Hal Eisner's Blog

"We're living like freakin' gypsies out of plastic bags!" That's what a man tells me in Malibu. On November 24th, like so many others, he became homeless. Fire destroyed not only his home, but the art show he was putting together. 4 years of artwork he had made he says. 

Another victim of the Corral Canyon fire says she'd really like to get back to work. She worked in her home ... made things out of leather ... lost her home ... is making nothing -- no custom leather products -- no money!

A third person tells me her now 14 month old boy celebrated his first birthday in a temporary place ... essentially, though, little Ryan blew out his first candle being homeless. A victim of a word he can't yet say ... fire.

These were some of the things I heard at the top of Corral Canyon Thursday talking with people suing the California Park System. They think the state dropped the ball when it came to keeping people out of canyon caves on park property. The area is supposed to be closed at night to the public, but partiers get in there all the time and it was, according to investigators, during the night that a fire -- started in a cave for light and warmth -- turned into a torch leaving people from over 50 homes without homes .... HOMELESS!

"Its sad," another victim tells me as she hugs her kids. Again all of this on Thursday.
On Wednesday, in Ontario, a man in his 50s tells me he needs help. He yells "the homeless are treated better in third world countries!" He's one of hundreds of homeless people living in a tent city created by the City of Ontario to help solve a problem in the Downtown area created by homelessness. Problem is ... the tent city created to solve a problem has become one!

Its gotten too big a city official tells me. Too many people -- too many tents. The tall bearded man whose upset about the conditions tells me there aren't enough portable toilets and just one shower for everyone.

The city says it wants to see people who came to Ontario to join the encampment go back to the places from where they came and get help from their own cities. "We don't have the resources!" says the official from the housing department I spoke with. but how to tell the HOMELESS to GO HOME? The official says its being discussed, but that's got to be a tricky conversation on a lot of levels.

For me, it was an eye-opening two days ... people who lost their homes -- people that have none. I've seen both of these things before. I've heard these kind of comments before. And, just like before, both were reminders that problems I have aren't nearly as big as the ones others are having!