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<v Speaker 1>This is Later with Lee Matthews, The Lee Matthews Podcast

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<v Speaker 1>More what You Hear Weekday Afternoon's on the Drive.

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<v Speaker 2>Jerry Klickstein was born in Boston, Massachusetts, too at best,

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<v Speaker 2>challenging circumstances that led him to a journey that led

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<v Speaker 2>him to writing about his journey in his new book

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<v Speaker 2>called Crooked Smiles. What Sorry, Crooked Smile. What it Took

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<v Speaker 2>to escape a decade of homelessness, addiction, and crime. Jared Klickstein, Welcome.

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<v Speaker 3>Hey, how's it going.

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<v Speaker 2>So your childhood? Is that a fair assessment? It was challenging.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, I mean, listen, my parents were heroin addicts and

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<v Speaker 4>they eventually started using crack cocaine, and you know, I listen,

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<v Speaker 4>I'm still lucky that I came from like a two

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<v Speaker 4>parent household, I guess and all that.

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<v Speaker 3>But yeah, there was challenges.

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<v Speaker 2>And at what point, I mean, were they homeless as well?

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<v Speaker 2>When you were that? When when you were young, did

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<v Speaker 2>you struggle with having a place to live?

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<v Speaker 4>No? I mean, my dad had had a pretty good

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<v Speaker 4>union carpenter job and it was sort of okay, and

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<v Speaker 4>things worked out, and you know, it did get worse

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<v Speaker 4>and worse, and eventually, you know, by the time I

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<v Speaker 4>was twelve, it was probably heading in that direction. But

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<v Speaker 4>fortunately I had an aunt and uncle in Oakland, California

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<v Speaker 4>that that came and adopted me, and we tried to

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<v Speaker 4>put my parents in rehab, but that sort of just

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<v Speaker 4>floundered for years, but eventually took hold of my dad.

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<v Speaker 2>At what point did you strike out on your own?

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<v Speaker 2>Jared Klickstein as the author of Crooked Smile.

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<v Speaker 3>Pretty quickly.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean I started doing heroin around nineteen and nineteen twenty,

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<v Speaker 4>and by the time I was twenty two, I was homeless.

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<v Speaker 4>And it's you know, it's pretty pretty simple. You just

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<v Speaker 4>you run out of money and run out of friends,

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<v Speaker 4>and you run out of family, and no one will

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<v Speaker 4>really put up with your horrific behavior. So it was

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<v Speaker 4>it wasn't that that complicated for me to become homeless.

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<v Speaker 2>At the time. Were you aware that a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>this was because of influence of your parents or were

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<v Speaker 2>there other reasons?

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<v Speaker 4>Uh? No, I didn't really think it was because of them,

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<v Speaker 4>and I still don't know if it really they had

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<v Speaker 4>anything to do with it. I think it was just,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, I really got addicted to oxyconton really quickly,

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<v Speaker 4>and I didn't know that ox con was essentially heroin,

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<v Speaker 4>and and.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, just listen to the stuff is super physically

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<v Speaker 3>and mentally addictive. And and I you know, whether my

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<v Speaker 3>parents were heroin acts or not, I.

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<v Speaker 4>If I had done that much oxycon and heroin, no

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<v Speaker 4>matter what kind of background it came from, I think

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<v Speaker 4>I really would have wound up addicted. But but then again,

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<v Speaker 4>I think I did become addicted to suppressed pain of

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<v Speaker 4>growing up in those circumstances.

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<v Speaker 2>Jared Klechstein is with us a crooked smile what it

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<v Speaker 2>took to escape a decade of homelessness, addiction, and crime.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you remember that first night you spent when you

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<v Speaker 2>were homeless?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, the first the first night, I actually I still

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<v Speaker 4>had a car, so I slept in a car, and

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<v Speaker 4>that's sort of cheating. I don't know, it's sort of

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<v Speaker 4>like a it's like being homeless with like a life

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<v Speaker 4>vest on. Yeah, you know, it's not that bad, but

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<v Speaker 4>you know, I obviously eventually you you lose the car

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<v Speaker 4>and then you're sleeping outside and that is very frightening.

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<v Speaker 2>Did you find yourself in homeless camps at some point?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah? Yeah, you know, I wound up homeless in Los

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<v Speaker 4>Angeles and naturally gravitated towards skid row where homeless people

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<v Speaker 4>gravitate to.

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<v Speaker 3>And yeah, you're kind of you eventually.

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<v Speaker 4>Make friends, I mean, you make enemies, and if you're

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<v Speaker 4>I mean, if you're lucky enough, you make some good

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<v Speaker 4>friends and.

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<v Speaker 3>You end up in a camp. Then you sort of

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<v Speaker 3>protect each other.

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<v Speaker 4>But at the same time, you're all homeless and on drugs,

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<v Speaker 4>so someone will doublecross you for five dollars. Yeah, so

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<v Speaker 4>that's it's not like, you know, it's not like you're

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<v Speaker 4>you're in the foxhole with someone that's honorable or anything.

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<v Speaker 2>Talking to Jared Klickstein that crooked smile. At what point

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<v Speaker 2>did you decide to write this book?

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<v Speaker 4>About six years ago, I wound up in a situation

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<v Speaker 4>where I was living with some people that were sober

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<v Speaker 4>and they were trying to help me get sober, and

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<v Speaker 4>I just started writing it and I thought that, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>I didn't really want to live anymore, and I started

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<v Speaker 4>started writing this like poetic, you know.

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<v Speaker 3>Self obsessed suicide letter.

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<v Speaker 4>And it kind of just turned into this book eventually,

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<v Speaker 4>I you know, it turned into a draft.

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<v Speaker 3>At least.

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<v Speaker 2>Most of your homelessness was in Los Angeles or was

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<v Speaker 2>it between Los Angeles and Oakland.

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<v Speaker 4>Most of it was in Los Angeles, but I was

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<v Speaker 4>homeless also in Oakland and San Francisco.

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<v Speaker 3>But but yeah, the majority of it was in Los Angeles.

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<v Speaker 2>And of those three cities, which one was the best

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<v Speaker 2>to be homeless in?

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<v Speaker 4>I'd say Los Angeles because Los Angeles has skid row,

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<v Speaker 4>which is essentially like its own city of homelessness, And.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, it's adventurous, and there are some resources.

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<v Speaker 4>They're not resources to really there's not a lot of

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<v Speaker 4>resources to help you get out of homelessness, but there

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<v Speaker 4>are a lot of resources to sort of help you

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<v Speaker 4>maintain your homelessness, for lack of a better way of

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<v Speaker 4>describing it. But yeah, and the drugs are better in

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<v Speaker 4>Los Angeles than they are in They're just higher quality

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<v Speaker 4>where they were.

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<v Speaker 3>You know.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Crooked Smile is the name of the book. And

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<v Speaker 2>you can hear this is kind of it's kind of

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<v Speaker 2>dark humor, isn't it.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, Well, you know, homelessness and addiction are are extremely dark.

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<v Speaker 3>But unfortunately, or or maybe fortunately, you get.

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<v Speaker 4>Yourself in some pretty funny situations because when you are

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<v Speaker 4>under the spell of addiction, you sort of don't act

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<v Speaker 4>in your best interest and end up in crazy, crazy

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<v Speaker 4>situations that that are humorous if you after the fact,

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<v Speaker 4>they're humorous.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Can you give us an anecdote of one of

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<v Speaker 2>those instances?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah? Sure.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean, you you really sacrifice your safety when you're

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<v Speaker 4>on drugs, so you'll get your you'll start hanging out

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<v Speaker 4>with people that that you know, you risk your life

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<v Speaker 4>basically on a daily basis. And you know, there's all

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<v Speaker 4>kinds of things that I've gotten myself into. I've you know,

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<v Speaker 4>I ended up getting held hostage in a suitcase naked

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<v Speaker 4>by people that were attempting to sell me.

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<v Speaker 3>To a human trafficker.

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<v Speaker 4>And and that was really scary in the moment, but

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<v Speaker 4>but after I realized, you know it is it is

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<v Speaker 4>pretty funny that, you know, these people tried to sell

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<v Speaker 4>me and and I wasn't very attractive because I was

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<v Speaker 4>on drugs, so I was and they, you know, they

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<v Speaker 4>beat the hell out of me. So I was like

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<v Speaker 4>covered in blood, and they were trying to take pictures

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<v Speaker 4>of me to send to this potential human trafficker, and

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<v Speaker 4>I wasn't looking very sexy. So so fortunately, uh no one,

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<v Speaker 4>the guy wouldn't buy me, I, uh, what do you like?

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<v Speaker 4>Cut a deal and I got I got out of there.

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<v Speaker 4>But uh, you know that is frightening, but it's it's

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<v Speaker 4>also it is funny after the fact.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean it does doesn't do much for the

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<v Speaker 2>self for the self image, does it. You couldn't even

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<v Speaker 2>be sold to human traffickers?

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<v Speaker 4>No? I mean perhaps now I could, But yeah, in

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<v Speaker 4>the moment, Uh you know.

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<v Speaker 3>I was all I was on meth and heroin.

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<v Speaker 4>Just that's a no one wants the babysit a meth

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<v Speaker 4>or heroin addict.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, I don't know.

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<v Speaker 4>That seems like the least fun person to hold captive.

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<v Speaker 2>It's Jared click Stein and he is the author of

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<v Speaker 2>Crooked Smile What it Took to Escape a decade of homelessness, addiction,

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<v Speaker 2>and crime. Have you come to any conclusions as to

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<v Speaker 2>what we need to do as a nation to better

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<v Speaker 2>homelessness nationwide?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, I mean I think that there's a lot of issues.

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<v Speaker 4>I'd almost use the words spiritually. I mean, we just

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<v Speaker 4>have a lot of vision in this country and a

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<v Speaker 4>lot of leaders that aren't really concerned with achieving anything

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<v Speaker 4>more just attacking the other side, and we just keep

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<v Speaker 4>sending money to other countries, and it's like, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>we just have.

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<v Speaker 3>Thousands upon thousands.

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<v Speaker 4>Of homeless people, and a lot of them are addicted

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<v Speaker 4>to drugs, and we have to give these people hope,

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<v Speaker 4>and we have to stop enacting policies that sort of

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<v Speaker 4>just maintain their homelessness and enable their homelessness and maintain

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<v Speaker 4>their addictions, and you know, set these people up for

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<v Speaker 4>a life worth living with long term nonprofit treatment and

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<v Speaker 4>specifically a job change.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Later with Lee Matthews, the Lee

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<v Speaker 1>Matthews Podcast, and remember to listen to The Drive Live

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<v Speaker 1>weekday afternoons from five to seven and iHeartMedia Presentation