When you see a homeless person standing on a street corner,
begging for money, do you ever wonder why?
Why don’t they just go back to work? Why don’t they earn their own money?
Super hard to get a job when you don’t have an ID!
Super hard to find a place to live,
get help, get food stamps, get benefits, when you don’t have an ID.
And there are thousands and thousands of people living out on the streets today
because they don’t have an ID.
I’ve been working with the homeless community for many years now
and I grew very close to a certain homeless man named Bodie.
And one day Bodie asked me
if I would help him to get his birth certificate.
He’s been living on the street for 14 years
and he had no identification since then.
And when someone who is homeless asks you to help them, it’s huge.
It means they trust you.
So when he asked, I said, ”Absolutely!
I’ll do whatever is necessary to help you get your birth certificate.”
And that is where Bodie And I story began.
So Bodie came from California.
We filled out the application to get your birth certificate from California.
We filled out the whole front part,
and then we got to the back part, and it actually said,
”Notary signature required. Please show photo ID.”
(Laughter)
Well … So, we had to take a pause.
And I had to think about:
where would be the last place that Bodie might have had a photo ID?
And it was when he was in prison.
So we went to the Department of Corrections
and I asked the person at the front,
”Hi, we need to reprint Bodie’s prison ID.”
And they were like, ”Oh, you can’t do that!”
I said, ”There’s no way to reprint an ID? He stayed here for six years.”
He was like, ”We have no way to print a prison ID.”
I said, ”OK, what are my options?
I need to get some sort of identification form.”
They said, ”Well, we can print out his mug shot.
Why don’t you try to use his mug shot and see if that will help you?”
So, I took the mug shot
with the application for the birth certificate to my bank
to ask my general manager, my friend,
if he could use the mug shot as a form of identification
so that we could get Bodie’s birth certificate application notarized.
He said, ”I’m sorry, I can’t.
I’m so sorry, but here is what I would do:
I would take Bodie to the Social Security Office
and I would have them reprint his social security card.”
I said, ”Okay.”
So I put Bodie back in my car and we drove to the Social Security office.
And it’s important for you guys to know:
Bodie is homeless.
Bodie has post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Bodie has no car.
Bodie has no money.
So, how far do you think he would have gotten so far
in trying to get his identification back, without me?
He wouldn’t have made it past the notary
on the back page of the first sheet of paper.
But I’m here!
We get to the Social Security office, we walk through the door,
and there’s a security guard there that actually frisks you as you go in.
And I mentioned that Bodie has post-traumatic stress syndrome.
So, he is in a high stress level
as we’re trying to help him get his identity back.
But I’m there, and I support him, and we sit down, and we wait.
And we eventually get called up to a window where a very nice man said,
”How can I help you?”
We explained that we’re trying to get a reprint of Bodie’s social security card.
He said, ”Bodie, do you know your Social Security number?”
Bodie did, he gave it to him,
the guy typed in the number and bing! up came Bodie’s information.
But, Bodie didn’t have a photo ID.
So, the only thing that the man could do
was to actually write a letter of denial for Bodie, saying,
“This man says that this is his Social Security number,
but there’s no way for us to verify it because he doesn’t have a photo ID,
so right now he’s not eligible for a social security card.”
He gave this to me and he suggested that I’d go to the DMV
and take the letter of denial with the mug shot and the application,
and see if they would print Bodie’s old driver’s license,
because he had an Idaho driver’s license 20 years ago.
I said, ”Okay.”
So we got in the car and we drove to the DMV.
We walked through the door of the DMV
and it was like that day where every single seat in the DMV is filled.
Bodie is like, ”No way! I can’t go in there, I can’t do this.”
And I said, ”You know what Bodie? You can, I’m here with you.
We can do this, and it’s going to matter that you go in there.
It’s going to matter for you, and your life.
So just take my hand and let’s do this.
And so he reluctantly agreed, and I walked him in and I took a number.
They were on 95 and my number was 195.
We walked into a room that feels as packed as today.
And we had to like wind our way through a middle row
and kind of cram ourselves between two people.
Bodie immediately fell asleep on my shoulder.
He wanted to do this thing but he didn’t know how to manage it,
so his body knew what to do and it let him sleep.
He slept for an hour and a half while I didn’t.
I sat, and I sat, and I sat, and Bodie slept and slept.
And then eventually they called our number.
We got to the window and we explained what we needed.
They asked Bodie for his full name and they typed the full name in
and bing! up pops Bodie’s driver’s license number,
Bodie’s name, and Bodie’s old address.
But it turns out that after ten years, the DMV dumps photos.
They don’t want to store them on their computers anymore.
So even though he had a driver license, a name and address,
there was no way to prove he was who he said he was
because the photo was gone.
I was like …
”So what do we do? What are our options?”
They said, ”Well, call this number, and see if they can help you.”
And then they wrote Bodie’s driver’s license number
from his old driver’s license on the top of the sheet.
So we get in the car, I am frustrated, Bodie is tired and cranky.
I called the number on my BlueTube so that Bodie and I can both hear.
It rings, and it rings, and it rings,
and then there’s a voice mail saying, ”Hi, we are closed for the day.”
And … We’ve got nothing done today.
I’m so used to like,
”You want to get a birth certificate? Let’s go get a birth certificate!”
Nothing had happened.
The thing that you do when you’re having a day like that,
is you go to Wendy’s.
(Laughter)
You drive through Wendy’s and you order two singles with cheese,
extra large fries, extra large frosties.
You sit in the parking lot and you jam to AC/DC loud.
And you eat a burger with your friend Bodie.
And you take deep breathes,
because you don’t want to give up, right?
So after we ate, I drove Bodie back to his tent,
and I went home and I raged on my Facebook page,
”This is what happened, this is what I’m trying to do.
I don’t know how to help this guy.
Does anyone know any ideas? If you do, private message me!”
And ding! I get a private message, it is this woman from Nampa.
She works for a real estate agency and she is a notary.
She said, ”I have a loop-hole for you.
Bring Bodie to Nampa tomorrow morning at 9:00 and I’m going to help you.”
And I said, ”Okay.”
So I picked up Bodie and we went to Nampa.
And she used his mug shot with the driver’s license number
that they have written down on that sheet of paper.
Because it didn’t exactly say
that both things had to be on the same piece of paper.
It just said that you needed a number and a photo, so …
She signed it, and we mailed it off …
And after 14 years and two weeks …
Bodie got his birth certificate!
(Applause)
This was such a proud moment for me and for Bodie.
He couldn’t believe that it actually had happened.
He was so used to nothing happening.
I got to tell the story at a panel for a group of social workers,
and I victoriously showed this.
The Executive Director from the Department of Corrections saw me talk about this,
and he picked me up by my armpits, hugged me and said,
”Thank you for such great work, if you ever need anything, call me,”
and I said, ”Okay.”
And then the next week, it was time to go get Bodie his photo ID.
So, I took Bodie to the DMV with his birth certificate and mug shot.
And I said, ”We need to get a state ID.
We have the birth certificate and the mug shot.
They were like, ”I’m sorry, you need to have other forms of identification.”
You’re going to need to have a photo ID.
(Laughter)
”So, I need to have a photo ID to get a photo ID?
– Yes. – What are my other options?”
They gave me this sheet.
Now I’m with a homeless man and the sheet’s options were:
rental agreement, utility bills, mortgage documents,
current driver’s license, valid immigration, US military,
bla bla bla.
And at the very bottom there’s a few other options.
You can get a senior picture from their Senior High School year book.
You can get a verification from a person who’s known you for over 10 years.
You can get a copy of your marriage certificate or your divorce records.
You can also get medical records.
So I’m like, ”Ok, let’s just figure out which ones we’re going to be able to get.”
I take Bodie and we go to St. Lukes, we go to the Medical Records Department.
I bring the birth certificate and I say,
”Can we please get Bodie’s medical records?”
And they’re like, ”I’m sorry, you need to have a …”
(Audience) Photo ID!
”… to get medical records.”
I said, ”Okay, check that one off.”
Then we went to this County Court house,
and we went to find Bodie’s divorce decree.
Guess what is the only document you don’t need a photo ID to get?
A divorce decree.
(Laughter)
So I got that.
And then,
we went back to the DMV, we stood in line.
They said, ”That’s not enough, try to get the senior picture.”
He didn’t sit for senior pictures, that could’t happen.
I’m running out of options so I find his dad.
I’m like, I need to do something where we can get a real verification.
So I ask his dad if he’ll meet me at the DMV
and verify that Bodie is who he says he is, and he agrees.
So we meet back at the DMV.
We wait in line super awkwardly
because apparently Bodie and his dad don’t get along that well,
and they haven’t seen each other for about 14 years, so …
We finally get called up to the window.
We show the driver’s license that matches exactly the name of the father
that’s listed on the birth certificate,
and they take a copy of the driver’s license from the dad,
and they say, ”You’re still going to need some form of ID,
but we hold this on a file for you.”
So I leave with Bodie, and at this point I’m tired,
and I’m frustrated, and I start crying, and I apologize to Bodie.
I’m like, ”I’m sorry, I don’t know how to do this.”
And he hugs me, and he pats me on the back and he said,
”It’s okay, don’t worry. It’s going to be okay.”
And I realized that Bodie wasn’t frustrated
because Bodie is so used to being told ”No”.
Bodie is so used to being disappointed.
From where I came from in my childhood, with my family and my life,
I was not used to being told ”No”, I was not used to being disappointed,
and I was not used to failing.
So he had to provide me the comfort.
Well, we left.
And I called the man that I’d met from the Department of Corrections,
and I explained, ‘We have tried everything.”
He said, ”Let me see what I can do for you.”
He got in touch with his Deputy Director and he said,
”Let me go see if I can find an old file for Bodie.”
And they went to a warehouse
and they found Bodie’s file from 25 years ago,
and in it was a sheet called the ”Intake Sheet”.
On it was Bodie’s photo, Bodie’s height, his weight, his eye color,
his tattoo markings and his Social Security number.
They went so far as to actually stamp it in red and sign it
to make it look like a valid form of identification for Bodie.
So I put Bodie back in the car. We drove to the DMV.
We waited in line … I showed the woman,
”OK, I have the birth certificate. I have this intake form.
We have this thing on file from his dad, do you think this will be enough?”
She said, ”Let me go talk to my supervisor.”
She walked into this glassed office
that set off from the windows where you check in.
I watch her talking to this woman, and she’s holding this paper in her hand.
She hands it to this woman and Bodie and I are clutching each other’s hands,
hoping that this is going to work.
We watched the heads moving and shaking.
Then she hands the paper back, the woman comes back out
and she says, ”You know, this could work,
but we’re going to need to see proof of a residency.”
I’m like, ”He is homeless, how do I do that?”
She said, ”I don’t know, you’re going to have to find something
that shows Bodie lives in Idaho or we can’t help you.”
I take Bodie back home to his tent
and I go home.
And at 11 o’clock that night my phone rings and it’s Bodie.
He’s like, ”Oh my gosh, you’re not going to believe this.
But, in my sleeping bag, at the bottom of it,
I found this envelop that was addressed to me from the County Court System
for an old address when I lived in Idaho. Do you think this will work?”
And I’m like, ”I’ve no idea but let’s go try!”
And I picked him up at 9 o’clock on a Friday morning,
and we got back in line at the DMV.
And all the people working there were like,
”Hey Bodie, Jodi, how are you doing?”
We wait in line. They call our number.
It’s the same woman from the day before.
And we show her that we found this. ”Will this work, is this enough?”
She takes this, with this, with the intake form
and she goes back to talk to the supervisor.
They’re talking, talking, and Bodie and I are holding hands again and sweating,
waiting …
waiting …
She comes back out, she puts the papers down on the counter.
And she says, ”Bodie, I’m going to need you to smile for the camera.”
(Applause)
And then,
he got his temporary ID.
(Applause)
And right there, in that moment,
he turned to me, he took my hand, looked at me in the eye and he said,
”Thank you for making me human again.”
And he was right, he couldn’t do anything without an ID.
He was so disconnected for so long, he felt like a person for the first time.
So, I took him back to his tent, and I felt really happy.
The next morning, Bodie called me and he says,
”You’re not going to believe this.”
I said, ”What?” and he said, ”I got a job.”
I said, ”Shut up!”
(Laughter)
”No!”
It turns out the reason why he asked me to help him get his birth certificate
was because he had been outside a day shelter
and a man needed help moving a table.
The guy said, ”Hey, could you help me?” and Bodie said, ”Yes.”
The guy said, ”Thanks so much for your kindness and your help.
Do you want a job?” Bodie said, ”Yeah.”
He said, ”Do you have an ID?” Bodie said, ”No.”
He said, ”You get an ID and I’ll give you a job.”
So we got Bodie’s ID,
and on Monday morning I took Bodie for lunch at his job.
He now works for a cement company with the driver’s license,
and he drives the work truck.
I tell you this story because we have to solve problems for these people.
We have to understand what their ”why” is.
I’m currently working on a solution of a pilot program
so that this does not happen again.
But for now, please wonder why these people
are standing out on the street with a sign.
Thank you.
(Applause)
”
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