What Video do you guys want next: Gathering of the Juggalo 2023, I brought a Gangster to a Furry Convention, or Life in The City of Zombies | Kensington Philadelphia ? Also above the comment section is the Merch Shelf, you can find all my clothes for sale there!
The ONLY issue i have with your videos Brandon....are how short they are. Great quality...now we just need quantity. You know what they say, "you can have quality and quantity all the time no matter what"
It takes honesty from both ends i think. People over the top need to show compassion, but it also takes people being honest with themselves. No amount of money and resources you pour in can help someone who wont work on themselves as well.
Some people can't be fixed and just have to be cared for. It's a very small percentage that either won't work on themselves or can't, but social science has the studies that show this is a very small number. This even goes for the drug addicts. Most of them want to go into a rehab program, they just need one that has space and is a real, medical drug rehab program and not a cash grab for federal grant dollars, based on AA (studies prove it works only as well as trying to quit cold turkey with no support), or requires impossible tasks for them, like traveling across town at 6am every week (this happens with a lot of the opioid ones in my state).
Giving these people a voice is one of the most noble ventures I've seen done by a youtuber. What Mr. Beast does with his money is what you do with your camera and compassion, nothing but respect Brandon.
I overcame homelessness in DC after leaving Baltimore, was on the streets for about 4 months before I was able to use the resources available to get back on my feet, spent a lot of time at Miriam’s and discovered my love for painting, im not sure if they still do but they used to offer art supplies for arts & crafts every night before dinner
I love Miriam’s man I used go up there every other day and get some trail mix and peanut butter jelly’s and they even gave me a refillable water bottle lol
I remember seeing DC during my school trip for the first time and thinking “Damn, this is the capital of the nation with more people on the street than in any other big city I’ve seen.”
I live in DC. It's so expensive to live here you may drown. I make good money and own businesses but it's expensive to live here It's one of the most expensive places to live in the us
Hey BB My name is Aaron V. I'm 30 years old and have been working in Social Services for the past 7 almost 8 years. Was in the Portland metro area the whole time up until this past year when I took a job as a case manager in the beautiful Bend, Oregon just outside Portland. I welcome you to come and spend a few days out here with me to dive a bit deeper into the problem but even more so the solution. I will take you around and answer any questions you may have. Reach out anytime!!
This i would like to see, lets get people familiar with the subject to be in a video, i would much rather watch that then a collab with an influencer that doesn't add anything to the video
I was homeless 5 years addicted to heroin. I used to think like this. Then I wanted to get clean like I actually wanted it , only then was I able to get a stable apartment and job and nice car.
Everyone isn't on drugs. Plus there's crack heads with jobs and I don't just mean the doctors. It just depends on the situation, person, and job I guess.
Heroin going extinct in America is what got me clean. I was homeless on the west side of Chicago for close to a decade due to heroin addiction, I started doing heroin at 15 and was content with my life as a homeless heroin addict, but once it got to a point where it was no longer if you're gonna die from getting high, but when, it just wasn't worth it anymore. Tranq isn't anything new either, it's been in Canada for at least five years now and I was seeing it in Chicago before the pandemic. The side effects of the war on drugs have caused more deaths then the drugs themselves, people aren't gonna stop getting high, and until we focus more on harm reduction than we do "the war on drugs" and over policing, "opiate" overdose will continue to be the leading cause of death for adults in America.The sad reality of it is that corporations and the criminal justice system benefit too much from the opiate epidemic for them to try to do anything to change it themselves Still good that you're bringing awareness to it though, because the first step to solving a problem is admitting there is one. this is real journalism. 👍
I was homeless in Baltimore for 2.5 years. 90% of people who are homeless has a crippling drug addiction and remain homeless by choice. There are resources available but most you need to be clean and people aren't willing to do that.
Brandon is the only guy I know who can genuinely make a serious video exposing how things really are just to post another comedy video the day after and pull it off amazingly
I find it remarkably interesting that you feel comfortable and/or make the choice to sit down when addressing people - I saw this in another similar video you've put out. Shows a certain degree of comfort/confidence in these situations that other creators lack. It's also remarkably humanizing.
These homeless look a lot different than where I live. These guys are a lot cleaner, coherent, and altogether way healthier than the homeless where I stay. Around my place they look like they're on deaths door
the issue is you can't fix/help someone who WANTS to be homeless. the money does help when the person wants to change. but you can't force someone to change.
Its a hole industri, a lot of ppl make a lot of money by keeping other ppl down, and they don't want to lose that cash cow, all the money in the world would not help.
@@amaterasu4186No there’s definitely things that can be done officials are just lazy. There’s no reason why our CAPITAL city is the highest homeless ground population that’s fucking embarrassing every one of these people should of been given a small studio and forced into rehab if they needed it
Keep it up brandon theres alot of people out here that appreciate all the work youre doing. You rule man, thank you for speaking directly to these people and letting them speak their minds
Great video as usual Brandon. Both you and Tyler Oliveira are making great videos on the homelessness/drug epidemic throughout America. If I would say a couple things though I would love to see you get into contact with community organizations working with homeless people in these areas and see what their experiences have been and their opinions on the issues. I would also love to see you go up a level and start pressing the local politicians on their response to these problems. Videos like these are great and they raise awareness, but nothing is gonna change if we don't start questioning those in charge to get to the root of the issue.
@BrandonBuckingham As I mentioned before, tyler oliveira has been making great videos on it. I know he often gets into contact with organisations at places he goes. If you can get a line to him, not only would it be a great collab, but you guys might be able to push for at the least massive awareness, or at the most, some real change. Keep it up, G :D
What a wild thing. The only thing most of us can do is ask "what can even be done?" I don't believe a government solution works. And it sounds like the local people, especially the local churches, are at the least working to keep these people fed. The hard part is sorting out the long-term fix. Our man's got an apartment and is living in the streets.
The government solution is, truly, the only solution. There needs to be greater, systemic funding into our social safety net. But the issue is the government spends too much money on military, defense, and police forces. Slash spending on these things, and redirect it to the community, and virtually all of this will solve itself.
@@charlesmiv3842 you cant help people who wont help themselves, you want to solve homelessness? solve addiction 1st, coming from a guy who spent 3 years in a tent in san fran most these guys are there by choice. shelters will give you food a place to stay and help you find a job but only if you can go without getting high off you ass or drunk every day, thats a dealbreaker for most these guys.
@@charlesmiv3842 did you even watch the video, or did you spit out The Homeless Talking Point™? Literally the whole point is that many people have the choice and the resources, they just don't because handouts make street life so easy.
@@charlesmiv3842 You do know that government assistance (whether social security, welfare, etc) is a large majority of our government's spending? Also the guys here are clearly saying that giving them money solves nothing. These are not people who can maintain their own lives. They would need constant structure and guidance to get off of the street. And they would probably need that for the rest of their lives.
The homeless problem skyrocketed once federal funding was pulled for mental health facilities; people blame drugs, but the drugs were all these folks had when they had nowhere else to go.
A fucking men. Bring back state psychiatric facilities. Those Supreme Court decisions in the 1980s will be seen as some of the biggest mistakes in American history.
When life feels helpless and you feel hopeless and unloved and disconnected from community that's the only refuge you have. Life sucks and thats the only thing that takes their problems away temporarily, really can't blame em. Some people are so depressed theyd rather die high as balls than sober and sad. The opposite of Addiction is Connection.
That's also a junkies interpretation driven my warped pre-conceived notions(everyone gets that, everyone gets this, etc). My point, don't listen to everything you hear at face value. Especially one's with statistically uncommon numbers(90%).
That's the drugs hold, it takes away the pain.. tomorrow won't change, next day after that.. but it's easier to indulge and not cry for the night. Sadly, crying is the only way to grieve and move on. But for some, it's just too painful.
Dude in the tent saying ppl homeless my choice for drugs is speaking the truth.. That's the ugly truth. That's the part the vet didn't say.. you could see in his eyes he wanted to.
Your stuff is consistently the best journalism content on RU-vid. Been here since 100k and you are hitting nothing but net. Goated editing on this vid too
when you picked up that bat, all i thought was 'dont put your prints on that bro' lol. You're doing a great job of documenting these issues Brandon, we all love the goofs and memes but this content is really eye opening!
One thing you’ll learn Brandon… People lie, especially addicts & people with their back against the wall. • That guy, in the start of the video who claimed to “ have an apartment “ I can ASSURE you, he absolutely does NOT have an apartment. Complete lie.
been watching you for awhile but never subscribe or comment to anyone, im a lurker but your content is better than most ive seen. Keep doing what your doing.
This video was very well made. The choice to use copyrighted music despite youtube being stupid to fully express the video how you want is art (great song choices btw) and goes to show you genuinley care about the quality of your content and that definately shows throughout the video. Great content keep it up man 🤙
These guys really don't want to be helped. They seem to just need an area with all of the resources they need away from businesses and homes more than anything.
Crazy how all of these people want change from the government… want resources from the government. BUT aren’t willing to change themselves. So incredibly entitled. The only one that made an once of sense was the guy who said the educational system is failing young people… High school students need to learn life skills and personal responsibility.
I don’t get why people say “we’re the only species that drinks another species’ milk” I used to feed my cat cow and goat milk all the time, he loved it
Yeah we are also the only species that pays people to say "gang gang, Ice cream so good" on repeat and drool over anime figurines. So I think milk is a small thing to consider us weird for.
as someone who grew up just outside of D.C and who currently lives in Denver, i honestly never knew D.C had the worst homeless problem. I would've figured San Francisco or L.A have a worse problem
You’re a real one dude, this is the way it should be learning from the homeless and their issues. Not going around recording yourself giving money to the homeless for the self gratification.
I realize that buying someone a meal or bringing them a sandwich isn't going to solve all of their problems but to say it doesn't help is just ignorant. Like there is only so much someone walking down the street is able to do.
@@charlesmiv3842 Yeah but that doesn't mean you should turn your nose up at a free meal. Like shit I'm not homeless and I'd still take a free meal because it's better than nothing.
I have worked in special education and with the unhoused population for a looong time. This was a pretty good example of what's out there. Homelessness breaks into thirds. One third are drug addicts. One third are mentally ill. One third have literally had bad breaks that made them unhoused. On the percentages, it would appear only one third of homelessness can be dealt with.
"Where are we supposed to go?!" Back where you came from? The solution is stop letting these people live this way. They're there because they get things for free.
Many don't have any place to return to. They don't get anything for free. The only one's who get things for free in the U.S. are rich people who game the system
@charlesmiv3842 BS, you're just an enabler. Do you think these people crawled out of the ocean? They obviously came from somewhere. I don't care if they don't have a place to live there; they don't have a place to live here. They talk about how much free shit they get in the video. Not only is it nearly $1000 of straight cash, but it's also tents, clothes, and food. They migrate to DC because they know the laws are lax and they'll be given free things. The weather and environment in DC is awful, obviously something is attracting them there.
It's almost like the disease and dysfunction of bureaucracy pours directly into the streets and consequently onto the people. It's an interesting phenomenon but I've noticed in any major city there is always a homeless congregation outside of city hall, county offices, the courthouse etc. You're a real hero Mr. Buckingham.
I've only been to DC twice in my life. Once when I was 7 years old and once about 10 years ago when I was dating a chick from NOVA. When I visited with my ex, we bought suspiciously cheap ice cream from an ice cream truck and sat down on a bench about 100 ft away while we ate it. We watched as the guy in the ice cream truck bolted out and started sprinting away from the truck. Then I saw another guy chasing him, pointing and yelling. I'm pretty sure we bought ice cream from a guy who was in the middle of robbing an ice cream truck, and he sold it to us mad cheap because he didn't know the prices and was trying to get us away from him as quickly as possible. So that's the first thing that I picture when I think of DC - it's not politicians, it's an ice cream truck.
I can’t lie it’s a sad situation but honestly a lot of these people could provide for themselves if they chose to fix their life but instead they just want the government to give them a free ticket. People must be the change they want to see
The majority of these jobs will not afford a basic apartment. The days of roommates are over, you have to qualify just like you were renting the place yourself, that includes making 3 times the rent. The problem is there isn't enough affordable housing.
Brandon these documentary videos are awesome and obviously have a lot of love and effort in them. I think though that I and others might like to see your more comedic videos like Elite Spa make a comeback.
They gotta take some account for themselves man. They are all blaming it on everyone but themselves. "am i out here cause I'm an addict or am I an addict cause I'm out here?" My guy, you are out here cause you're an addict! Don't get it confused, you didn't move out on the street then start shooting up. Choices were made and things changed and now new choices need to me made for things to change again. Love the Vids Brandon! I'm up in Pasadena/Glen Burnie so I love seeing the local content!!
Great video brandon. I work at a dc public charter school and I enroll homeless washingtonians for classes to obtain their ged for free. Washington has amazing services, but the city has a stark racial and class divide that only feeds into the dynamic you spoke about (like clearing mcpherson park). Its awesome to have somebody shine a light on this problem, and I applaud your work.
I’m so glad things worked out for you, I LOVE you channel & know how much you have gone through to get here! Your an inspiration for real, please never stop being you!!!
You literally have to round them up and put them in a camp, force them to get sober and then put them to work. If homelessness is a choice the choice needs to be removed.
Brandon's music selection is top tier. In the midst of a homeless man telling his life story there's some Weezer in the background 😂I think you even had some Atmosphere bumping on one of your other vids recently. Love it brotha keep up the great work! Production quality has been awesome lately!
Imagine you're on the titanic and it's sinking. They tell you there are no more life rafts but you can see behind them, there are clearly many liferafts. In fact, every time they locate another woman with children they seem to magically find another lift raft, but they're out when it comes to you and people like you. That's where they draw the line. Once again, in this scenario, there where enough liferafts to begin with, they just feel the need to draw the line and hoard some.
Oh and then on top of that you've got this little wet rat named Brandon cherry-picking interviews to blame the welfare state for the existence of the welfare state.
I'm very excited, and can't wait to see the next video at the gathering 23. I got a membership on patreon just to watch the extended footage's. Thanks for the great content . - Yours truly Canadian Ally
"You got alot of nerve telling us we do drugs..." As home boy is cooking up RIGHT NEXT TO HIM!!! And other dude has track mark X marks the spot on his arm
Less than 2 minutes in and the signs of drug use answer ALL questions…it’s an epidemic and a free tent, house, or money doesn’t do shit without the help and support for the people who WANT to change.
its always amazing when you step out of Union Station after observing the beautiful nature scapes outside of the Capitol and you're greeted with raging homeless
@@charlesmiv3842 not at all. They are real heavy over there. I work in that area often. At night time there are so many homeless sleeping in the area that I literally have to step over homeless people. There’s also a shelter that is right up the street and that block looks similar to skid row 24/7
another W video brandon, you always covering shit that genuinely fascinates me, i hope your videos help spread awareness! i find these specific topics about homelessness and drug epidemics very interesting but depressing at the same time. also, great choices of songs, really makes the videos so much more enjoyable!
DC resident, worked in a downtown ER for 2ish years. The people in this video can claim that the crisis isn’t all the things they mentioned, but it really is a compounding issue of exactly all those things. That and it’s so expensive to live here. If you don’t have a good support system, this city will consume your wealth.
pretty crazy to compare the quality of this video to your earlier work. I love those old videos but these really blow them out of the water in a number of ways.
I think thats what people really dont understand... i KNOW 4 people who right out of highschool... went to DC and 1 to Cali... and just went full homeless mode. Because its the lifestyle they wanted and are still currently in. They post on social media and snapchat all the time... they make money.... but theyre still in tents. Homelessness is a choice more than half the time. and imo the only way to cure it is to stop supporting, it.
Aye Brandon, if you see this, I just wanna say how much I appreciate your growth in maturity when it comes to your videos. You have grown so much and your content has become so amazing. To be honest, I hated you in your old videos, just because of the foolishness I guess I don't know haha. But seeing how insightful and respectful you've become, it's really refreshing and I love these videos. Keep it up man, and keep growing.
You're a king dude. Favorite youtuber. Keep doing what's best for you, I feel like you're special and other people aren't fully going to get it Props man
Homeless ppl are VERY EDUCATED about being homeless. They know ALL THE PAY DAYS, and the where all the free stuff is. They know ALL the drugs. They know when the new drugs are hitting the street...Imagine if they applied theirselves to shit that matters.
This country is utterly broken. This video further cements this. We send 125 billion dollars to Ukraine. Yet not too far from the White House making these decisions, we have a massive homeless population
@@VladimirDemetrovIlyushin oh, so you support the entirely corrupt bullshit war that were waging against Russia? That’s sad. Keep watching CNN, Bro. That war is entirely fabricated to further support our military industrial complex. Nothing more. Ukraine is a corrupt country that we support because it helps Raytheon’s bottom line. If you believe otherwise, you’re a sheep.
@@VladimirDemetrovIlyushin unless you were being extremely sarcastic. That doesn’t translate well over a RU-vid comment. So if so, my apologies. Fuck the government, fuck the dems and fuck the republicans. They all conspire against us. Literally. That’s all they do. I don’t even like punk music and I work a 50 hour a week office job. But fuck the government.
I understand you a lot more now since watching your video on how you became a youtuber. You got a MASTER'S degree and were teaching art to kids. That's the most Brandon Buckingham thing ever.
What we need is closed free communities. Nothing gets in or out without heavy security, but if you choose to enter you get free housing, education, food, and a job. People who don't want to work, and get paid by charity to do drugs should not be supported. I went to a job corps, and it saved me from homelessness. Its too bad that its corrupt too, a well funded and uncorrupted version of JC would be the best solution I could possibly think of.
Hardly any resources are afforded to these people though. You subsidize their rent? Cool, most of them still can't work, either due to disability, or lack of official documentation, or a lack of reliable transportation, etc. You found work for them? Cool, they still need a domicile, and especially in DC there's no way to afford domicile on the wages DC would pay. And then there's of course the drug problem, which nobody wants to address because it would make any city mayor look bad. It's a problem that will take 10-20+ years to 'solve', yet the politicians only run for 4 years at a time. The snakes aren't gonna run on a platform with that kind of horizon. What the homeless people of this country need is a **comprehensive** solution, not the piecemeal shit they're currently getting from a dozen disparate sources. They need jobs programs, they need safe housing options, they need to be involved in the broader community, and many need help either with drug rehabilitation or with navigating the overly-complex bureaucracy of getting an ID; all of this, together, would give them a reason to uphold the social contract. A church giving them gift cards, or a bystander buying them a sandwich, or the city subsidizing housing (for vets only lmao) has done and will continue to do nothing. As the man said, these people are living day-to-day and they have no future, so why plan for it? Living day-to-day by itself is enough to make anyone feral.
