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The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper
The Hidden Homeless. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired November 02, 2025 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But when I was born, with my mom, I came beautiful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: She came beautiful. "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER, THE HIDDEN HOMELESS" airs next. You can watch it right here on CNN and on the CNN app as well.
Thank you so much for joining me tonight. I'm Jessica Dean. We're going to see you again next weekend right back here. Have a wonderful night. I'll see you then.
ANDERSON COOER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to THE WHOLE STORY. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The growing affordability crisis in the U.S. is impacting working families all over the country especially in New York, with the rising cost of basic necessities and a historic housing shortage have contributed to the highest rate of homelessness here since the Great Depression.
The next mayor of New York will be selected in the coming days, and the candidates have all campaigned on fixing the crisis. But proposed federal cuts in 2026 may worsen the problem since more than a million New Yorkers rely on federal housing assistance. If that is taken away, even more families, including children, will be left without a stable home.
Right now, one in seven New York City public school students is considered homeless, the highest it has ever been. Over the past year our team has documented some of these young people as they navigate finding places to sleep while attending school or trying to find jobs.
In this next hour, you're going to witness how they managed to survive with hope and resilience in spite of their struggles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is awful. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I woke up, like, at 7:00 because I heard a lot of
noise. And my mom was like, we've got to pack up. Like speed it up. I was just, hmm. I didn't even know how to express myself. Like, now we've got to go to the shelter.
GRAPHICS: After struggling with homelessness for years, this family of five is being evicted.
GRAPHICS: New York City recorded an average of 1,500 evictions per month since the start of 2025.
GRAPHICS: The highest rate since 2018.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through text translation): So we didn't have another option other than be on the street or to a shelter. And the most affected are one's children.
GRAPHICS: Dayisja 29, Maileia 11, Brooklynn 8.
DAYISJA, MOTHER: What I love about being a mom is just the quality time I have with my children.
OK. You got to hold on, seriously.
I just love being around them a lot. The sense of them having to need me, I need them. It's like having a bond of friendship. I just love being a mom.
MAILEIA, DAUGHTER: I got my hair wet.
DAYISJA: You got your hair wet. It's OK. You're fine. OK, go have fun. Go have fun.
MAILEIA: OK.
DAYISJA: Make sure you don't wet your legs and your feet.
When I was younger, I was just thought about going to college, becoming a doctor. I did not see myself actually becoming a mom of two, especially alone, so.
[20:05:08]
From the outside, people that have not been through my situation before, I felt a lot of judgment, like, oh, how are you're homeless because you're so well put together? The kids are so well put together. Their hair is done. Your nails is done. And that's the misconception. Not everyone that is homeless sleeps on the streets. Not everyone that's homeless goes on the train and begs for money.
I don't beg for money. I go to work every single day. I go to work every day. The kids, they go to school every day. The way how the world is set up right now, it's not making any sense. It's causing the homelessness. The rent out here is ridiculous. Grocery prices are ridiculous. How much you have to pay in daycare and then having to go to work just to pay for daycare but not having enough money for food is the issue.
We can split it, so you get one half, I get the other half. It's just for this morning.
I only have me and my kids to rely on. Nobody's really around. My mom's not here. A lot of my family are estranged from me. It's very tough. It's been hard. It's been really hard.
GRAPHICS: Family shelter facility.
DAYISJA: All right, let's see what we can do. Let me see what I can do. You fix your bed? You got everything? Everything's off the floor?
MAILEIA: Yes. There is roaches in my things. There's roaches in everywhere.
DAYISJA: So I remember it was like around my 17th birthday, going towards my 18th, I was pregnant. My mom found out. She was very angry with me. Didn't want to talk to me. Talked down to me to eventually her putting me out. Since you want to do what you want to do, just go. So I'm in the backyard. It's in the winter. It's cold. I have my daughter Maileia just trying to hold out until the morning until I've got to go to school at least so I can have somewhere to take me and my baby.
GRAPHICS: That night, 18-year-old Dayisja and her infant child became homeless for the first time. They have been battling homelessness ever since.
DAYISJA: It's been hard for them because they can remember all the experiences, the bad and the good. They remember having to celebrate their birthday in a homeless shelter. They remember us being evicted. They remember sleeping in the car. My only thing that was on my mind was like, the police will come. They'll see me sleeping in the car. CPS will get involved and them taking my children.
My children are my life. I try my hardest with my kids. And them being taken away from me, I wouldn't be able to make it. I wouldn't. I wouldn't be able to make it. I wouldn't know what to do.
BROOKLYNN: I want to make it pretty.
DAYISJA: Oh, you wanted to make it pretty? You want to decorate? Yes, that's my happy girl. I love her.
CHRISTINE QUINN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, WIN: You know, there are a lot of misconceptions about who's homeless in New York City. And most New Yorkers don't really know who is homeless. Right now, 70 percent of the people in shelter are families with children.
The other reality about homelessness is the heads of these households we see at WIN, 92 percent of the time are single women who are working but don't make enough money to cover the rent. This is the forgotten face of homelessness.
There are so many stereotypes about homeless people, but one of them is that it's your fault that you're homeless. That is not the reality. The most significant factor which determines whether someone will be a homeless adult is if they were a homeless child.
BROOKLYNN: And they still left the water faucet off.
[20:10:04]
SUANY RAMOS, PRINCIPAL, THE ISLAND SCHOOL: My name is Suany Ramos. And I am the principal of PS/MS 188, the Island School in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. We have about 48 percent to 52 percent of students in temporary housing.
GRAPHICS: The Island School serves one of the highest rates of homeless students in New York City with roughly half of its student population without a home.
RAMOS: I think that the fact that as a small school, a pre-K to 8th school with 420 students having 52 percent, right, of our students in temporary housing definitely let us know that in New York City as a whole, there's a lot of students that are in the same situation. It's definitely a crisis. It's definitely devastating. It is definitely sad.
You think that as adults, right, in New York City, I don't think that we have a sense of how many children or families do not have a stable home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What am I doing, adding or subtracting?
STUDENTS: Adding.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adding, very good.
RAMOS: And the lack of great jobs out there to provide for the families is part of that root causes of homelessness in New York City.
GRAPHICS: During the 2024-25 school year, 1 in 7 NYC public school students experienced homelessness in some form. That is approximately 154,000 homeless students, according to New York State data.
DAYISJA: Stop.
RAMOS: Dayisja, she stated, I need to do whatever it takes for us to do what we need to stay together as a family. And for me, I think that that's what gave it all. Let me give her an opportunity.
DAYISJA: So I actually applied for being a school aide at PS 188. After that, I ended up working for PS 188 in April of this year.
These are older kids. You want to stay in there? I'm going to check 317.
And when I went for my first day, they noticed that I had kids because I always kept talking about my kids. And they enrolled them, and they was able to start the next day of when I first started working.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think? Should I write another statement there?
RAMOS: I would love to be able to continue to share with everyone every story of someone that's homeless is not the same. That there's definitely hope. I've seen it 100 percent. I have seen a great improvement in both. With Brooklynn and especially Maileia, they are talking to other students that are going through the same process of being in a shelter or being homeless, but at the same time are getting the support that they need to become better.
BROOKLYNN: This is the final touch, the ears. What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brooklynn, do you know what homelessness is?
BROOKLYNN: Homeless means like, that means, they're like sad because they don't have like any money or food to eat because they don't have any money to buy anything. Some people just eat from the trash, or some people just beg for food.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you homeless? Tell me what you want people to know about you.
BROOKLYNN: Because some people are rich and some people are not. But when I was born with my mom, I came beautiful.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:16:35]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Melissa is going to do your intake, OK?
GRAPHICS: Streetwork Drop-in Center.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you stand right here, she's going to make you an I.D.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, guys. How's everybody?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.
SEBASTIEN VANTE, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, STREETWORK PROJECT: When you think of folks who work in these type of settings, it's like I'm saving someone and I'm rescuing them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you?
VANTE: And I think the way Streetwork approaches the work is like, no, we are honored to walk alongside the young people in their journey.
My name is Sebastien Vante. I'm the associate vice president of Streetwork programs at Safe Horizon. We have three core programs. So there are two drop-in centers. Then we have our crisis shelter. And then lastly, we have street outreach.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, guys. We work for Safe Horizon.
VANTE: Handing out hot meals to folks. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, here you go, honey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're welcome.
VANTE: Meeting young people literally on the street and connecting them to the drop-ins or to shelter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stay safe and out of trouble, OK?
VANTE: I think youth homelessness is a crisis in the city. What complicates it is that our young people are often invisible, right, because when you think of homelessness, folks have a very clear picture for themselves what that looks like, right. It's someone literally sleeping on the street, tattered clothing. And for many of our young people, part of their survival, part of how they are able to survive is by blending in.
And at our drop-in centers, we offer what we call like a one-stop-shop model. We try to bring as many resources available to our program.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oliver, did you get your meal ticket? No problem.
VANTE: Appearance is very important to a lot of our young people. Many of our young people work, so making sure they don't have an odor, making sure that their clothes are clean and that they're maintaining their hygiene.
JABARI JONES, STREETWORK PROJECT, SAFE HORIZON: We wash clothes for free for our clients. We have feminine products. We also have soap, deodorant, razors. We have two showers so clients any day can take a shower here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Streetwork Uptown. No problem.
VANTE: Many of the young folks that we see that come to our program come to us through word of mouth, like another young person who is navigating homelessness told another young person who is also navigating homelessness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to know, do you need anything?
VANTE: We provide them that support in finding a shelter.
JONES: Hi, Imani. How are you?
IMANI MILES, 22 YEARS OLD: I'm OK.
JONES: Some of your packages came. Let me get them for you. So we can go back to my office. I know we can talk about the housing options so we can just come back. Is that OK?
MILES: Yes.
JONES: OK. MILES: So actually, right now, I newly became a street homeless.
JONES: Hi, my name is Jabari Jones from Safe Horizon's Streetwork. How are you doing today? Yes, I'm doing fine. I have an individual just interested if you all have any available beds today? OK. OK. Thank you so much.
They didn't have any beds today, but I'm going to give you their number. You can also check back in the morning, and I can check with them in the morning, too.
[20:20:02]
JOE WESTMACOTT, DIRECTOR OF HOUSING AND BENEFITS STREETWORK PROJECT: Hi, my name is Joe Westmacott. And I'm the director of Housing and Benefits Resources at Safe Horizon's Streetwork Project. There is definitely not a reliable count of how many youth and young adults experience homelessness in New York City. Currently, there's 800 youth shelter beds in the city.
And given that on the coldest night of the year, we knew that there were over 10,000 youth counted as homeless, that's obviously not sufficient. So if a young person comes into our drop-in center and says, I need shelter tonight, odds are there will not be any available beds because the youth shelters are always full.
MILES: So now, currently what I do is around 8:00 pm, I head to the middle of Times Square because that's where the overnight shelter I go to is. So those types of shelters, you're not allowed to sleep like flat on like the floor or on a mattress. We can only sleep on fold-out chairs. You don't really think about how like bad it seems or it looks because that's like your only option. This is better than me being on like a sidewalk.
I was supposed to make a left, not right. So we're going to go this way. At 6:00 am, they wake us up, and then they're like, bye. And then we have like the whole day to figure out what we're doing. And so I try to fill my day with like activities and like things to do at different drop-ins, kind of like here, all over the city.
Hello. I'm here for vote class.
WESTMACOTT: New York City operates eight homeless youth drop-in centers, five of which, one in each borough, operates 24 hours a day. They are not allowed to have sleeping furniture, so they can't have cots or anything because they are not licensed to be shelters. The overnight drop-in centers are life-saving stopgaps to help young people stay off of literally the streets. It's an important stopgap, and it's also definitely not enough.
MILES: I don't think I've ever had a stable home. So my dad, I have no idea who he is. I never met him. I've never seen him. I didn't grow up with my mother. I grew up with my aunt. I was given to my aunt when I was one years old. My aunt, she started to have mental breaks. She lost her job. She pulled me out of school. Often, I had to take care of myself type of thing. I often slept on the couch or on the floor when I was younger. There was just nowhere for me to sleep.
I will say that was the point, though, where like I had a lot of depression, and a lot of suicidal ideation. I was 10. Because I was just really sad at that point because I kind of felt really hopeless at that point.
Now, where is the one-trip ticket?
On the weekends, many of the drop-in centers are actually closed. So what I typically do is I honestly just try to find ways to waste time. And it's usually like on transportation. But I definitely try to use as many like coping skills as I can. And most of the time, that's my headphones. That's my music.
Music definitely brings me joy. I like producing it. I like composing it. I like writing it. I like singing it.
(MUSIC)
So I hadn't made music in a while, honestly, because it was really hard. There's not really a good place to do it. So I went to the shelter restroom and I closed the little window that we have in there. What I do is I just, literally, I'm on my phone like this but I'm playing a piano. And yes, I just started to make the lyrics as I went.
(MUSIC)
A lot of people don't know this, too, but there are also a lot of really talented homeless people. They just don't have the funds or the means to be able to fully express it.
(MUSIC)
People who say that we don't have ambition, we don't have dreams, we're not smart, I just think they don't know too much about people.
[20:25:06]
And they've never talked to a homeless person in their life.
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:30:02]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been here since January 27th of this year. I love helping young adults because I was there where they're at, being homeless and all that. Chips, sunflower seeds. Maybe one of them eating, and they get to the bottom of the bag, and they see this, and they want to call.
VANTE: Outreach is how Streetwork began, right? Meeting young people where they are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Appreciate you so much. VANTE: The purpose of outreach is to go out into communities where
young people may be like literally on the street to, you know, raise awareness, to give information.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So let's see how long is that drive.
VANTE: And part of it takes a lot of research, too, in going into areas that are not the safest areas, but they do it anyway. And they really love what they do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm trying to be like a representation to youth. Like, hey, look at me. I understand it's hard living in New York City. You don't have parents or you don't have people that care for you, but it's people that are doing this line of work that actually care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Turn right onto the Robert F. Kennedy bridge ramp.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got you, baby. This is every day, it's on a fly. We don't know if we're going to come back. You know, we can have an accident. So it's like you have to want this, just like her. You want to make a difference. Other than this is not for you. This is not for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks for driving me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Are you good, my love?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How y'all doing? We're from Safe Horizon. We work for --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, we work with Safe Horizon. I know y'all was playing the game. But we're just trying to give a helping hand to people that may need it. You know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I got a runaway friend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please tell him to call. Game, let's go. Who going to win? You got it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great job, little man.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good job. Yes. Did you hear the tall guy said he had a friend that was homeless?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, you see? I didn't even hear that one. Or even one of them, they could be going through a crisis at home and they could utilize our services. So you never know. Keep spreading the word.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep spreading the word. We have to merge over. So we need to get all the way over. I've been in this field now for, I want to say, 26 years. I have a son. Well, I had a son. He passed away last year June. And he struggled growing up. He had a hard time. I just feel that it wasn't enough help for him. I felt like the places that I was sending him wasn't -- they didn't care.
Here is a bag with some snacks and some information.
And I got into this field because I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to mother a child who is not mothered by their mother. You know? So everything that outreach does, it makes a big difference. Saves a life.
VANTE: I would describe the team as just amazing. Our outreach team goes out six nights a week. They operate between the hours of 7:00 p.m. up until 3:00 a.m. in the morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you guys ever sleep?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. I sleep from 3:00 until 6:00. And then I get up and get ready for work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You seem like a very nice young man. And you have smarts. And you finished school. There's a lot of opportunities out there for you. But you have to go get them.
VANTE: I think of Streetwork as like a radical act of love in a city that can be unforgiving.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You haven't used in two days. I'm so proud of you. That means you can do this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you look great.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Appreciate that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You look great.
Can I get a hug?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Appreciate you for the help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God bless you. God bless you. You be good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything you're doing.
JONES: Hey, hey. How are you doing? How are you doing, Malachi? How you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can y'all just have your I.D.'s out? Thank you. MALACHI, 18 YEARS OLD: If drop-in centers didn't exist, I'll probably
be dead right now. Straight up. The point I'm making is this economy has failed us. Even me as an 18-year-old, know what I'm saying? Like, I'm young, but I can see, like, very, very, very closely that this economy, it's not working for me.
[20:35:01]
I feel destroyed. I feel like crumbled pieces. Not even, you know, like when you break a glass and you've got to like hot glue it back together? That's kind of how I feel. Like, those tiny little cracks, they're gone. I'm never going to find them. Like, they're lost in a carpet or you already swept them up. Like I'm missing parts of me. Like I feel like a lot of people struggle with the word homeless. They think homeless and they think broke crackhead on 125th. When I think of homeless, I think of me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Come on in.
MILES: (singing). I'm done. Thank you. Thank you. I've moved a few times since we last met. So at first, I was sleeping in the shelter I mentioned before where it was like on a chair. But I was able to get a bed. I will also say it was my birthday. Yay. Blessing and not a blessing. So I turned 22. Each time I get a year older, I also lose services. So it's also kind of like a race against like aging out of everything and trying to be as stable as I can be before that happens.
VANTE: Eighteen to 24 is a very vulnerable age. There are very limited resources for that particular group. And if there weren't programs like ours or programs that work specifically with runaway and homeless youth, who knows where these folks would be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the Legacy of Love Kiki Ball.
VANTE: For as long as I've been at Streetwork, we've had a Kiki ball. And that's a space for young people to like show their talents. And many of them have experienced some form of trauma and violence. But they've created this little community with each other that celebrates joy and pride. And we want to honor the community. We want them to feel celebrated, and loved, and seen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:43:37]
MILES: Got my letter of certificate of completion.
(MUSIC)
MILES: I felt relieved. I guess I felt relieved and a tiny bit proud. Tiny bit. Tiny bit. Tiny bit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations.
MILES: thank you. I feel like if I had housing, I would have been able to study a lot more. I feel like a lot of things can factor in because I will say there were some times where I also couldn't go to school because I couldn't pay to get there on the subway. So basically, this means that I graduated with honors and I got over the average score.
This is great. This is something that I can say that I did and an achievement that I have that not a lot of people can say that they have, especially in my position. But at the same time, this is not the end and it's not enough.
GRAPHICS: For more than a year, she has survived off the $200 a month she earns from part-time work.
[20:45:07]
MILES: Basically, I haven't been able to get any jobs. I don't know what to do. I've tried everything. I've interviewed before. I've had jobs for a really long time. I'm usually pretty good. I'm crying because my sister, she sent me money. That's why I'm crying. I was like, I'm hungry, and I'm broke, and I need a job. And I requested $10. And I was like, I just -- I want food today. I want food.
I usually will stay up at night like 2:00 a.m. sometimes to just like apply for jobs. I've applied for retail, a lot of retail operations, warehouse, customer service, front of house, beauty adviser. I've applied for a lot of fast food places, greeter, server, busser, three- round interviews, two-round interviews, group interviews, individual interviews, all these different types of interviews that for like very basic jobs that are very entry level jobs.
I had to do two interviews with Trader Joe's, one with a assistant manager and one with a manager.
It gets to a point where it's like, OK, guys, it's almost been a year now and I still don't have a job.
Hopefully, this works out. I've heard Trader Joe's is such a good job and such a hard job to get into because it's so competitive because it's such a nice working environment. And they have really good food sometimes, really good snacks that are pretty cheap. So we'll see. Fingers crossed. I'm going to update you --
I think that there's only so much a person in my situation can do. I am actively applying for jobs. I've got my degree. Everything that would have elevated me, I've done for myself. Right? But when it comes to housing, unless I can pull money out of thin air, I'm not really getting an apartment tomorrow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why have this conversation? Why share your story?
MILES: How do I say this? I think that I do this to bring awareness not only to like people who've never been through it before, but also people who are going through it currently. There's a lot of us. Homelessness doesn't really define me. I have many facets as a human, as a person, as an individual. There's more beyond that. But I think people really get stuck on that first part.
There you go. Test. Test. That they don't see anything else.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's cooking.
DAYISJA: Here you go.
BROOKLYNN: Chicken. Chicken.
DAYISJA: I figured you wouldn't want me to interrupt.
BROOKLYNN: Chicken. Chicken.
GRAPHICS: After 13 months in her current job, Dayisja's application for NYC subsidized housing was approved. Finally, she and the girls are moving out of shelter and getting a place of their own.
BROOKLYNN: I can't wait to move out, pretty much.
DAYISJA: I know. Or hang out with mommy.
BROOKLYNN: I want my own bathroom, and I want my own toy kitchen. And I --
DAYISJA: OK. A toy kitchen we could probably do, OK. If you be good.
Since becoming homeless at like 18, I've seen how much it like impact me into my adult life. I'm always feeling like the walls is caving in. Like I just can't get out of that closed space. Feeling like I'm being judged everywhere I go. Oh, how can you consider yourself homelessness if you stay in a shelter that gives you food? People think of this as a luxury. This is not a luxury at all.
[20:50:00]
It's a mental strain. It's a physical strain. And that's why I'm just really trying to break out of it because my kids did not ask to keep on having to switch from home to home, being on the street. And I'm tired to keep on having to fight another way. It has to end.
Are you ready to decorate? I'm ready to decorate.
BROOKLYNN: I'm ready to decorate now.
DAYISJA: I already had everything in my mind planned. Made me an Amazon cart last year. So I'm ready. Everything is manifesting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:55:03]
MILES: I got it. I got the job. I got it. I got it. I got it. $19 an hour because I'm just a little bit experienced. I got the job. This has been like a year, a year and a half, me with no job. Look at that. Look at that. Oh, my god. Yes. And yes, I'm just happy. I'm just so happy. OK, bye, bye, bye.
The good news that I got last week is that I started working at Trader Joe's. My manager told me that about a couple thousand people applied to this specific position in this specific area, and that only five of us were picked. And I was one of the five.
It feels exciting. It feels like a relief. But then at the same time, at the end of the day, I am still only a young adult, minimum wage worker, who financially supports herself. As a person who's young and who's homeless, I think the reason why it's happening so often and so much right now is because no one can afford anything. It's not just us. Our parents can't afford anything. Like people in my life are getting evicted. They might be homeless soon, people in their lives. And unfortunately, in terms of that, we're at the very, very bottom of that pyramid.
I usually only come like once every three months or so. It's not expensive at all. It's like $14 a session for an hour. G major.
I do want my future to have music involved, but to like also give back to people who either have similar experiences as me, or maybe they want to make music, or they can't because they don't have money. Music has helped me so much. I have more hope. But at the same time, it's hard to have hope.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, next up, I'm going to have Sebastien, associate vice president of Safe Horizon.
(CHEERS)
VANTE: What I think people don't realize is that by supporting this group, it is an investment in the future.
But right now, our system is at a breaking point.
When a young person doesn't have resources or access to things, they resort to survival behavior to kind of make it through. This is an issue that can be solved if we redirected or allocated the money or the funding because as it stands now, it costs the city more money for shelters, for hospital stays, first responders' responses. That's just not working, as opposed to just giving folks access to affordable housing.
GRAPHICS: New York City is experiencing its worst housing shortage in half a century. The mayor's office says it produced over 33,000 affordable homes in 2025. Experts say more than 500,000 are needed.
QUINN: Right now in New York City, our homeless crisis is as bad as it has ever been. The number of families with children who are homeless is at a record high. Rents are at record highs. You put those two together, you see the reality of how hard it is for low-income families to find apartments that they can afford.
We need to build more housing writ large. And we need to build more housing that have rents that are affordable to people who are exiting shelter. DAYISJA: You're not going to be able to get on it. Come on.
BROOKLYNN: But this one is slippery.
DAYISJA: There are some people that are just like me that had jobs, had places, and they fell on hard times. It happens. And that's what I'm trying to explain to most people.
BROOKLYNN: I want to go on that one.
DAYISJA: You want to go where?
BROOKLYNN: That one.
DAYISJA: People that are homeless, they have futures. They're more than what you perceive them to be. We're human.
