PHOTO/CHRIS VENN
LOS ANGELES — I’m taking a stand on 5th and San Pedro and I refuse to leave until everyone is off the ground.
I was standing on 6th and San Pedro on one leg after the police officers broke my leg then dumped me from jail. They call that police dumping. So I cried out for help and Skid Row saved my life and one guy I didn’t know brought me a wheelchair. Someone else brought me food. They brought me clothing then they pushed me to 5th and San Pedro where I ran into Community Support Center. There was a nice man inside. His name was Lawrence. He let me in his office and I asked him if I could do free alterations for the community. I owe my life to Skid Row and I’m never leaving. I’m going to be that little old sewing lady and I’ll be the last to leave. Outside in this community you get the support. People come here to get away.
Skid Row saves lives.
It’s a damn shame to have to fight for our rights. I don’t go for life’s rules. I pray for them, whatever happens. I don’t think we should have to vote for our rights.
Tents up, house down. Take your house down and tell me how you like it. I have to take my tent down at 6 AM. If I refuse to take it down then I go to jail. I complied with their rules and I got sick. I had to wait until 9 pm to put up my tent. LA CAN (Los Angeles Community Action Network) and community leaders got a restraining order against the police. The police stressed me out so bad I thought, how do I change things? Stop police terror. I can’t get a good night’s sleep because I’m afraid I won’t wake up by 6 AM. The police are terrorizing the homeless.
Skid Row doesn’t need the police. Courtney was shot in the head by her lover and the community here chased down her killer and held him for the police. The cops are gangbanging. They gangbang us. They’re just another Ku Klux Klan and they’ve been getting away with murder. And I’m here to spread the news about what the police are doing. We don’t need the system or the jail. Accidents happen. Skid Row was a heavenly place. Whatever happened to ‘Officer Friendly’?
I’m so respected on 5th and San Pedro. They call me the governor. All we need is for the police to leave us alone. Nobody wants us. The police don’t want us. Our families don’t want us. You can’t end the homelessness. They don’t want to provide us with resources. See what they do here? Everyone helps you. In rich neighborhoods people won’t talk with anyone. People don’t need money when you’ve got community. Community is when everyone pitches in.
Why can’t I have a picnic every day? If everyone pitches in then no one has to work hard. There’s a gift in giving.
