11.08.08 On October 9th in Los Angeles, fifty five year old John McGraham was doused in gasoline and set on fire. He was homeless and died from this brutal attack. Someone passed him then drove to a gas station, purchased gas and then returned and poured it on him. They then set him on fire.
On Sunday November 2nd, five people were shot to death in Los Angeles. They lived in a homeless camp near the 405 freeway. At 8:30 a.m. someone called in a tip which lead police to the crime scene.
It is dangerous to be homeless. We must do all we can to help them. I have heard case after case of attacks or threats against the homeless. Many people believe that can get away with attacking the homeless because no one cares. They thought wrong – we do care!
The other night I was walking out of the woods. It was getting dark and I saw some men walking towards me. It was some of the homeless and a man I had never seen. He asked me if I was the filmmaker. I thought, “oh boy, here we go again”. I confirmed that I was. He stuck his hand out quickly and shook mine. “Thank you, thank you for what you’re doing, I’m not homeless but I once was” he said. He then turned and walked away.
National Geographic’s lab has printed our photos for the Gallery Show. They did a truly beautiful job! Jeff Whatley also gave Chastity and I a grand tour. It was inspiring to see. They do set the pace and hold a high standard for all of us. We will be sending more photos to them on Monday to complete our show.
Last Monday we went to St. Vincent de Paul’s church in Baltimore Maryland. They have opened a lot beside the church for the homeless to stay at. It provides a safe haven for them. The church has taken some heat for helping. The city threatened to cite them, but they have stood their ground and now the homeless have a place. Father Richard Lawrence has made a difference.
As I was out of town the other day Ron was arrested. He is the one I mentioned before that has been such a great help to us. He asked me to drive him to Hagerstown, Maryland so he could take a bus to Florida. We talked to him about his foot. It needs to be amputated and he doesn’t want to lose it. Being homeless and not getting proper medical care is going to cost him his foot or his life. Mary Gunderson was working on getting him into the University Of Virginia for the operation. During this time we were informed that the police had a warrant for his arrest. Judy from Family Resource Network informed him that I would not be able to take him because that would be aiding. He was disappointed but understood. I left town to shoot in Baltimore and he was arrested. We will try to go to the jail to film him again. The last time we were there the Eastern Regional Jail’s staff were very professional and allowed us access to an inmate.
We will be in Baltimore Monday morning and Washington D.C. Monday afternoon. We are working around seventy four hours a week. This is a hard shoot, but we have such a great need in front of us, It’s hard to take a break. We will not give up or back down.
-D.J. McCoy
