– [Mark Horvath] Kim. – Yeah. – [Mark Horvath] We’re here at a hotel in Wentzville, Missouri. You’re homeless. Tell me about it. – Well, how I got started was in 2002, we had lost our home because
we got behind on our rent and everything, and so we had to vacate. And we’ve been bouncing from
place to place since then. And we managed to get up enough money to where we got another
place in Rolling Meadows, and then I lost, or my
husband got laid off from his job, and we lost that again. So we’re back to square one,
moving from place to place and staying with friends a few times, and then we wound up having
to go to the Salvation Army because I we wound up
not having enough money to be able to do anything anymore. And I went back to work and everything, and we started saving money up and got our of the Salvation Army. We came here several times
in the past four years, four or five years. And I’m still working and trying
to take care of my family, and hopefully soon, we find out if we, when our name comes up on
the Section 8 housing list, and hopefully, we will get in a place and keep it this time. – [Mark Horvath] Now,
when you say you’re here with you’re family, there’s
five of you in one small room. – Yes. – [Mark Horvath] There’s you. – It’s me, my husband, our two daughters and my granddaughter. – [Mark Horvath] And how
old’s your granddaughter? – She’s four months old. – [Mark Horvath] Wow, and
you’re all living in one room. – Yes. – [Mark Horvath] See
people don’t see this. They think of homelessness as
that guy on the street corner. They don’t see this. – No, they don’t. And they don’t realize that there is more to just a single person on the streets. It can wind up being whole families. – [Mark Horvath] Right, and you know. – To where kids, you know,
kids have to go to school from different locations. – [Mark Horvath] Right, and you guys don’t have transportation. – Right now, no. Our transmission went out in our car. We’re trying to get the
labor charge paid on that so we can get it back and
get it legal and everything. And, like I said, my
daughter has been having to catch a bus here,
since we’ve been here, since she goes to school
in Wentzville district, there’s times when she’s had to take a cab from the Salvation Army. And it’s rough on teenagers,
have to at a cab to school. – [Mark Horvath] People
might not understand. – Right, they don’t. – [Mark Horvath] You’re
the only one working, and you work at McDonald’s. – Yes. – [Mark Horvath] So
taking a cab takes money. – Yes. I mean, at the Salvation Army,
we didn’t have to pay for it. The school district
paid for it, but still. – [Mark Horvath] Right, and now. – It’s the point of it. – [Mark Horvath] Right, and now here is, you’re in one of the better hotels because here Paul has
arranged for churches to come feed every night. – Yes. – [Mark Horvath] And it’s
one of the better places, clean and seems a little safer. – Yes. – [Mark Horvath] But it’s still homeless. – I’ve offered to help the management here by cleaning rooms, whatever
they need help with. I clean the breakfast room every night after the churches get done. – [Mark Horvath] But it’s five of you. It’s five of you in this one little room. That’s crazy. – Yes. – [Mark Horvath] Oh my gosh. – And luckily, there’s agencies around that are willing to help me
as far as diapers, wipes, formula for my granddaughter because that gets costly. And, you know, my daughter is on WIC, but she only gets a
limited amount per month, and my granddaughter goes
through it fairly quick. – [Mark Horvath] What
would you want people to know about homelessness? – That there is families out there that, there’s some people that are
sleeping in different locations in their cars with their kids. There’s got to be other
ways that we can help, that we can be helped. There’s got to be more
facilities that can help, lodging, anything that
can help the families that are homeless, that
are trying to get back on their feet financially
to be able to get a home for their families, to give
their kids what they need. And, I mean, especially
with the holidays coming. – [Mark Horvath] If you had three wishes, what would they be? – A car to be able to get around, a home, and a job for my husband. (laughing) – [Mark Horvath] Well, thank you very much for talking to me. – You’re welcome, Mark.