MSNBC Investigates: The Runaways (2001)

Cable television special about homeless youth in Portland, Oregon.

[@jayaCatLvr-ys5ix]

I left home at 14 and moved in with friends. One of my roommates did house cleaning for a living. She helped me get some house cleaning jobs. I never contacted my family again. I will always be grateful to my friends who helped me when I really needed it. This was years ago. Im in my 60's and retired.

[@GS-zc4sk]

Congrats. Time flys ⏳

[@jayaCatLvr-ys5ix]

@@GS-zc4sk I wish you the best also😁

[@reaganlachapelle4151]

20 years ago almost. Crazy seeing yourself in active addiction after years of sobriety. Some of us made it out. Much love to those did not, those still fighting their addictions and the loved ones caught in heartache.

[@mjkrbjcw]

Are you in this ? Well done for turning it round 👍🏻

[@christopher9086]

Yo what’s up Reagan! It’s Chris here! Still clean and doing well, bought a house and had a baby last year! Have you been back to Tomorrow’s grave at all?

[@HeatherMackay]

Yup, I was the bush woman looking girl at minute 11 talking about not having bugs and shitty heroin. So cringe. Glad I made it out , not a lot do.

[@JohnDoe12345]

@@christopher9086 Hi Chris, Reagan, and Heather. Good to see you all here. I'm curious to know what happened to Emily Krupa and Jessie.

[@JohnDoe12345]

@@HeatherMackay I'm glad you made it out.

[@joelone01]

got anymore old hidden docos they dont make them this good anymore

[@noneofyourbusiness6764]

Streetwise in Seattle is good.

[@realcmdrkeen]

Streetwise brought me here

[@avalondreaming1433]

Noneof Yourbusiness The best.

[@joelone01]

@@noneofyourbusiness6764 yes seen that it's good

[@kani9284]

Black tar heroin from 1995

[@bellevaeinsideout]

Thanks for the upload ! Been looking for this for long time

[@aliastagami2346]

The girl who goes by "Jessie" (not her real name) died on Sunday morning (11/17/2019) from an overdose of heroin laced with fentanyl. It is a sad loss. She had two children. The end of this documentary ends with her getting on a bus to go home to her family. I was with her family when we picked her up from the bus station. She never really recovered, and it is painful to think about her struggle.

[@MedusaMayflower]

This documentary ends with Emily getting on a bus, not Jessie.

[@bibselena3822]

Whats her real name?

[@andya2547]

Proof ?

[@spacequeenruby]

Proof??

[@aliastagami2346]

Her daughter graduated HS this year. NOTE: Yes, I was mistaken. Emily closes out the story getting on a bus, but "Jessie" is said to come home around minute 40 of this. She also took a Greyhound bus home.

[@loriellajames6978]

I ran away at home in 1997 when I was 10 y/o. I was being treated like a slave, free caregiver, and someone was stealing my money. I only came back to retrieve my belongings. I wish I left home as a teenager. My childhood was Hell.

[@GS-zc4sk]

✊

[@KimmySemak]

I’m so sorry :(. wow 10 is my little boys age and i can’t even imagine him out there. what ended up happening to you? Also what city were you living in?

[@loriellajames6978]

@@KimmySemak The same night, after realizing I had nothing to wear the next day, I returned home. This was during a summer evening in 1997 Chicago, IL. My life did not get better after that. My relationship with my family has been an emotional roller coaster.

[@SuperHazel9]

Jessie is so beautiful, no make up or anything just a natural beauty, surely she could be a model or something, what a waste of a young life, and I know she chose this lifestyle but it's still so sad.

[@yogalyfe]

Lolol because it's so easy to be a model and pays so much money

[@ivantheterriblepart3]

Brittany Fletcher Lol right!

[@kani9284]

She looks a bit like Chrissy Teigen

[@4locofish]

"Jessie" not her real name, unfortunately passed away in 2019. She had two children...its so sad. RIP.

[@Moises-kf1hg]

I wonder how her life tuned out. You can tell she has a presence about her( not just physical), but you can tell her mind is strong with leadership qualities

[@benbrice9343]

I remember watching this on TV when it first came out. I had an immediate flash back to my teenage year's as soon as I saw the girl in the thumbnail.

[@kstephens4627]

I grew up in this lifestyle and surprisingly went on to join the military. Amazing how sleeping outside all the time and eating shitty food as a civilian helped me out when I enlisted 😂🤘🏻

[@ivantheterriblepart3]

Lady Liberty's Lens Has anyone told you that you look like Betty Paige?

[@1_foot_in_the_grave]

Congrats homie thts awesome.. 20 plus yrs of opiates myself and heavy drinker forb15/18 yrs. Now im sober n on methadone... dwn from 120 to 50mg tho so im proud o myself

[@loriellajames6978]

Thank you for your service.

[@jnolette1030]

I remember this when it came out. Didnt realize it was 20 years

[@susandruce1064]

i am 63 and i ran away when i was 13....various institutions later,i had children who saved my life....but all the time i lived a transient life,i NEVER drank (and still dont)and NEVER took drugs(and believe me they were around)but i feel sorry for the kids these days...the world has changed so much in 60 years...its unbelievable..with so much expectation on kids to grow up quicker..be aldults when still kids..i thank my lord that my children grew up as children and turned into lovely careing girls...and never had to suffer

[@AlexGarcia-ew2fv]

I'm so happy I never had kids..

[@jayaCatLvr-ys5ix]

Me too. Im childfree.

[@jenniferwilcox9759]

Somebody rescue that poor cat. So, unfair to animals. I don't care how lonely people get. If you can't keep an animal safe and feed it, don't get it.

[@NoneofYourbusiness-fq4dh]

I don;t think she GOT it. It was probably on the street like her.

[@ohmeowzer1]

It broke my heart to see that poor Kitty .omg I love my cat and I saw that kitty and my heart broke

[@sciencenotsrigma]

I’m sure she fed her cat. I do admit the two needed to be taught how to handle a scared kitty, but I do believe they cared about, and looked after, him or her. The kitty was on a harness and leash, and she was holding it. That’s good! I was a street kid. A lot of street people are looking out for homeless cats (and a few dogs) who would starve, otherwise. I knew a homeless dude who rescued his dog from a dogfighting ring. He asked me to house-sit him once and I had to say no, because I have 2 cats! He said the dog is gentle, but with his background, you never know. I felt kinda like the jerks who don’t want to hire us or rent us apartments, but I think this was an exception (I do have a place …it’s just substandard). I owned a house, til my husband almost killed me. Then, I was back on the street, but I’m working on building some stability, now. No way could I put my babies at risk! He was the sweetest dog I’ve met, but you also have to respect their instincts! Disney-fying animals, like glamorizing homelessness, isn’t responsible. Some have their pet before they become homeless, and didn’t plan on it. Regardless of the title, I didn’t think living on the street was fun, as a kid, or plan to have to be there. I’ve done a lot of feline rescue, as an adult. Don’t worry…it’s in conjunction with shelters & I have 2 cats who were too sick (Asia) and behaviorally disordered (Sin) to be adopted out. Sinful was on death row. He’s the sweetest cat ever, IRL. He’s got something like my combination of PTSD & autism, cause he’s like the kitty me. He’s my life. I put their medical and food needs before mine, as long as I can still care for them. One has FIV/kitty AIDS, and the other has severe allergies, one of the worst cases of inflammatory GI disease our vet has seen and a neurological disorder called Hyperesthesia, which translates to extreme nervous system & sensory sensitivity, but when he has attacks, he bites and scratches. He’s not aware of what he’s doing…his eyes are blank, at the time. It’s theorized to be some type of seizure, by some. He doesn’t hurt Asia, because she knows to back off until he’s himself, but I hold him and tell him he’s OK, because it’s scary for him. He also bites himself badly, when it’s not under good control. He’s made incredible progress, with us (me & his sis)! He turns his back to me, when he feels it coming on, and scratches and bites the air instead! I pet his back and tell him he’s such a good boi! ❤. He rides on my shoulders . crawls under the covers with me at night, and lap sits for hours. We visited the Humane Society & they said, “Why do you like us now? You didn’t like us at all, before.” I’m so glad I could help, because he is the only one who understands my autistic meltdowns. We’re a perfect match! When my chronic physical illness is too much, Asia glues herself to my chest, where I clutched her, for 6 months of her opportunistic infections, as a kitten. She would try to crawl off & hide and I’d say NO, I need you with me. It’s not your time, today. Her “dad” (he adopted her), I credit for my recovery, 100%! He got kidney disease, and I couldn’t buy a substance, when he needed medicine. That was the end of that! My cat lived 4.5 years from diagnosis with supposed Stage 4 kidney failure, to 19 1/2. Sorry for writing a book, Our pets are all we’ve got, in the hard times, and most of us do treat them as such. When we know better, we do better! ❤️‍🩹

[@claytonharper9971]

WTF? ​@@sciencenotsrigma

[@naomibedwell3930]

I wonder whatever happened to these kids, I was a teenage runaway, and fortunatly God spared my life, not after severe consequences , I was raped, hooked on drugs, had guns put in my face. Some of them were not so lucky. I was a troubled teen, my Father was a P.OS and my Mom sent me from Montana to California to go stay with him, he didnt want me and dumped me in a group home, I ran away and ended up on the streets of L.A. and North Hollywood, the girl I ran away with was a seasoned prostitute, she eventually ended up abandoning me.

[@creativespecies7032]

that's crazy how are now?

[@dkoch2]

As sad as this is I love to catch these when they came on tv

[@DavidTokio]

The young girl Emily and her little cat seems so sweet i hope she had her baby safely and has moved on in her life from the street and her guy stayed with her..It would be so interesting to know how these kids are living now 16 yrs later which is a long time. good luck to them all and their addictions which isn't easy to manage in their situations..Non legalization drives these kids to self harm prostitution abuse and death..Its about time changes are made in Governments war on drugs which is a war on its own citizens without empathy, dignity and respect. Shame on Governments and voters who ignore this problem in society.

[@heathershields8233]

Baffles me to think we were runaways. This was me & I was given a bus ticket & told good luck when I aged out. That's who was down there back then.

[@michaelbrinks8089]

Out of foster care at 18? KZbinr ShadeTree Surgeon mentioned in a recent video about that in Florida how when they turn 18 they're just told "bye good luck"......Similar happened to me on my 18th birthday, they day I turned 18 & my mom no longer got child support checks for me. She called the cops on me to have me kicked out.

[@spacequeenruby]

I remember seeing this when i was a kid..so sad that Portland and much of the country is still like this..or worse..our leaders keep failing.

[@axlyoung1218]

I was homeless in 2001 at 18. By bad choices I made. Lucky at end of 03 I went back home. Still had long road. And right lessons to make in life. Now I just turned 40. And my life I say is good. Have beautiful boy (7). A great paying job and my own home. I believe you have to want it. And having someone to help you. Makes a big difference in your life. No child or anyone should be Homeless. Wish had Update on these Kids. See how their lives turned out.

[@breezygodiva503]

I remember these. They came on at the most random times on like fri and sat nights...Crazy to think that that girls baby is around 15 now.

[@soldav4830]

Jazman Smith I know right. I was 17 when this came out.. about to turn 34 ... spent almost the entire time in between addicted to heroin. Its so weird to watch this all these years later

[@jlh8830]

@@soldav4830 As did I but I'm clean now luckily.. Methadone, weed and my child got my head out of the clouds and my ass. Hopefully you have had success with getting and staying sober.

[@soldav4830]

@@jlh8830 congrats. Im about to hit 2 yrs clean from Opioids on December 17th. Im at a low dose of done, and once in a great while I'll hit the dab pen. So I'm in the same boat...my kid, methadone and a lil weed keep me going. Really tho, it's my kid. I would have no desire to do any of this without him.

[@fauntleeeeroy]

That baby won't have survived

[@annettelacey7913]

I'm coming up to 20 yrs clean,methadone and weed helped me to get clean too,good on everyone else in getting clean too,stick with it,life's good without waking up withdrawing everyday,there's so much more to life

[@luzfigueroa1550]

Good people with bad breaks in life I can relate Thats why lm very sympathetic, and compassionate to there situation.

[@erichenderson5688]

I bet you are druggie...

[@ivantheterriblepart3]

Eric Henderson I bet your miserable with your life and hate on people they hustle money out of the norm and your mad they are not stuck like you.

[@monicakelly6273]

Elegant party, junkie rolls up, "Can I come in?" LMAO

[@thethreeboxes5625]

Great humanity bud

[@christopher9086]

Monica Kelly you never know unless you ask!

[@christopher9086]

@Wicked Jester I wouldn’t have considered myself a junkie back then. Or at any point really. A junkie will rob people and steal to support their habit. I begged and worked for my money. I wasn’t stealing from people to support my habit.

[@avamasquerade]

@@christopher9086 careful, psychologically distancing yourself from your rock bottom makes the next one more palatable...

[@christopher9086]

@@avamasquerade what do you mean? Because I don’t and didn’t consider myself a “junkie”? I was an addict that begged and worked for my drugs, not a junkie who steals and robs from people to support my habit. I am not distancing, I am making a distinction.

[@brittanyhyatt3407]

Seeing that chick dragging that poor Kitty everywhere with her on a leash just pisses me off

[@ohmeowzer1]

I know my heart broke ..so horrible for that cat

[@theaceofspades1153]

I sympathize with runaways because I was one.

[@fawnwinter3050]

I immensely hate seeing these guys with pets.

[@Vissago22]

Thanks for the upload! Can you get the whole series?

[@ambersmith7708]

I’m watching this 2018. I wonder how many are still on the streets, or dead?

[@scottcarpenter5789]

I was one of those street kids, I can tell you a lot of us are in homes now and doing good.

[@annettelacey7913]

@@scottcarpenter5789 I'm glad you got off the streets so good on you,iv been homeless and using drugs back in the 90s,im coming up to 20 yrs clean

[@TB-gq5ne]

annette Lacey that’s awesome!!! Happy that you are doing well💗

[@annettelacey7913]

@@TB-gq5ne thank you so much,so glad that part of my life is over,

[@christopher9086]

Amber Smith I am Chris from this doc, I got off the streets and clean about 2 years after this was made. I have been doing quite well. Every year has been a dramatic improvement in quality of life ever since I walked away from that lifestyle.

[@minisithunknown5568]

Does anybody know where I might find the Runaways Ocean Beach episode? I can't find it anywhere. :(

[@erichastovall9995]

"wheres the Rave tonight"....LOL

[@mariedelozier2530]

People who have empathy for th'cat and none for them kidz are a BIG part of what's wrong in modern Western society.

[@smurfmaxineblue6833]

🤣🤣 Are you stupid? Why would it be wrong to care Bout the cat?

[@brittanyhyatt3407]

Probably because these people have a choice. The animals don't.

[@daisyglaze1817]

People who have empathy for the spoiled kids who just want to get high and not for the animals they keep on a leash that they can't afford to feed are what's wrong with society.

[@avamasquerade]

@@daisyglaze1817 Daisy, listen...you know what, nevermind. You deserve to never have your misconceptions corrected.

[@betseyterry844]

I hope Chris made it.

[@christopher9086]

Betsey Terry I did. Very much so.

[@lisaallen8854]

Sex traffickers / human traffickers / pimps prey on those homeless kids it's really sad

[@Moises-kf1hg]

It’s crazy to see this. In 97’ as 14 year old, I spent a year on the streets of DT Portland. It was an experience, but I never had any bad experience and never submitted to the idea of this being my whole life. It would be interesting to get an update on where these people are at today. New avenues for youth had just opened the year I was down there. That long haired guy in the video was one of the workers, then there was a lady I remember being from Wisconsin. Also remember the counselor/therapist being this really pretty Hawaiian looking lady. She’s in fully granny mode by now. This youth is nothing like todays youth or today homeless population of DT Portland. Most of the people here have the ability to snap back, they all seem pretty put together. It’s mainly just grunge street kids that want the vagabond life.

[@diannejjohnson330]

your comment was very interesting. i watched this when it originally aired, then again about a year ago. was in my late twenties when the grunge movement hit. loved the music and bands from that era though. i also hope that the young ppl in this doc are doing ok as well. no matter what was happening then, good bad or indifferent, life and the world was a WHOLE lot better than it is now. much love.

[@michaelbrinks8089]

I remember me & buddy sitting around watching this on TV back around 2000.... We thought it was a crappy way to live but in an odd sort of way kinda thought it was a bit cool also. I guess because they weren't alone & had a whole subculture scene to hang around with. It'd really suck if it was just you all alone with no one to hang around with.

[@mariedelozier2530]

A back-scratch!! One of the cheapest and easiest pleasures there is!!

[@kellymckay1750]

Home sweet home...Portland, Oregon!! "Where the young go to retire."

[@geminienergy]

Watching this after my 17 year old foster son ran away. Im 27 and took him in so he wouldn’t be on street. Loved him gave him everything while preparing him for adulthood but he just wanted to lay up all day sleep play video games and smoke. No school or work and only has like 3 credits anyway. I even was about to pay hundreds for a fast diploma online school. Now hes on street no phone money clothes food or support. This is his second time doing this.

[@GnosticElohim]

They're a lost cause, you can't help anyone. When someone that really needs help comes around you'll know it. They'll love and appreciate you and show you you're not wasting your time...

[@ivantheterriblepart3]

Dam that girls baby is 19 now!!!!

[@erinfennessy5332]

had to watch this for a class but honestly got drawn into it. I really wanna know how Chris is now. anyone know if they ever did any follow ups?

[@ivantheterriblepart3]

Erin Fennessy He posted here under “Leon Mendoza” he said he doing good he got wife, kid, good paying job and Owns his home.

[@christopher9086]

Hi, I am Chris from this doc. I am good . Got clean a couple years after this was made. I still own that guitar. There was some chatter about a follow up about 3 years after this aired, but that never came to fruition.

[@lesykkonecky1547]

Imagine if Hank Hill had to get these Whippersnappers into shape

[@reneethed2499]

Emily sounds like a far more intelligent version of Janelle Evans.

[@johnallen2771]

I don't think that the people are needed to be put in the legal justice system. They need to be put in the social system. That includes showing them what resources are available for them. You can't legislate morality or homelessness and drinking and drugs. It's a social problem and we all need to address it.

[@Moises-kf1hg]

Social system only helps those that want to be helped. Majority of the people on the streets don’t want help and are completely content with living in their own filth and squalor, doing nothing to grow, and essentially doing just enough to survive/exist. Getting better starts within and their own willingness and desire for something different and what sacrifices they make to make it happen. Saying it’s a social problem is the go to talking point on this subject lately. The resources are there, we all know this. It’s not like we dropped you off on the middle of Japan, with nothing and said good luck. Peoples willingness to overlook things they don’t want to see is one of the huge problems, peoples lack of effort is another one, societies willingness to promote this bad behavior by ‘helping’ the ‘helpless’, is really just enabling and actually makes them more reliant and helpless than they ever were. Self reflection is a must and most everyone in todays homeless population is pointing fingers at everyone but themselves. Yeah, let’s blame everything we have no control over and not focus on the one thing we do.

[@avamasquerade]

We could afford children some basic human rights so the crimes of abuse and abandonment were actually enforced. It would also be more efficient to not have much of the outside world parrot the ideology (thus justifications for their mistreatment) of their abusive guardians. Lastly, stop telling each other false narratives about why these kids are the way they are so society can have someone to punish and feel superior to. Boom. Done. Problem solved.

[@avamasquerade]

@@Moises-kf1hg that must be a daunting task to distance yourself from the terror of wandering around life constantly confusing correlation for causation and having so little self awareness....

[@jayaCatLvr-ys5ix]

Kids run away cuz parents r so sheety.

[@EricParisen-hy9wu]

Tell me you’re Indian without telling me lol

[@alexisgordon2759]

I feel worse for the cat than any of them!!! Poor Kitty

[@mariedelozier2530]

Yer a big part of the problem....more love and empathy for dogs,cats,etc. than for kids or babies. In liberal society, pets are children and human kidz and babies are nuisances at best,inconveniences to be got rid of,aborted etc. otherwise... "Celebrate your abortion!!"

[@itsstefanie390]

Right!

[@orlandosanchez8123]

Alexis Gordon you're an ass

[@ohmeowzer1]

Agree

[@Henrymlee-po6sf]

Addiction is crazy there is so many angles your not just addicted to drugs your addicted to the life living good is boring think about it when u live good its "boring " the streets are excitement

[@anitaellenmcgee7430]

I ran away at 15 never got into harion i wached a junkie go through withdraws that went on for hours

[@madhatter5665]

Anita Ellen McGee heroin****

[@sherokpazoor]

Hi Anita, I just want to know' how old are you now ? & What happened to of you when you can away? What do you do now ?

[@rockchalk9078]

@@madhatter5665 Thank you spelling police

[@fayettevillain1171]

I want an update on the 16 year-old, Jessie. Did she stay away from the streets after she got a job?

[@lemonnuts9628]

No

[@ivantheterriblepart3]

LemonNuts What’s her Facebook?

[@ivantheterriblepart3]

Marky Darky Bro??? That’s funny I’m a female so now sure how well that would go.

[@ericme4767]

BE SMART. DON'T START!

[@tristanbulluss9386]

For me drugs are a way of life and spare change is kept under my bed.

[@mjkrbjcw]

I can’t imagine what my daughters would have to do for me to make them move out the house 🤯

[@danielwymer1580]

Some parents are good to their kids, and some parents are horrible to their kids, some kids have to ask permission to fart ! The good parents are the ones that spend time with their kids

[@MondoBeno]

Jobs make you a slave? I disagree, it's how I get money for food to eat and stuff.

[@twentyarms]

I have a job, and I'm a fucking slave

[@mjkrbjcw]

Being paid kinda stops the slave theory, surely panhandling is just the same as working for a living apart from your guaranteed a pay check after work in a real job

[@sykez9136]

I was in 6th grade when this came out..I wonder where these people are today? Does anyone know?

[@justyouwaitforphysed]

8:23 she sounds JUST like Janelle from Teen Mom 2 lol

[@jeffstewart3342]

I can't believe I was in the spotlight for 15 mins.

[@madhatter5665]

LMAO parents were to strict and didnt want to support me not goin to school and sittin on my ass doin nothing but drugs eating your food and spending their money... horrible parents they are

[@yogalyfe]

Shes on drugs. Shes not thinking clearly

[@garr123]

This doc has an agenda. The Chris dude with the guitar is actually clean and posted on reddit, got forced out of his home at 16 and didn't start doing heroine until he was already homeless as a means of dealing with the depression and shit. I'm guessing most if not all of the kids in this doc are in similar situations and the positivity is mostly a front.

[@mjkrbjcw]

Just think how bad there homelife must be to trade it for the streets

[@avamasquerade]

Many of the interviewees that I recruited for this doc had the absolute living sht beat outta them by their parents/step parents who kicked many of them out. The youngest was 12. MSNBC chose not to air the more sympathetic kids because it didn't fit with the narrative they were constructing. I was also on the streets at the time and they paid me nothing to do this "internship," they told me it would help me become employable through work experience. But my reference with them wouldn't return any employment inquiries regarding my time spent working for them, so then I was sht outta luck for employment, and very much on the outs with the street community (that I had to at least survive before I could even hope to get out) because of the prejudicial and misleading nature of this documentary. Fk 'em though cause now I have a beautiful home in Hawaii, own a business, have raised an amazing and successful son, and work in sfx makeup for film, theater, and TV just for funsies cause on money, investments got me like👍

[@christopher9086]

@@avamasqueradewho are you? As far as I am aware, these kids weren’t recruited by anyone. The filmers came up to me one day and asked if I would be interested in letting them follow me around. Most of the other kids it was the same situation. Paul and Maite (the 2 people that filmed this) approached them on their own without a recruiter.

[@ivantheterriblepart3]

Do any of them have a Facebook now? Or any updates where they are now? I’m really curious what become of Jessi also Chris seems like a cool dude. I wish they had update on them also.

[@Cereal4Me]

Chris is doing well. He posted a comment on reddit. www.reddit.com/r/GetMotivated/comments/inl4rc/image_an_inspiring_woman/g48pubk?

[@christopher9086]

I am the guy Chris, I made it out alive, been off heroin around 20 years now. Got a family and a house and everything. Still have that squire guitar too

[@KahlessTheUnforgettable]

@@christopher9086 Wow! Did you end up naming any of your kids after John Siegenthaler? 🤔

[@christopher9086]

@@KahlessTheUnforgettable no! But funny thing is, I am supposedly a distant cousin of his through my stepfather’s family.

[@KahlessTheUnforgettable]

@@christopher9086 interesting!

[@blastradius9136]

Jessie was the coolest out of all of them

[@Hypnagog23]

If you are interested in this culture read All gods children it is a disturbing book about street family's and brutal senseless murders ...RIP Jessica Kate Williams

[@mariapomeroy5142]

www.cbsnews.com/news/street-family-eyed-for-murder/

[@KimmySemak]

Thankyou for boook recommendation! I been goin down rabbit hole now about jessica kate williams. This documentary happens a few years before she was married

[@swollen9478]

emily's baby is my age now thats so weird lol

[@ohmeowzer1]

Poor kitty and street animals.i felt bad for the kitty ..😢

[@YoniNadi]

I feel very sorry for Emily’s cat but not Emily!

[@daisyglaze1817]

YoniNadi Same

[@Moises-kf1hg]

Both of you are idiots. You have no clue how things truly led her to where she was at. The fact that you’ll try and look down on a another human in an attempt to parade your virtues around as a badge of honor says a lot about your character that travels way beyond that message

[@ohmeowzer1]

Poor kitty 😢

[@heathershields8233]

Coolest part of this video is we stayed together thru life. Those that survived are hovering around 50. We still remember and celebrate the ones we lost. 🥰 None of these kids were down there by choice. It's sad the title reflects that.

[@KahlessTheUnforgettable]

Right, some of those kids are quoted in the doc saying things like “I’m tired of being told what to do, and what clothes to wear.” When you are facing critical problems like that; well, you really have no choice but to run away 🙄

[@hobag420]

@@KahlessTheUnforgettable goddamn you need empathy.

[@hobag420]

@@KahlessTheUnforgettable goddamn you're sad.

[@KahlessTheUnforgettable]

@@hobag420 Nonsense! I’m quite happy pal. Five acres paid in full and not one homeless bugger in sight! Although I do keep a sizable arsenal at hand in that event. I await the proof of your selfless efforts to help the upper middle class runaways of America! Don’t pass up this chance to have someone match your presumed sizable financial contribution to these poor dears! Do it for the kids!

[@hobag420]

@@KahlessTheUnforgettableholy shit, you just make up peoples lives and then decide it's reality. Some of these "poor dears" are my family and are all human. I worked street outreach for years. You just make up what you think people are like and then decide it's reality. Making up shit about people you don't know so you can argue your "point". Jfc

[@ivantheterriblepart3]

I saw him pawning that electric guitar before he even did it.

[@christopher9086]

I got it back though, I still own it. They didn’t show in the documentary that I actually had a job in a call center while this was being filmed.

[@misslene]

@@christopher9086 I’m glad you cleared that you. I did notice you were up kept and clean.

[@christopher9086]

@@missleneI was still homeless but there was a place called Greenhouse that was a drop in center. There I could shower and shave.

[@bigrubedawg]

It's been 16yrs since this came out. These people are old now.

[@susanbelcher5490]

Or God forbid dead.

[@kani9284]

no, not really. they are in their mid to late 30's which is clearly not old

[@christopher9086]

Dude, I’m only 43. That’s not old!

[@bunny7681]

where are they now??

[@poca007]

Only 2 featured in the film are still alive and working low paying jobs to support their kids. The rest are dead from overdosing, 2 were murdered during drug deal and hit and run.

[@BB-rt9nc]

@@poca007 Heather, the one with tattoos on her face is alive back in Canada. Eric the guy who was walked on while boning his girl fell off a freight train. Who overdosed and who was murdered and who was hit by a car?

[@BB-rt9nc]

@@poca007 what's up with cry baby chris

[@XxSEETH3RxX]

Probably part of Antifa

[@christopher9086]

I am Chris, the main guy in the doc. I got clean and off the streets a couple years after this was filmed. I still own that guitar and have been clean for 18 years. I have a great paying job and a beautiful wife and child and am living a great life. I own my own house and am living the American dream because I quit doing stupid shit and applied myself.

[@SP-dd2cr]

P.S.K LOVE!

[@calmingwaters1981]

40.00 A DAY!! that's like 840.00 a month!

[@danswit5317]

Well..are you not including weekends?

[@Marco-fn6kg]

even worse now

[@joseCalderon1976]

Don't feed the fucking MONSTER! When I see a homeless person that is down and out, I buy them a plate of food. I never give them money. Never.

[@gregoryswift9573]

Who the hell gave him 50 for a Squier? Smh

[@trentlane250]

13:52 that women anyone check to see if she was still breathing ?

[@jeffstewart3342]

I'm on the fence about stopping the spread of disease, and enabling the addict. Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging. I am the judged.

[@fuzzylogic7502]

Aren't we the village that cares for eachothers young. Toss em in jail is what they say. Just go to church....you will hear it.

[@JayFallout3]

Chis losing it SPARE SOME CHANGE !

[@CDN1975]

Wonder how many of these people are dead now. Sad.

[@shirleylyn11]

"this piece is TINY" And I don't think it will get me well..." Goes to KINKO'S, comes out HIGH AF.

[@christopher9086]

For the record I was not high af then. That tiny piece barely got me well.

[@mjkrbjcw]

@@christopher9086 people don’t understand, a small amount will make your eyes pinned & glassy but you’re still sick it’ll just take the edge off so you can get more money

[@lane9043]

this demonizes addiction in the first 30 seconds

[@amsandison5015]

Illyana Zeski ummm because addiction is a nightmare

[@lastnamefirst60]

Im sorry r there aspects of addiction that should be glorified ?because id imagine most addicts and non-addicts alike would agree that there really aren't any, speaking from personal experience

[@Foxstang4life]

I watched a doc Freeload and the girl jessy was on there and her name is Sarah now

[@ivantheterriblepart3]

Is their a link? I can’t find it

[@misslene]

@thefemmedagger I just watched Freeload on Amazon Prime. In my opinion Jesse and Sarah are not the same person

[@misslene]

Here’s the pic I got i.ibb.co/DgMk0tz/35-DAB68-A-2-B3-E-4118-BD20-8-FB4-C189-C93-B.jpg

[@rosecrow1545]

Rockman Bill@7:03

[@catherinerainville4232]

Waaa... 😥😥”my parents had rules and expectations” give me a break kid! Hope she made it out alive

[@catherinerainville4232]

Oh and then she has the balls to say, “hope we don’t get bags of groceries again.” WTH? That’s someone’s hard earned money that they are using for you. So entitled!

[@twentyarms]

@@catherinerainville4232 how the fuck do you refrigerate, store, or prepare groceries when you're homeless? It's a well meaning but dumb thing to gift someone in that position.

[@loriellajames6978]

@@twentyarms right!

[@hobag420]

@@catherinerainville4232 how do you not get this is played up bs. Also you don't know their lives. Some of these kids were victims of abuse. I knew most of the kids in the video.

[@avamasquerade]

@@hobag420 You know, when people ascribe to an ideology that forces them to find scapegoats and vulnerable people to feel superior to who "deserve" inhumane treatment by their society because of their vulnerability, when that society turns on them, and it will (disability, illness, accidents, tragedies, it's all par for the course and the human condition) they'll turn on themselves and not even try to slow the tide of punishments from their society for being caught weak. I find that all rather fitting and I won't enable them to avoid the lessons they've more than earned.

[@1MNUTZ]

meanwhile the monopoly man is sitting in his skyscraper office laughin his ass off watching his labrats search for $$$cheese$$$

[@JVegasjim]

The choices people make...sounds like a lot of them had decent families. If you can't obey rules at home....it only gets worse when you are on your own and don't have discipline or a work ethic

[@shamicajohnson591]

Right!!!

[@MikeGreenwood51]

To JVegasjim, You as a pessimist. Maybe somewhat anarchic as well. what happens if the 14 year old teen sees his drunken father whack his wife regularly before turning his anger towards the teen for being there? Just for being in the same apartment at the time his father wants to get drunk. Is it the teen not able to obey the rules? What are the rules? 'Take it like a man', Grow some balls'. 'Be a man if you can', 'Don't be in when it's beating time'. ' Get to the drug store girl'. 'Don't watch me fuck ya ma, girl or you may be next'. After seeing her ma beaten a couple of times with a baseball bat by her dad whose in the 'can more than out and is only out on parole anyway. The attractiveness of escape must surly increase naturally for some with very uncomfortable circumstances. Yes being on the streets could get worse. It could be worse than the jungles of Viet Nam. But for some their circumstances at home maybe about as bad as it could be.

[@garr123]

"Hur dur the choices" Buncha privileged twats in the comments section taking the piss out of actual homeless kids when they probably have no fucking clue.

[@avamasquerade]

Ugh, it's gotta suck being so gullible...just stop and *think* for a second, you only saw a few that fit this narrative (MSNBC made absolute sure of that, they had no interest in airing the hours of interviews I got them with children who had *verified* horror stories, who were only willing to talk to the adults to try and get some, *any* kind of guidance at all) the majority have a history that would've broken your coddled mind by 12.

[@azukarzuchastux8066]

Acts 16:31 “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house

[@christopher9086]

Nah. I put my belief in myself. That’s how I got away from the streets and heroin. I am no longer the person from this documentary.

[@TedBackus]

spoiled brats. im a bit older than these kids, and by that age, both my parents were dead, i HAD to work full time during highschool & college, i had not lived at home for many years by 20....they say they dont want to be slaves of the system, but they are simply begging for their money, instead of earning it...some of us would have killed for a family that had expectation that were "too high".

[@rileycoyote8275]

You are nothing short of amazing and I could not agree more they are spoiled brats self-entitled and lazy they want other people's money and they don't want to have to work for their own but yet they have the nerve to look down on those of us who work hard and take care of our own absolutely disgusting they are the very reason why I raised my children differently to not ever expect a handout do not ever expect for anybody else to take care of them to learn how to rely on themselves I am really glad to know that there is more of us out there. I get so disheartened with all of the self-centered self-entitled people out in the world my husband and I have been taking care of ourselves since we were 15 years old we never relied on anybody we never wanted a handout we never expected it handout glad to know there's more of us out there God bless you

[@natjade4855]

How you work full time ,when you find the time to go highschool

[@thenomad4123]

Don't go that path of logic, mate. Nothing will make sense like that. A cancer patient will see healthy but unhappy people as ungrateful, a person in Afghanistan will look up to someone in Romania, and he in turn will look up to Canada and become unhappy in his country. Everyone has their own perspectives and lifes according to experiences.

[@anitaellenmcgee7430]

I had to learn how to be responsible for myself hold a job have a house 🏡 pay the bills

[@luzfigueroa1550]

Anita Ellen McGee me too lve be providing and working for myself since the tender age of fourteen. Because my parents was and still r good 4 nothing.

[@tristanbulluss9386]

Back when eveyone used h.

[@richiethev4623]

They still are and its worse then ever

[@TallSteppas]

I’m running away from home in a bit and I have 10k dollars and my clothes shoes and food and my bike..I won’t be on the streets..I’ll rent a motel and go get a job to work there and gain more money to actually survive and when I have enough money I’ll buy a phone, car and I’ll be living like anyone else..

[@enhjin95]

How's it going?

[@kimmymarky9538]

I wouldn’t go around tellin ppl u got 10k dollars

[@TallSteppas]

@@kimmymarky9538 woah can’t believe it’s been 7 months.. hey!..everything went okay, well not OK it worked out in the end. Also what are people on yt finna do if I tell them I have 10k dollars?.. take it through the screen? 😱

[@kimmymarky9538]

@@TallSteppas lol no I meant when you run away don’t tell the people on the street or who you’re around that you have that. You probably already know that though. Just given friendly advice I was on the streets for a year before. I hope everything will go good for you and turn out good

[@TallSteppas]

@@kimmymarky9538 ah, sorry for the misunderstanding

[@phoenixdavis4433]

9:05 damn that weed though or stems😭

[@YoniNadi]

I remember watching this video a few times; I blame the parents of those runaway teenagers; and I also blame the government of Portland, and the people who pass by them as they handout their money to them.

[@NoneofYourbusiness-fq4dh]

I am sure it is more complicated than that.

[@surveysays731]

Most people who do drugs and turn to the street life have to make hard decisions that others would never even imagine having to make….however, Chris seems like such an amazing person the type of rare person who did not let the lifestyle change who he was…didn’t rob, beat on others, or lose his core beliefs…it is SO rare that a person who has a one track mind (especially when it comes to being well && having what you need) doesn’t do things that they normally wouldn’t do to get what they need….drug addiction makes people do things they never would otherwise && i’m sure the struggle to survive on the streets increases that 10 fold….his inner beauty just radiated to me and I truly hope that he is out there thriving because I know the pain of being addicted and also fighting to not let it take every piece of your beliefs and values. And I can just imagine the amount of lives he could change through sharing his trials, tribulations, && (hopefully) his ultimate success. Also, look how much better Portland has done with their homeless population && street drug use over the years….oh wait it’s still HORRIBLE.

[@christopher9086]

I did make it out alive also. Still have that guitar too.

[@surveysays731]

@@christopher9086 ahhhh SOOOO happy to hear that!! to many amazing people are lost to this deadly disease. but honestly i find it INSANE that you still have that guitar just another example of how you didn’t let the drugs and the homelessness truly take away the things you love in life (not the guitar itself but music). Thank You for taking the time to comment back you didn’t let the life you were leading dull your shine and it was extremely evident in this documentary! You are an amazing example of overcoming hardships in life and coming out on top!

[@christopher9086]

@@surveysays731thank you!

[@shellymercurygaga9164]

25:38 a politician walks out of the strip club... that's what blurred faces are for

[@vart7767]

Jessie if you don't want then quit asking slaves for money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@biker1373]

It's 2020 and Portland has spiraled down to a shit hole !

[@annettew.5597]

you get so bored so you have to do heroin?! that makes no sense! get a job, leave portland, do SOMETHING!

[@marinaroberson4203]

Annette W. THIS IS EVEN MORE DIRE NOW MIRE AND WHITE AMERICANS ON THE STREET AND DYING AT RECORD NUMBERS FROM OVER DOSES OF HEROIN ESPECIALLY THE EAST COAST I AM FROM MARYLAND HEROIN HEAVEN

[@devargaswarriors7825]

Marina Roberson all kind of races you Fucking idiot, Not only white 😈

[@msmnda1]

Marina Roberson you're a racist moron.

[@luzfigueroa1550]

Annette W. Easy for u to say. Oh yes just get a job not so easy.

[@myrealnicknam]

JESSIE...That first girl says: "Everytime someone tells me to get a job , i tell'm i don't wanna be a slave like you ! " Slave era is long gone ...in america. If employers need work done , they must pay the workers to get it done ... She's not realizing that the money she will get when she's panhandling it's actualy donated by what she calls "slaves". This stupid girls does not deserve any help and even less respect.

[@jacemay5197]

If she doesn't want to work that's fine but then don't ask workers for their hard-earned money.

[@hobag420]

She was 16 in this film.

[@KahlessTheUnforgettable]

@@hobag420 So old enough to secure employment? The world needs ditch diggers too a wise man once said 😂

[@zippagraphics]

"This is the Portland Street Family." These news reporters could not have gotten away with making a news special about these anti-society kids without getting completely trolled. I love that they included the kid at 13:25, who is clearly making a joke out of the interviewers.

[@michaelbrinks8089]

The "street family" was a real thing, it just sounded cringe, so the guy at 13:25 was making fun of it. They didn't troll the media by making up a non existent street family, he was just making fun of the whole street family thing.

[@surveysays731]

i’m pretty sure that a street family is a legit thing…

[@vart7767]

Emily if you don't want a job then quit asking slaves for money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@xelefonte]

imagine if these bums bought bitcoin

[@lilpukey]

Poor cat :/ it didn’t deserve to live in those terrible conditions.

[@ohmeowzer1]

It broke my heart

[@emmaw8763]

Some of the reasons they have for being street homeless though.

[@shirleylyn11]

@6:14 "Do you guys have a piece? Can I compare it? Because this is TINY, AND I don't think this will get me WELL." Goes to kinkos. Goes in the bathroom to SHOOTUP. Comes out HIGH AF.