((PKG))  MAYOR / HOMELESSNESS   
((Banner:  Shelter for Those Without)) 
((Reporter/Camera:  Genia Dulot))  
((Map: Riverside, California))   
((Main character:  1 male))  
((Sub characters:  2 female; 1 male)) 
((Popup Banner:  Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 
people without shelter struggled to stay safe))  
((NATS:  Mayor Rusty Bailey & Homeless man: 
How are you doing? 
Hey, Mayor! 
Hey, Darrell!  Hey, what’s going on? 
All right.  How are you doing? 
Where are you at?  Where are you at? 
Is that Michael? 
Yeah, that’s me. 
Hey, brother. 
Hey, it’s good to see you. 
You, too.  You, too.  You hungry?  Going to get some dinner 
tonight?  All right.)) 
((Rusty Bailey, Mayor – Riverside, California)) 
So, my compassion for the homeless really started when I 
was in high school and my dad took me to a church that fed 
homeless on a certain night of the week.  And I’ll never forget 
the moment when I was serving one of my classmates in high 
school and they looked at me and I could just see the 
shame on their face.  At that moment, I knew that could be me 
and so ever since then, you know, serving the homeless 
touched me personally.  
((NATS:  Mayor Rusty Bailey & Heidi, Homeless: 
You keeping an eye on Heidi, Les?   
Yes. 
No, he doesn’t keep an eye…... 
He doesn’t? 
No.  You don’t need to keep an eye on me.  I’m a grown 
woman.  
You’re supposed to be in apartment.  Why aren’t you in your 
apartment? 
I don’t need a house.  This is my house.  This is my 
community.   
I know this is your community.  
Are you trying to be my dad? 
Yes!   
No.   
Yes. 
You can’t be my dad.  
No.  You are my mom!  She’s my….right?   
Listen, listen to me.  I had to….. 
This is my mother.  This is my adopted mother.  I have 
adopted Heidi.  She takes care of me when I am out here on 
Massachusetts avenue. 
Oh, yeah! )) 
((Rusty Bailey, Mayor – Riverside, California)) 
Raul Nava, 29-year old individual, was living on the streets 
and was stabbed to death.  I got a text alert about this and 
came out and observed it and I said, I’ve got to do something.  
I can’t let this go on any longer. 
((Rusty Bailey, Mayor – Riverside, California)) 
Yeah, this is my sleeping arrangement and it gets cold out 
here.  So, I have a couple of different blankets, obviously 
sleeping bag.  I’ve got my army hat here, as it goes on, a 
sleeping cap, my skull cap.  I am a graduate of West Point 
1994, class of 1994.  I just got back from my 25th reunion and 
we got our hats there and so, I keep that close to my, close to 
my heart, but it’s on my head so, maybe it’s even better, 
keeping me warm.  I lived here for 15 nights, every other 
night, for over a month, to bring a sense of urgency, to bring 
education awareness and to challenge the community, 
challenge the city to help me bring more attention and to 
bring more resources and to raise funding. 
((Rusty Bailey, Mayor – Riverside, California)) 
This right here, only took a couple hours to build and we can 
get somebody off the streets, at least two people off the 
streets immediately.  And so, this is the first step: from the 
streets, out of the tent, off the sidewalk and into safe and 
dignified shelter. 
((Rusty Bailey, Mayor – Riverside, California)) 
So, we are looking at buying 20 of these and place them in 
this parking lot with bathrooms and showers and a place for 
eating.  Unfortunately, the state of California has a 
requirement that any emergency shelter has to have 70 
square feet [6.5 m2] of livable area for one individual and 
then 50 square feet [4.6 m2] thereafter.  So, right now, this 
is not legal to stay in in the state of California, at least by the 
code.   
((NATS:  Mayor Rusty Bailey & Heidi, Homeless: 
Well, there you go.  All the pictures. 
Hi, are you the mayor? 
So, where is it?  
Yeah.)) 
((Michelle Dunn, Homeless)) 
Hi.  I just got kicked out of my, well, not my homeless shelter, 
the homeless shelter here.  They’re saying that the program’s 
shut down and I’m wondering is there is any other place that I 
could stay?  My name is Michelle Dunn.  I’ve traveled all 
around this country.  I am finally here.  I am stuck.  I have no 
money.  I cannot get out of here.  Could someone please 
help me? 
((Rusty Bailey, Mayor – Riverside, California)) 
I am frustrated by the bureaucracy.  I am frustrated by 
whatever you want to call it.  And, you know, people are 
dying on the streets.  People are suffering on the streets and 
they don’t have to.  We have the money for this.  We have the 
public opinion.  Public opinion said, “yes”!  Political will is 
with us.  Political will said, “yes, we will do this.”  But for 
some reason, there is these, these hoops we have to 
jump through.  These hurdles we have to get around, to get 
over, are preventing our neighbors without homes from 
sleeping in this shelter tonight.  
((NATS)) 
((Popup Banner:  Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 
California has increased efforts to help those without shelter 
but are still struggling))