we crept through skid row, block by block, hunting for the right wall. the streets were filled with people, some pushing shopping carts filled with their possessions, others curbed, engaged in furious conversations with themselves or slumped over, swaying forward and back. many were on bicycles, blasting music from a makeshift boombox/backpack, simultaneously swigging from a gallon of soda. 

people sidled up to the car at stop signs, asking for money or food. zippy offered tangerines. no one wanted them. we kept on. 

few surfaces worked. we were about to settle when we approached towne ave. the skies parted and the angels blasted their trumpets: this was it. several weeks later, faith executed her vision—a guardian for those whose welfare was built in a blind spot, a protector for those with only the streets to call home. ‘salus populi suprema lex esto’ (the health of the people should be the supreme law).

video by chop 'em down films

words by carter