can,

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the family is struggling to get by,

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on just 320-a-week unemployment benefit plus food stamps.

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I'm hungry.

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SHE LAUGHS

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I knew you were going to say that as soon as you...

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you're going to have to wait now, sis.

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I'm just starving.

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'We don't get that three meals a day,

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'like, breakfast, lunch and then dinner.'

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When I feel just like hungry, I'll just like, I'll feel like,

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like I'm so, like, sad and all droopy

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and then, I'll be feel like weak

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and then, some in the mornings I'll be like so starving,

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but then, I'll like, be like, "Ahh! I need some food!"

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But then, like, I'll get like...but then, I don't think of food

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and then, I'll just think of something else

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and then, I'll not be hungry any more.

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There's good days and bad days.

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Sometimes, when we have cereal, we don't have milk,

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we have to eat it dry.

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Sometimes, we don't have cereal and we have milk,

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it's often like...switch and swap.

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Sometimes, like when I switch the channel

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and there's a cooking show on, I get a little more hungry.

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And I want to vanish into the screen

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and start eating the food.

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Iowa is one of the breadbaskets of the world,

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but this is no land of plenty for Kaylie.

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Needing every cent,

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she and her friend often walk along the railway track,

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despite the danger, to look for old cans.

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My best friend is Jordan and we grew up together.

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We like to go canning to make money.

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-A lot of people throw their cans away.

-Yeah.

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You know that garbage is recyclable.

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Cans!

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With canning, I just walk around, look for cans

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and I walk, I walk like around the whole town.

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The not squished ones are five cents.

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-And the squished are two.

-Yeah.

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Over 60,000 bankruptcies were declared in Iowa last year alone.

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Over Kaylie's lifetime,

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the economy in her town has seen a sharp decline.

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In 2004 was when this shut down...

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And now, look at it. It's crappy.

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It used to be SO special.

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Didn't that used to be a movie theatre?

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-What?

-That.

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-No...

-What did it used to be?

-It was the old bank.

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I bet there's old money in there.

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I'm not going in there. The floor fell in.

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That would be awesome

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if there were like...thousands and thousands of dollars.

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Tyler!

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Those were ours!

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-Fricking drop them!

-Kaylie!

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Drop em!

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Kaylie?

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When we can't afford to pay our bills,

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like our house bills and stuff,

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I'm afraid, like, we'll get homeless

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and me and my brother will starve.

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You never know what will happen in your life, so...yeah.

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The homelessness that Kaylie fears is already a reality

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for over 1.5 million children across the US.

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My name is Jasmine and I am nine years old,

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and I live with my brothers Joshua, Jaylan and Jonny.

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My name is Jonny Davis,

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I am 13 years old,

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going to be 14 in three months.

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Jonny and Jasmine have been living in a Salvation Army shelter

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for homeless families in Davenport, Iowa, for the last three months.

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My dad had got a business

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and he was making about a good 5,000 a month.

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We had good and fancy things then.

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We had a, like, a three-bedroom house,

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our living room had a 32-inch flatscreen TV in there.

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My mom's and dad room had a 42-inch flatscreen TV in their room.

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And that's what TV we'd watch the Super Bowl on.

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When the recession hit,

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the family's home improvement business folded

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and they soon struggled to pay their rent.

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They clung onto their house for as long as possible,

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but that meant that, when the time finally came,

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the kids had just a few days to pack up everything and leave.

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Anything that could fit in a bag or a suitcase, you could take it.

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Whatever, dude, like this TV, the yellow one in the living room,

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that only made it because it could fit in my bag.

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If it couldn't fit in my bad, then it would have been left behind too.

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CHILDREN SHOUT

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No, he didn't, all right.

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I won't say, um...I hide the fact that I'm homeless,

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but it's not something once again

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that you just want to come out and broadcast

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and say, "Well, hey, you know, I'm homeless."

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That's the same as somebody with er...let's say HIV or AIDS.

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They don't come out and tell you, "Hey, you know, I'm sick."

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You know, because you will be treated differently

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and it's the same as somebody that's homeless.

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Hey, that's enough, that's enough.

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Didn't I say stop?

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Didn't I?

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All right, it's time for shower and bed.

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I'm embarrassed because I'm poor

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and because I live in a shelter.

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You don't want a lot of people to find out that you live here,

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cos people will make fun of you.

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You know, it can really hunt you after a while.

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It starts, you start to have no friends,

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people will tease you about it and stuff like that.

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It makes me feel like I just...

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..wish I never lived here.

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We ask you, Father, today for good homes

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and good futures for everybody staying here.

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Good incomes so that they can have security in their home.

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There's a kid at the school

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who looks...dresses worser than me.

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But he has his own house though,

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he's got a house to call home.

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He don't have to go sit down with thousands of people to eat dinner.

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He can run to his refrigerator and open it up.

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And I can't do that.

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I have to wait till a certain time.

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And I have to eat, because if I don't eat,

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I will starve all night until the next morning.

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Make sure you stay in line so you can get your plate, OK?

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Yes, sir.

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Stand right here.

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And as soon as she goes, Jonny, you go after Jasmine.

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I feel like I desperately miss...

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is just being able to cook for my own family.

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To buy food and put it inside. Put our groceries up.

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Just the stuff that you used to be like, "Oh, grocery shopping..."

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And I took it for granted.

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And now, I just, I miss it, I miss it.

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Why don't you just lay them out right there? Chill, Jasmine.

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-Why would you do that?

-It's to open up the boxes.

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Open them with your hands.

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No, it's taped. That's taped hard.

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Jasmine, no.

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I told you...

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'When you live in a shelter,'

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you have to obey by the rules

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and do your chores.

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If you don't, you get a write-up.

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Some of the chores are sweeping, mopping, doing dishes,

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putting away hot and cold food.

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And...doing the trash.

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If you don't, you get a write-up.

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You get a write-up for staying out too long at night-time.

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You get a write-up for having problems

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with the front...front, the ladies at the front desk.

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If you have more than eight or something, you get put out.

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What type of animal is the North American roadrunner?

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D, a bird.

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-Correct.

-You should know that off the cartoons.

-Yeah.

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With over 200 families waiting for a place in this shelter alone,

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Jasmine's family know that if they are kicked out,

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there's nowhere else to go.

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Delivery is here!

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Don't smash.

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You want a delivery?

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Take those off, don't have any movies.

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Kaylie, what are you looking at?

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It's loud!

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Homelessness threatens Kaylie too.

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The family's electricity is going to be cut off

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unless their gran can pay the bill,

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so money is tighter than ever.

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This is embarrassing, Mom.

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'We go to Salvation Army and get 60-cent shirts.'

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Two dollars, wow, but that's too much.

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Here, Kaylie.

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Blue tag, that's 45 cents.

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'We can't get nothing at the mall.

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'Like I've been when I was about like seven.

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'When my mom, like, had money.

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'Like lots of money.'

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75 cents.

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DOG BARKS

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Can I eat now?

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-THEY WHISPER: I'm hungry.

-I know. So am I.

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Get me something to eat.

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You're going to have to wait till Grandma comes home anyway.

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-Give me something to eat!

-OK.

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-What do you have in the house at the moment?

-Nothing.

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We have to wait till Grandma comes home. She doesn't get it.

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SHE CHUCKLES

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'My mom is having a hard time on economy.'

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She has very little in her bank.

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And like, she can't pay all of her bills at the same time.

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The bills here at the house, it's just too much for me to handle.

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I've never seen it this bad.

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To get jobs, it's very hard, it's very, very hard.

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My mom has got a masters in accounting

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and has been looking for another job for a year.

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And she still hasn't found anything.

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And she has a lot of education.

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More than 49 million Americans are now living below the poverty line,

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many as a result of unemployment.

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Things haven't been this bad since the Great Depression.

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THEY SCREAM

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Woohoo!

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My income is 1,480

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and the total of my bills is 1,326.

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And that does not leave me money for food or gas.

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A lot of times, I have to give my money up to buy groceries

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and buy gas for the car and lawnmower.

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For mowing other people's lawns and...

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I got 10 and I put in six of it for the gas.

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And gave the rest to my mom for some food.

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And...

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It's kind of what I do with my money.

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I don't think I'm going to do mowing for a living.

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I watched this one show where it said they're raising the gas prices.

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And my mom can't even afford gas.

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We have to be careful how we use our gas.

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How we use everything, mostly.

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Because these days everything is expensive.

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There's now a real danger that this month's rent won't be found

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and the family will have to leave their home.

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I don't want to move.

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I like living here because my friends are nice to me.

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Like, I want to just stay put here.

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Rent and bills means it costs over 1,000 a month

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to stay in the family home.

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But a single room in a motel could cost less than 700 a month all in.

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Right now, there doesn't seem to be a way out.

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So my only options are to give up my house

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and move into the motel room.

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And move my stuff into storage.

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And keep going to school.

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And I seen a doctor last week for depression.

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And she put me on some antidepressants

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and Xanax for my panic attacks.

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I mean, I don't even know if I can find a job when I get out of school.

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Or if it'll ever get any better.

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SHE SOBS

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I'll have to find day care for Kaylie.

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I mean, she's ten, but still...

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..her and Tyler, they're brother and sister. They fight.

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SHE LAUGHS

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I'll come home and one will be hanging from the ceiling fan

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and the other one will be God knows where.

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Scared.

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The house isn't the only thing under threat,

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one of the family's dogs may also have to go.

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We won't get to keep our dog Nala.

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It's extra money

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and we're going to get rid of her.

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Nala, like, I want to spend as much time with her,

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but, then again, I want to spend time with my friends.

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Let's go, Wildcats!

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I'm an epic failure!

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BOTH: Go, go! Fight, fight!

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Win, win!

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You'll go fight, fight, win.

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Go, go! Fight, fight!

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Win, win! Go, go, fight, fight! Win.

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Come on, you got this! You, you got this!

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'When I'm dancing, I'm mostly happy.

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'It's like I'm in a different world.'

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I'm always dancing nonstop.

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Erm...I just love dancing, I'm just truly in love with dancing.

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It's like my destiny to become like a famous dancer

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or a famous cheerleader.

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I feel like it's my destiny.

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The search for a new life with a job and a home

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brings 400,000 people a year to San Francisco Bay Area,

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but rents here are the highest in America

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and work can be hard to find.

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11-year-old Sera, her sister and her mum moved here in 2009,

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but when the economy collapsed,

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her mum lost her job

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and the family now have to survive

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on just 600-a-month unemployment.

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They're living in a one-room, rent-subsidized apartment.

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It's kind of hard because you don't have your own room.

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You just have your little area and then...

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Like, this is my mom's area, over there is my area

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and over there, is my sister's area.

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This runs incredibly slow.

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'It's very small. I do not like small spaces. At all.'

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Don't be mean to my computer.

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I'm not being mean to your computer. It just runs really fricking slow.

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'My mom's got a fold-out bed.

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'My sister's got a blow-up bed that she's too lazy to blow up.

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'And I've got floor pillows, they are really quite comfortable.'

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It's messy, but look how much stuff we have.

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And then, look at how small of a room this is.

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You wouldn't be able to keep it very contained either

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if you've got three people living in a really small room

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with one small bathroom and one small kitchen.

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It's not that easy.

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And plus, we've got a lot of stuff and a lot of books.

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So it's really, really hard.

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SHE LAUGHS

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Throw it at her, ha-ha-ha!

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SHE LAUGHS

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I win!

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You do not win.

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When we take a shower and when we cook, the windows fog up

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and like it gets all drippy and stuff.

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The mildew it, umm...it's annoying.

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You wash the walls and you think it you dry it all,

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couple days later, there's more mildew on it, on it.

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So it's like, "Oh, my God..."

0:21:560:22:00

Because these walls are bumpy,

0:22:000:22:03

so it's hard to clean it all.

0:22:030:22:06

Aah!

0:22:080:22:09

Not all you need right now, right?

0:22:110:22:13

'I don't think it's a good way to be growing up.'

0:22:130:22:17

I guess it was just the family I was put into.

0:22:170:22:21

It was all for some reason.

0:22:210:22:23

Maybe it was because we're strong?

0:22:250:22:27

I don't know.

0:22:270:22:28

Sera used to live in a homeless shelter,

0:22:310:22:33

so even one small room is a step up.

0:22:330:22:36

But what the family really wants is to get long-term subsidized housing

0:22:360:22:41

before the help they get with the rent here runs out.

0:22:410:22:44

We're trying to get into this bigger place called Thomas Payne.

0:22:440:22:48

And they said anytime between early February and late February

0:22:480:22:55

and it's April.

0:22:550:22:57

And we haven't gotten in yet.

0:22:590:23:02

I know one thing,

0:23:040:23:05

if we don't get Thomas Payne, we go back to a place called the shelter.

0:23:050:23:10

I don't want to go back. That's how I feel.

0:23:100:23:13

I do not want to go back. I've already been there once.

0:23:130:23:16

Once is enough for me.

0:23:160:23:18

I think we all don't want to go back.

0:23:200:23:22

'If we go back there, we'd be sharing a big room

0:23:240:23:28

'with a dozen or so more people.'

0:23:280:23:31

That's the shelter right there.

0:23:330:23:37

There are four floors.

0:23:370:23:39

We lived on the second floor.

0:23:390:23:43

I don't want to go back because I can cook for myself here.

0:23:430:23:48

And I can go to the bathroom on my own here.

0:23:480:23:52

I don't have to have my mom and my sister take me to the bathroom

0:23:520:23:56

in the middle of the night.

0:23:560:23:58

But this apartment is only temporary and they will have to move soon.

0:23:580:24:03

I think it's kind of scary that...

0:24:030:24:06

really, we don't have much of a choice

0:24:060:24:09

if we lose this place.

0:24:090:24:11

This is NOT the great American dream.

0:24:130:24:16

In Iowa, the moment Kaylie has been dreading has arrived.

0:24:250:24:29

Bitch!

0:24:290:24:31

Nala, she's like my favourite dog

0:24:310:24:33

and now, we have to take her to the pound.

0:24:330:24:36

We have to get rid of Nala, but not Tanner.

0:24:380:24:40

'Nala's so adorable.

0:24:430:24:46

'Like if you, if you had her,

0:24:460:24:49

'she would sleep on your bed

0:24:490:24:51

'and she would sleep on you.

0:24:510:24:53

'She's like your little guard dog.

0:24:530:24:56

'We're getting rid of my perfect little, lovely dog.'

0:24:560:25:00

Yes, Nala, I hear you're stressing out.

0:25:020:25:05

I love you, Nala.

0:25:170:25:19

Does she have any favourite toys or games?

0:25:310:25:33

-She needs lots and lots of bones.

-OK.

0:25:330:25:36

She'll chew one in like an hour.

0:25:360:25:39

OK.

0:25:400:25:41

SHE WHISPERS: She hates baths.

0:25:410:25:43

Oh, yeah, doesn't like baths. No.

0:25:430:25:46

This is my animal lover.

0:25:460:25:47

She'll have to go into our isolation rooms

0:25:470:25:50

since she hasn't got any vaccinations yet.

0:25:500:25:53

So she'll be in an isolated area right now. All right, sweetie.

0:25:530:25:56

Do you want the leash and collar back at all?

0:26:000:26:02

-Just the leash.

-OK.

0:26:020:26:04

And the collar!

0:26:040:26:05

Why the collar? She can have it.

0:26:050:26:07

Cos...Mom!

0:26:070:26:10

Fine! Meanie...

0:26:100:26:12

SHE SOBS

0:26:170:26:18

SHE CRIES

0:26:240:26:27

SHE BARKS

0:26:400:26:41

With Nala gone, the time has come to leave the house

0:26:570:27:00

and move into a motel room.

0:27:000:27:02

This will be the family's home from now on

0:27:030:27:06

unless Mum can get them all a place in a homeless shelter.

0:27:060:27:09

I thought we were getting a double bed.

0:27:090:27:11

And there's no mini fridge.

0:27:110:27:14

-That was with the double bed.

-No.

0:27:140:27:17

Dang it!

0:27:170:27:20

And there's no microwave.

0:27:200:27:22

OK, we have to ask them about that.

0:27:240:27:27

God.

0:27:270:27:29

I thought we were getting a double bed.

0:27:290:27:31

Well, we're going to have to ask them about the mini fridge.

0:27:310:27:35

It's so small.

0:27:350:27:36

It's going to be small.

0:27:360:27:38

Plain and simple, it's going to be small.

0:27:400:27:43

This is as big as my room.

0:27:430:27:45

Yeah.

0:27:450:27:46

-OK, one each.

-We'll go back round.

0:27:530:27:55

One of the many downsides of life in a shelter

0:27:570:28:00

is that sickness spreads between families all too easily.

0:28:000:28:04

Jasmine?

0:28:040:28:05

Everybody's been having the runs, stomach aches, the whole nine yards.

0:28:050:28:10

She just, we were going out to take her out to school this morning

0:28:100:28:13

and she just threw up all in the hallway.

0:28:130:28:15

Although Jasmine's dad has now managed to get a job at minimum wage,

0:28:150:28:19

his employer does not cover the family for medical insurance.

0:28:190:28:22

Almost one in seven Americans are now without health insurance,

0:28:220:28:26

more than ever before.

0:28:260:28:28

Without cover, the family has to find clinics and pharmacies

0:28:280:28:32

that will treat people on basic state Medicaid.

0:28:320:28:35

A lot of places don't take Iowa Medicaid.

0:28:350:28:38

Cos they know it's from public aid, it's public assistance, low income.

0:28:380:28:42

No income.

0:28:420:28:44

So a lot of places won't take you.

0:28:450:28:47

And then, a lot of them say they don't take new patients.

0:28:470:28:50

So then, what do you do? Go to the emergency room.

0:28:500:28:54

Then, you end up with another bill.

0:28:540:28:56

The latest problem is that Jonny has caught

0:28:590:29:02

a highly contagious skin infection,

0:29:020:29:04

so the family's room has to be completely disinfected.

0:29:040:29:08

He was getting even worser,

0:29:080:29:10

so he said, "We have to go to the hospital."

0:29:100:29:13

And that's when Josh got sick, so we really had to go to the hospital.

0:29:130:29:16

So now, he has to be quarantined off from the rest of the family.

0:29:160:29:19

Now, you've got to sleep on the fire escape!

0:29:190:29:22

HE LAUGHS

0:29:220:29:24

But you just make sure you just don't touch anybody.

0:29:240:29:29

I'm watching you.

0:29:290:29:31

When he was first infected, there was no choice

0:29:310:29:34

but go to the emergency room of the local hospital.

0:29:340:29:37

Don't touch it.

0:29:370:29:38

The discharge lady came in asking questions

0:29:380:29:41

about the Medicaid or whatever

0:29:410:29:42

and she was like, "Oh, I guess I'll have to look it up.

0:29:420:29:45

"If I can't find it, we'll have to bill you."

0:29:450:29:48

Yeah, so there's another bill coming.

0:29:500:29:53

That's life though, what can you do?

0:29:540:29:56

Roll with the punches, right?

0:29:560:29:58

The mice...because he's stuck, he's stuck, he just got stuck!

0:30:010:30:04

It's not big at all. So small.

0:30:040:30:06

Mice only coming in here.

0:30:060:30:08

Because they're coming from under there or under there.

0:30:080:30:11

All those Reese's Pieces and all of that stuff you be having all over.

0:30:110:30:14

It's not me!

0:30:140:30:16

Exactly! Why he always coming from in this corner?

0:30:160:30:18

Because Jaylan got all that crap underneath his bed.

0:30:180:30:22

-Every single time I saw him...

-That same crap!

-Mom...

0:30:220:30:25

Both of them, I saw them from this corner.

0:30:250:30:27

'This building is kind of old,'

0:30:270:30:29

mice have been here for a long time before we've been here.

0:30:290:30:33

Of course they're going to get in here.

0:30:330:30:36

We just, we...my dad just said, "Any mouse that comes in here,

0:30:360:30:40

"we're taking them out."

0:30:400:30:42

They're not going to stay for long.

0:30:420:30:44

They're going to know not to come in this room.

0:30:440:30:46

Look at this, look at this, look at this.

0:30:490:30:51

-Tell me that wasn't you.

-That was Jaylan.

0:30:510:30:54

-No!

-That was the err...Cheesies.

0:30:540:30:57

Jaylan you see this? That's why the mice keep coming in here.

0:30:570:31:02

Don't bring nothing else in here, you hear me?

0:31:020:31:04

Or you'll be in trouble.

0:31:040:31:05

That's all going to be on you.

0:31:050:31:08

As a mother, you always got different thoughts

0:31:120:31:15

in your head and mind and...

0:31:150:31:17

Wishing that you could change things and wishing things were different,

0:31:170:31:20

but what are you to do? You can't keep beating yourself up about it,

0:31:200:31:23

but, at the same time...

0:31:230:31:24

..it's just hard.

0:31:270:31:28

Having a family is hard, maintaining a family is hard.

0:31:300:31:35

Keeping us indoors is hard.

0:31:370:31:39

THEY LAUGH

0:31:520:31:54

Guess what I got in my grades?

0:31:580:32:00

What?

0:32:000:32:01

-Ooh, ooh!

-That's good.

0:32:040:32:07

One for the Willis team!

0:32:070:32:09

That saved you from 70 lashes, didn't it?

0:32:090:32:12

THEY LAUGH

0:32:120:32:14

So did you do good?

0:32:140:32:17

I got two A's, two B's and two C's.

0:32:170:32:19

That's what's up, Jonny.

0:32:190:32:21

Oh, wow! I'll have to get you a skateboard.

0:32:210:32:23

Grades is my only way out of here.

0:32:230:32:25

If my grade's not good, I know I can't go to universities,

0:32:250:32:29

like my dream is to go.

0:32:290:32:31

I know if my grade's not good,

0:32:310:32:32

I can't play football like I want to.

0:32:320:32:34

If I don't succeed doing what I have to do in school

0:32:340:32:38

and making good grades, I will fail.

0:32:380:32:41

I'm going to live this life,

0:32:410:32:42

life of shelters, going through hard times, can't feed my kids,

0:32:420:32:46

trying to figure out what I'm going to lay over my head every night.

0:32:460:32:50

SHE YELLS

0:33:010:33:02

Homeless kids are eight times more likely that other children

0:33:020:33:05

to be put back a year at school.

0:33:050:33:07

Kaylie and her family have been living in the motel for four weeks.

0:33:070:33:12

It's the summer holidays at the moment,

0:33:120:33:14

but if their mum can't find a permanent home soon,

0:33:140:33:17

Kaylie and Tyler will have to face the next term in school

0:33:170:33:20

as homeless children.

0:33:200:33:21

Living in the motel is like, like it's cool but then not so cool.

0:33:230:33:29

I'm always cleaning.

0:33:290:33:30

Tyler barely ever helps.

0:33:320:33:35

He cleaned once, twice, three times. I've cleaned...

0:33:350:33:39

..kind of a lot.

0:33:420:33:44

Now then, you come hold this.

0:33:460:33:48

No, let it go.

0:33:480:33:50

It's not fitting, look.

0:33:500:33:53

Well, then, frigging stop using your foot and be a man.

0:33:530:33:57

It's not fitting!

0:33:570:33:59

And don't smack me.

0:33:590:34:01

It's not fitting.

0:34:010:34:03

Yes, it is.

0:34:080:34:09

Be right back.

0:34:120:34:14

The cold stuff that needs to be freezed is in the sink.

0:34:150:34:18

'We don't have a fridge, just this sink is our fridge.

0:34:220:34:26

'We have to get ice mostly every day because it melts during night.'

0:34:300:34:36

It's all crunched up and there's not much space. See?

0:34:360:34:41

TYLER MOANS

0:34:430:34:45

He takes up the hallway to go to the bathroom.

0:34:450:34:48

SHE CHUCKLES

0:34:480:34:50

We had much more space in the house.

0:34:500:34:53

There's no friends, no-one to play with.

0:34:540:34:58

I miss Jordan.

0:34:580:35:00

I pass the time by watching TV or talking to Alex.

0:35:020:35:07

Helping him do the laundry and then putting stickers on the cards.

0:35:070:35:12

How are you doing today?

0:35:170:35:19

Erm...good.

0:35:190:35:20

Ooh, it's hot in here.

0:35:200:35:22

There's new people came in in room number 124. Like you.

0:35:220:35:27

And they have kids about your age.

0:35:270:35:29

Are you sure?

0:35:310:35:32

Yeah, you check them out.

0:35:320:35:34

SHE CHUCKLES

0:35:340:35:35

-126?

-124.

0:35:350:35:37

This motel is one of the few in the area

0:35:390:35:41

that allows homeless families to stay long term.

0:35:410:35:44

Most insist they book in one night at a time,

0:35:440:35:47

so they can be forced to leave at a day's notice.

0:35:470:35:50

How many families live here?

0:35:510:35:54

Here, it depends, sometimes people come for our weekly stays,

0:35:540:35:59

sometimes for you guys, like, longer.

0:35:590:36:04

So in summer, there is...in winter, there is more people

0:36:040:36:08

for their extended stays who are homeless.

0:36:080:36:12

And, in the winter, the shelters them are all, you know, filled up,

0:36:120:36:17

so people can't sleep outside.

0:36:170:36:20

'When I struggle for money, there's nothing to eat.'

0:36:270:36:29

All there is is cans of vegetables.

0:36:310:36:35

So I've been eating vegetables.

0:36:360:36:39

There's really not enough food.

0:36:390:36:43

Kaylie has also joined the 37 million Americans

0:36:460:36:49

who now depend on food banks.

0:36:490:36:52

One in five children across America now receive food aid.

0:36:520:36:56

We get 15 items, right?

0:36:560:36:58

-..Mix...

-Beef stew.

0:36:580:37:01

No, No.

0:37:010:37:02

Apple sauce, you can have apple sauce. With cinnamon.

0:37:030:37:07

OK, we need veggies... Oh, here, SpaghettiOs,

0:37:070:37:10

meat balls, or ravioli.

0:37:100:37:14

We need more canned goods.

0:37:140:37:15

So potatoes for the vegetable soup.

0:37:150:37:17

Thank you.

0:37:190:37:21

Oh, Mom, did we get ground beef?

0:37:210:37:23

You keep saying that,

0:37:230:37:24

but we don't have a fridge to put it in right now.

0:37:240:37:28

That's why I didn't get it.

0:37:280:37:29

If I could change anything,

0:37:320:37:35

it would be being poor.

0:37:350:37:39

I really don't want to be poor cos then, you can't get,

0:37:400:37:44

cos then, how can you pay your rent, how can you get food,

0:37:440:37:48

how can you get a roof over you head...

0:37:480:37:50

..if you're going to be poor?

0:37:520:37:54

We're still in the same itty bitty apartment we were in before.

0:38:050:38:10

And we haven't gotten into Thomas Payne.

0:38:100:38:13

They said one month.

0:38:150:38:17

-SHE WHISPERS:

-We've been waiting two, almost three!

0:38:180:38:21

Thomas Payne is long-term subsidized housing

0:38:230:38:26

the family could stay in for good.

0:38:260:38:29

But they're running out of time for a place to come up,

0:38:290:38:31

so they're back at the shelter

0:38:310:38:33

to sign up on the waiting list here as well.

0:38:330:38:36

No kid should ever have to go through two homeless shelters

0:38:360:38:39

just to get into a sustainable apartment or a house.

0:38:390:38:43

This form that I'm going to have you sign

0:38:430:38:46

is just the family shelter intake policy.

0:38:460:38:48

The intake policy says you need to limit your belongings

0:38:480:38:51

-to one bag per person.

-Uh-huh.

0:38:510:38:53

I know it might be hard if you have a lot of stuff...

0:38:530:38:55

Wait! Can it be like a bag of clothes and stuff

0:38:550:39:00

and then a computer?

0:39:000:39:02

-Probably.

-..Cos the computer doesn't really count as a bag.

0:39:020:39:05

It's an electronic.

0:39:050:39:08

Is that going to be a problem? You seem nervous.

0:39:080:39:10

-Sad.

-Sad?

-Yeah.

0:39:100:39:12

Well, you can look into putting some of your stuff in storage while you're in the shelter

0:39:120:39:16

and then, when you get out, you can have your stuff back.

0:39:160:39:19

As they probably told you on the phone,

0:39:190:39:20

it is unfortunately about a six-month wait

0:39:200:39:23

-to get into shelter right now, which is really long.

-Uh-huh.

0:39:230:39:26

It's one of the longest waits that we've ever had

0:39:260:39:28

and, unfortunately, we don't have much shelter space

0:39:280:39:30

to accommodate at the moment.

0:39:300:39:32

But, during that time on the waiting list,

0:39:320:39:34

the most important thing is to be calling and checking in once a week

0:39:340:39:37

-in order to stay on the list.

-Right.

0:39:370:39:39

So that's definitely the most important thing.

0:39:390:39:41

So how is everything else going in the apartment right now?

0:39:410:39:44

Um... Things are going OK.

0:39:440:39:46

I'm just looking for food banks right now,

0:39:460:39:48

because food's really expensive right now.

0:39:480:39:50

-We have enough rice to feed us tonight and tomorrow, that's it.

-Yeah.

0:39:500:39:54

OK. Well, we can definitely get you a bag of food before you leave here.

0:39:540:39:57

So we have a choice of canned food right now.

0:39:570:39:59

We have beans and franks...and tuna and Spam,

0:39:590:40:02

so you can take your pick.

0:40:020:40:04

-Spam!

-You said the magic word, she loves Spam.

0:40:040:40:06

OK, Spam. I'll get you some Spam, then.

0:40:060:40:09

OK, great. Thank you.

0:40:090:40:10

Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam!

0:40:100:40:13

Yes, I know, you love Spam.

0:40:130:40:14

SHE LAUGHS

0:40:140:40:16

OK, so here is a bag of food.

0:40:180:40:20

-Some canned foods, some mac and cheese...

-Mac and cheese!

0:40:200:40:23

..and some cereal and then there's two bus tokens

0:40:230:40:25

and those are good for one fare and transfer each on a bus.

0:40:250:40:28

-OK, great, thank you so much!

-Oh, wow!

-No problem.

0:40:280:40:31

'The people who cut budgets are the ones that are making it hard'

0:40:310:40:36

for my mom to get by in today's world.

0:40:360:40:40

Sera lives in a part of San Francisco known as the Tenderloin.

0:40:440:40:48

It's a neighbourhood synonymous with drugs, violence and homelessness.

0:40:480:40:53

The reason why I wouldn't go on the street very much

0:40:530:40:55

is because, well, I live in the Tenderloin

0:40:550:40:57

and that pretty much talks for itself.

0:40:570:41:00

There are people on drugs out there

0:41:030:41:07

and I don't think an 11-year-old,

0:41:070:41:10

or anyone older or younger, should be around this stuff.

0:41:100:41:15

Especially the drug dealers.

0:41:150:41:17

Because it makes your brain squish.

0:41:170:41:19

It basically makes your brain go like pudding.

0:41:210:41:25

What do I do on the weekend?

0:41:280:41:30

Look out the window, watching the people on the streets. And um...

0:41:300:41:37

I call it spying on the people down on the street.

0:41:370:41:42

Cos I have these little binoculars

0:41:440:41:47

and I look out the window.

0:41:470:41:49

And it's funny, because one person actually looked up

0:41:500:41:53

and saw me looking out.

0:41:530:41:55

I'm like, "I'm not doing nothing..."

0:41:550:41:57

My sister has taught me

0:41:590:42:00

if a man throws the first punch and misses,

0:42:000:42:05

you throw a second punch and not miss.

0:42:050:42:08

And I know where to hit a man where it hurts.

0:42:120:42:15

I do.

0:42:150:42:16

From my mom and my sister.

0:42:180:42:21

Kaylie, you want to move stuff to the other house?

0:42:340:42:37

Hey!

0:42:400:42:41

OK, I know I said yes.

0:42:420:42:45

With help from a charity,

0:42:450:42:47

Kaylie's family has been able to find a house to rent

0:42:470:42:50

and today they are leaving the motel.

0:42:500:42:53

But moving house is one of the most stressful things a family can do.

0:42:530:42:57

Even more so when it's the second time in just a couple of months.

0:42:570:43:01

I'm looking forward to moving away from here,

0:43:040:43:07

because I really do not want to live here because we don't have space.

0:43:070:43:12

Kaylie!

0:43:120:43:14

Kaylie!

0:43:140:43:15

Kylie, just wait, I'll do it!

0:43:200:43:22

Start by going to pick up all that stuff by the sink over there.

0:43:240:43:27

Oh, my God! I got to pack my toys.

0:43:270:43:31

Bad enough we left my toys at the fricking other house.

0:43:330:43:38

Aaargh!

0:43:470:43:48

Kaylie, you're picking, I want that sink cleaned out.

0:43:510:43:54

Kaylie! Sink, underneath of it!

0:43:540:43:57

I want all that stuff cleaned out the sink.

0:43:570:44:00

Well, you're standing in my way,

0:44:000:44:02

you see me over there cleaning it!

0:44:020:44:04

Trash. You going to take it to the dumpster?

0:44:060:44:08

Go, Jesus!

0:44:080:44:10

'She is one crazy mom.'

0:44:100:44:12

She's tiring, but I still love her.

0:44:120:44:15

She really needs to work on the yelling.

0:44:150:44:18

I don't care if she hears this, sister,

0:44:200:44:22

she needs to work on her yelling.

0:44:220:44:24

Cos I do not want to get yelled at when we're moving.

0:44:250:44:27

She does this all the time.

0:44:270:44:29

The only stressful moment

0:44:300:44:34

is now when we're moving

0:44:340:44:36

and she says she was going to do it happily.

0:44:360:44:38

MOM YELLS

0:44:400:44:43

What part of "You shut up" do you not get?

0:44:440:44:47

Fricking...arrgh!

0:44:490:44:51

I want to scream.

0:44:550:44:57

I'm going to explode.

0:45:000:45:02

The family can barely afford the rent for the new house.

0:45:080:45:11

In fact, they are depending on their gran to pay the first month

0:45:110:45:15

and hoping the charity will help them after that.

0:45:150:45:18

There's no money left over for furniture.

0:45:180:45:20

Hey, Tanner, let's go and look at our new house. Come on!

0:45:200:45:23

This is our living room,

0:45:230:45:25

this is the kitchen.

0:45:250:45:27

Come on, let's go upstairs!

0:45:270:45:30

There's Mom's room.

0:45:300:45:32

Oh!

0:45:320:45:34

How can you do this up all these stairs? Come on, Tanner.

0:45:340:45:38

SHE LAUGHS

0:45:400:45:41

And here's my room!

0:45:410:45:43

What are you doing?

0:45:440:45:46

Now, I'm going to have to put a rug over that. Come on, Tanner!

0:45:460:45:49

At my new home, I kind of like it and I kind of don't.

0:45:510:45:55

I mostly sleep on the floor.

0:45:550:45:58

It would be more comfortable with a bed.

0:45:580:46:00

SHE LAUGHS

0:46:000:46:03

Winter.

0:46:040:46:05

There's really nothing to do, just fold my clothes,

0:46:050:46:09

mess them all up, fold them, mess them all up, fold them.

0:46:090:46:13

Or clean.

0:46:130:46:14

But there's not much to clean, but the kitchen.

0:46:150:46:19

So...

0:46:190:46:20

Some kids have large houses.

0:46:220:46:24

They can have whatever they want.

0:46:240:46:28

But I think my mom,

0:46:280:46:32

she kind of made a wrong turn or something.

0:46:320:46:36

So that's what all started this.

0:46:360:46:38

The good news for Jonny's family is that they have finally moved

0:46:430:46:47

to a self-contained apartment in the Salvation Army shelter.

0:46:470:46:50

They can now lock their own front door.

0:46:500:46:53

But this also means they no longer qualify

0:46:530:46:55

for free meals in the shelter canteen.

0:46:550:46:58

We are in our new apartment in transitional housing.

0:47:020:47:07

My mom says it's harder,

0:47:070:47:08

because she has to spend a lot of money to feed us.

0:47:080:47:12

And to spend a lot of money to get the house together and buy stuff.

0:47:120:47:15

You getting too big.

0:47:160:47:18

You always want something extra.

0:47:180:47:20

I don't want nothing extra.

0:47:200:47:21

-Yes, you do - you want a phone, you want shoes...

-I got a phone.

0:47:210:47:25

I'm not wearing no Earthwalkers outside. No, sir.

0:47:250:47:28

Jordans and Nikes.

0:47:280:47:30

-Jonny, Nikes and Jordans are expensive, just for a name.

-I know.

0:47:300:47:34

That makes no sense.

0:47:340:47:36

You need a job.

0:47:360:47:37

Nikes are not expensive.

0:47:380:47:40

Look, I've been buying Josh shoes after shoes after shoes.

0:47:400:47:43

I can't afford it. Now, what?

0:47:430:47:45

Walmart? You got to take Walmart.

0:47:450:47:48

What else can I do? At least his feet not dragging the ground.

0:47:500:47:52

There were some Jordan flip-flops in there for 30 bucks.

0:47:520:47:56

Now, that's a great deal, you cannot find no Jordan flip-flops,

0:47:560:47:59

the brand new kind, for 30 bucks.

0:47:590:48:01

-They're probably not real, but...

-Is that a great deal?

0:48:010:48:04

When I can go to Walmart and buy...

0:48:040:48:07

The shoes I'm wearing I got from Walmart for 5.

0:48:070:48:11

I'm talking about name brand stuff. That's a good deal, Mamma.

0:48:110:48:15

-My sandals are nice, right? 5. You want some of those, right?

-Ma!

0:48:150:48:19

See, that's why I like you all when you all small.

0:48:190:48:22

They like, they accept stuff. You getting too big.

0:48:220:48:25

Your feet growing, you need grown people's shoes now.

0:48:270:48:32

Oooh, please stop growing!

0:48:320:48:34

SHE LAUGHS

0:48:340:48:36

We had more money in the shelter part than we have here,

0:48:380:48:40

because now, everything is all on our own now.

0:48:400:48:43

Down there, we took everything for granted.

0:48:440:48:48

You get free food every day,

0:48:480:48:51

you get a free place to live.

0:48:510:48:53

MOTHER LAUGHS

0:48:540:48:56

Here's one of Tom's old business cards.

0:48:560:49:00

Oh, yeah, I remember T&C!

0:49:000:49:02

-T&C, Tom and Classy.

-Yeah.

0:49:020:49:05

SHE LAUGHS

0:49:050:49:06

It was me and him all the time.

0:49:060:49:08

Until the recession, the family had their own business.

0:49:080:49:12

The plan now is for Tom to do odd jobs in his spare time

0:49:120:49:15

to raise some extra cash.

0:49:150:49:17

I know we lost a lot with the business.

0:49:170:49:19

Me and Tom every day putting our heads together

0:49:190:49:22

trying to think about what else can we do

0:49:220:49:25

to get ourselves out of this?

0:49:250:49:28

See what we can come up with to make some extra money.

0:49:280:49:33

So we wouldn't be in a hole all the time

0:49:330:49:35

or just barely trying to find food.

0:49:350:49:38

I mean, I would think at least everybody in America

0:49:380:49:41

can have some food and housing.

0:49:410:49:44

The poorest man, a place to sleep and food.

0:49:440:49:47

And it's not that way.

0:49:470:49:49

It's a little rough.

0:49:490:49:51

A lot rough.

0:49:510:49:53

'All I want is to play football, but football is expensive.

0:49:560:50:01

'I can name a few of the items I need and want for my sports,

0:50:010:50:06

'but I've just got to wait until the next time my mamma can afford it.'

0:50:060:50:11

Ooh, good one, good one!

0:50:110:50:13

'I'm 14.'

0:50:130:50:14

My life is...

0:50:160:50:18

..almost over until I'm a grown man.

0:50:200:50:23

And if I don't have an opportunity to show somebody to play football,

0:50:230:50:27

football won't exist in four years from now.

0:50:270:50:31

If I don't get to play on the team this year,

0:50:310:50:33

that dream is going to slowly start fading away.

0:50:330:50:36

That's what happens to some of the dreams of kids.

0:50:360:50:40

They pretend it's something

0:50:400:50:42

and they can't afford it or can't do it.

0:50:420:50:45

MUSIC PLAYS

0:50:530:50:56

# ..Has it gone as we'd expected?

0:50:560:51:00

# But will we be better off

0:51:000:51:02

# If Romney gets elected?

0:51:020:51:05

# Then, we'll really get

0:51:050:51:09

# What we deserve! #

0:51:090:51:12

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:51:120:51:19

Today, the San Francisco Mime Troupe is performing political satire.

0:51:190:51:25

My mother, she's desperately poor!

0:51:250:51:29

-Poor? In America?

-Yes!

0:51:290:51:32

The good news is we got Thomas Payne

0:51:320:51:38

and they're just doing maintenancing.

0:51:380:51:42

Next week, we're going to sign the lease.

0:51:420:51:45

My house!

0:51:480:51:50

I've counted how many stairs there are - there's 15.

0:51:500:51:53

'When I saw this house for the first time,

0:51:530:51:55

'I was speechless, I couldn't talk.'

0:51:550:51:58

This is our large bathroom, mine and my sister's.

0:51:580:52:02

I love it.

0:52:020:52:03

This is my room.

0:52:030:52:05

I like it cos it's got my bells on the door.

0:52:050:52:07

This house is ours.

0:52:070:52:10

No room mates, no, um...

0:52:100:52:12

..probably no eviction notices.

0:52:150:52:18

I won't forget this experience, because it's...

0:52:200:52:24

it's a life-changer, you know.

0:52:240:52:27

SHE CHUCKLES

0:52:270:52:28

No kid should have to go through this.

0:52:300:52:33

Um... Yet, every day, kids do.

0:52:340:52:38

And...

0:52:390:52:40

..it's just crazy.

0:52:420:52:44

We're going to a tea party. Ooh, tea...

0:52:440:52:47

'It's not a fun experience,

0:52:470:52:49

'it's just annoying that people say, "Oh, it doesn't matter,

0:52:490:52:53

'"it's just a little problem, it's over now, get over it."

0:52:530:52:57

'No.

0:52:570:52:59

'It's not over,

0:52:590:53:02

'it changes you.'

0:53:020:53:03

I may be still the same old obnoxious Sera,

0:53:050:53:09

but, deep down, I'm a whole new person.

0:53:090:53:14

Well, I'm a whole different person.

0:53:140:53:16

'We're back in this motel again

0:53:360:53:37

'because we got kicked out of the duplex.

0:53:370:53:40

'My mom didn't pay the rent.

0:53:400:53:43

'And so, then, we went to Motel Six

0:53:430:53:48

'and then, we went to this Twin Bridges Hotel

0:53:480:53:53

'and then, we went to here.

0:53:530:53:54

'Oh, God, we went to so many places'

0:53:560:53:58

even talking about it is making me dizzy.

0:53:580:54:00

SHE LAUGHS

0:54:000:54:02

Come on, it's over filled, Kaylie.

0:54:020:54:04

Look, it's not going in.

0:54:040:54:06

Oh, well, move, I can make it work.

0:54:060:54:09

Yes, it will!

0:54:090:54:12

Mom's latest plan is to get a trailer

0:54:120:54:15

so the family can have a more stable home.

0:54:150:54:17

But, in the meantime, Kaylie's education is suffering.

0:54:170:54:22

Why can't I go to school?

0:54:220:54:24

I will get you in school, but we've got to wait till we get a trailer,

0:54:240:54:28

which is only, like, a few days away.

0:54:280:54:31

So there's no sense of putting you in school over here

0:54:310:54:34

if we're going to be switching to Iowa over there.

0:54:340:54:37

OK.

0:54:370:54:39

We've been moving around a lot between Iowa and Moline

0:54:390:54:43

that my mom can't sign us up for school.

0:54:430:54:47

I wouldn't want to go to school

0:54:470:54:49

and then going to a different school, like, one or two weeks later.

0:54:490:54:54

If you go to school and then, like, one or two weeks,

0:54:540:54:59

you're going to have to move,

0:54:590:55:01

but then, you have to move from all your new friends, all your teachers

0:55:010:55:04

when you have such a good time.

0:55:040:55:07

And so, my mom says we're going to get in school

0:55:070:55:13

when we move into the trailer that we are getting.

0:55:130:55:18

The trailer is very liveable, it has floors,

0:55:180:55:22

we're going to be re-doing it.

0:55:220:55:24

Am I going to have to crawl in with the snakes

0:55:240:55:26

-to get the pipes unfrozen?

-No.

0:55:260:55:28

No, it's all, that's all taken care of.

0:55:280:55:30

-The best thing to do is put hay bales around it.

-I know.

0:55:300:55:33

We're going to get some of those.

0:55:330:55:34

We're going to be moving the trailer probably in a couple of summers.

0:55:340:55:39

But that'll be two years away.

0:55:390:55:41

Cos we have to have a two-year lease.

0:55:410:55:44

If we stay there two years.

0:55:440:55:46

'I really want to be in school.'

0:55:460:55:48

Because if you don't get a good education,

0:55:480:55:52

then...you don't get much money,

0:55:520:55:58

you don't get a good job,

0:55:580:56:01

you end up sleeping at your mom's.

0:56:010:56:05

You end up, you end up being behind a lot of rent

0:56:050:56:09

'and then, you get kicked out.

0:56:090:56:11

'You end up being homeless and then, with no food.'

0:56:110:56:14

Attack.

0:56:140:56:15

If I keep missing school,

0:56:170:56:19

then, I see my future poor,

0:56:190:56:21

on the streets, in a box.

0:56:210:56:24

Not even. And...asking for money.

0:56:240:56:29

Everywhere...

0:56:290:56:31

..everybody. And then, stealing stuff from stores.

0:56:320:56:36

And, yeah...

0:56:360:56:38

..I don't want to steal stuff.

0:56:390:56:42

I don't want to do any of that stuff.

0:56:420:56:44

I want to get an education and a good job.

0:56:440:56:47

Poverty affects every aspect of a child's life.

0:56:560:57:00

Their education, health and future prospects all suffer.

0:57:000:57:04

Since 2007, the number of homeless children across the US

0:57:050:57:09

has increased by almost half a million.

0:57:090:57:12

Unless the world's wealthiest nation can build more effective safety nets

0:57:120:57:16

for its most vulnerable, young citizens,

0:57:160:57:19

millions more could follow.

0:57:190:57:21

People who come in a homeless shelter,

0:57:220:57:26

they can just be somebody

0:57:260:57:28

who was living good at one time and had it all

0:57:280:57:31

to a bill that didn't get paid.

0:57:310:57:34

Off a utility bill, a payment, a foreclose, anything.

0:57:340:57:39

Anything can easily take them straight down to the floor

0:57:390:57:42

and into ground zero.

0:57:420:57:43

Life is a lot of a maze.

0:57:470:57:49

SHE CHUCKLES

0:57:490:57:51

There is ALWAYS dead ends

0:57:510:57:55

and you've got to turn around,

0:57:550:57:57

pick yourself up and turn around and go the other way.

0:57:570:58:00

But, in the end, you always get out of a maze.

0:58:000:58:05

The way I live...

0:58:080:58:10

..it's a lesson.

0:58:110:58:13

I believe that I'm going to get a perfect job that I like

0:58:150:58:20

and that I want to do.

0:58:200:58:22

People can't stop you from believing in your own dreams.

0:58:220:58:25

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:550:58:59

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