We all want power and luxuries

Everyday each and every one of us are solving problems and making choices.  We need to eat, have a safe place to sleep and a space to keep our stuff. We all want a place to call home. While you may take it for granted that you have these issues covered, not every does.

This documentary is about the people solving these basic issues and creating a space they call home. First you need a bed, place to keep your clothes, a source of water and a long list of necessities.  Once you get the basics taken care of the desire begins for the luxuries.

Homeless people are no different than the rest of the population. They want a little luxury in their living space too.  The first luxury on the list tends to be electricity. With that you can watch television, power a fan and run a whole host of appliances such as a hot plate to cook with.

Now how can a homeless person get electricity you might ask? When there is a will, there is a way. As far back as the 1990’s electricity showed up in shantytowns by way of streetlights. No, not just the light itself but it also the power it delivered in the form of electricity.

At the base of the streetlight there is an electrical box and wires. Now the juice in them was a 220 current and some homeless people were smart enough to rewire it down to 110 and create an outlet to plug things in. There were fires in the shantytowns so we may assume that occasionally the source may have been from a bad electrical issue.

In the photo is John. He was a quiet man I met in the 1990’s while the mental institutions had released all the patients to the streets of Miami. I always assumed he was a former patient since he lacked people skills and never talked much. He barely ever spoke. What he lacked in the art of communication he made up for in technical ability. He sat in his shanty by day and fixed broken appliances he found in the garbage.

Presently, when homeless camps want electricity they run small personal generators. There is an issue of not having the generators get stolen but that is something they need to cope with as part of daily survival. 

If you were facing dire circumstances such as homelessness what luxury would you want and how far would you go to manifest and maintain it?