Homelessness woven into the streets of Venice
- Madeline Arnold
- Feb 9, 2017
- 3 min read
The homeless community is tightly nestled behind Gold's Gym in Venice, California. Tents, chairs, shopping carts, and sleeping bags, all create makeshift homes for homeless people on the streets behind Gold's Gym. Homeless people are very much interwoven into the fabric of the community. A community that includes trendy shops and upscale restaurants.
The Gold's Gym members walk quickly past the row of homeless people to get to their workout. Paul Duke, a member since 2002, shared, "They are comfortable there, but it is not an appropriate way of living. As a woman, I do not think you would want to pass them at night and feel safe."
Another active member of Gold's Gym, Milo Gonzalez, discussed his view of the homeless street. "It's one thing if they are passive and just being there, but it's another thing when they are aggressive like blasting their music and smashing things. One time, I saw a guy screaming and blasting music from his car. It was scary."
However, the members are conditioned to the observable lifestyle and for most, they accept the homeless community in their backyard as they park their BMWs, Fiats, Mercedes, and Audis next to their sidewalk.
The famous bodybuilder, actor, and former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, frequently works out at Gold's Gym, which proudly displays his memorabilia. He scorns the homeless community as he feels they negatively impact the reputation of his gym.
The homeless community has lived behind Gold's Gym for years. Operations Manager, Lauren Shaefer, gave her perspective on this difficult and important issue. "It's a tough situation. Many of them are nice. Others are on drugs, and the police have gone to that street and addressed it. Some members feed them, and people want to give them a homeless shelter. They are human, and we need to treat them as humans. We just need to make sure that they don't harass our members."
A losing hand was dealt to the majority of people that caused them to be homeless. Jackson, who only stated his last name, age 63, explained, "I got dementia. You heard of Alzheimer's?" He continued to proceed with a rambling monologue while rarely maintaining eye contact. "I'm a college professor. You know Harvard in Massachusetts? Princeton, that's in New Jersey. I'm suppose to buy a house in England at Buckingham Palace with the Queen of England cuz she knows me." Jackson then began to imitate the Queen of England as he laughed. Next, he reached into his pockets. "Ok, I got quarters." Jackson looked at me, "So, you go to school. I might see you in Cambridge with the Queen." Jackson looked away and continued his free flowing of thoughts. "I was at the airport. The narcs were there." Jackson looked down and held his head down, while lowering his voice, "If I was making the money, no problem. I'm not making the money." He walked away from me, still looking down and said, "I got too much." He paused for a second and ended with his final thought, "Too much of that."
Aaron, a 63 year old veteran, who is homeless and just got out of the V.A. hospital shared his story with me. He understood my wanting to help the homeless people. Mostly, he just wanted to talk. He stated, "I just got out of the V.A." In fact, he was still wearing the hospital wristband. He looked at his bags and belongings, clustered around his feet. "I found this bike frame. I'm okay now. Yes, Ma'am. Thank you for helping." After complimenting his Angels cap, he concluded multiple sentiments. "I like baseball, but I'm not a fan of the Angels, but I do believe in angels."
Recently, it rained frequently in Los Angeles. Two homeless people snuggled in their sleeping beds under a building to stay dry. They knit together a unique home for the long night.
People go about their daily lives encountering homeless people, typically ignoring them. They stay healthy and fit with gym memberships such as the Equinox in Santa Monica compared to the homeless who go to these safe areas in order to survive.
Suffering a life of stress, homeless people endure daily pain and loss of hope. I reached out to these homeless people and told them that I wanted to help. The middle man shined a heart at me and shouted, "Thank you. Share love." The man on the left does not own shoes.
Gold's Gym recognizes their suffering. The gym allows the homeless people to take water from the outside faucet, and people sometimes gives them food.
In the end, this symbiotic relationship provides comfort and some easing of their pain as they continue to live in tents behind Gold's Gym for decades.
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