president at the time believed to be treason by nixon to get himself in the white house. almost unimaginable. at least it used to be. >> now, that's the story, dick. it is a sordid story. >> their moms. >> me and my 18 months old jumping hotels. >> i lost my mom and my wife. >> we don't have a room, like a real room. >> somebody got evicted and people are falling through the cracks. >> you get used to this? >> people sleeping on the streets? >> do i get use to snit? >> there are angels offering help and home and a second chance.

>> we have not had a home feel this good. >> i was in a desperate situation. they gave me a place to sleep. >> i was in those shoes and i rose out of it. tonight "dateline" takes you on a different kind of rescue mission. >> what is that? >> she was living in that. >> that's what they had to call home. heroes searching for the loss. >> when i could not find her, i would leave her messages. changing lives with kindness. respect. >> when it comes to the homeless, what do we not see? >> do we appreciate classical mus music? >> what's appreciated is someone showed up and say i am here for you right now. "homeless in america." >> i am lester holt and this is "dateline." here is craig melvin with city of angels. los angeles is the city of angels and dreams from the

beautiful coastline to the glamour of hollywood and the richest of beverly hills, downtown, simmering skyscrapers have created a ren -- >> v.j. gupta calls this home. he first picked up a violin when he was four-year-old. he was soon played around the world. when he was 19, he became the youngest violinist ever. >> this is the all-stars. he joined the l.a. symphony, this is a dream job. despite living his dream, gupta wondered if he can use his mew s

i cmusic to heal the less fortunate. >> who was i playing for? was that who i was? [ applause ] >> those questions would lead gupta to a most unlikely audience, one that could never afford to hear him play. just a few blocks away from the concert hall, a world apart is a place unknown to many. >> we actually have this place where people are treated like refuges. >> the highest concentration of homelessness in america. >> what did you feel for the first time? >> i felt like someone had actually punched me. if i were to put words to it, i think what i felt was shame. >> but, that feeling would spur

him to do something remarkable. >> and so i started reaching out to clinicians and hospitals and hospices and social worker workers -- just saying hey, i want to come and play. >> how is it going, man? >> gupta recruited other musicians. >> thank you for stepping in on such short notice. >> artists and classical, all to share the transform activity power of music with people experiencing homelessness. he calls it "street symphony." do they appreciate classical music? >> i think what is appreciated is that the fact that someone showed up. >> how are you doing? >> one day at a time. >> i look at them in the eyes and ask them how are you and say i am here for you right now. >> street symphony did not start

because gupta feels guilty. >> this is not that hard. >> years early, he was introduced to a homeless musician named nathaniel heirs. >> here is someone who we have lost. >> heirs was a base but severe schizophrenia led him to the streets, his story inspired a book and a later film called a soloist. >> i didn't understand how someone that talented could have ever been homeless. the question quickly transformed into how many more nathanials are out here? >> gupta saw that music could

empower the homeless, not only by watching but actually performing. street sympathony began collaborating with the urban voice project. many of the singers are homeless. in the face of unspeakable trauma and despair. these folks find their feet. [ applause ] >> yeah. they sing. >> one of those singers was a homeless man named ryan palmer. >> you came to skit road. >> i came to skit road. >> three years ago, palmer was at rock bottom, hooked on heroine and homeless. >> i lost my apartment, too small business, my wife and a kid. >> lost it all. >> lost it all. >> i was mentally and spiritually bankrupt. >> but, he says music began to heal hiss trauma and gave him

hope. >> it brought up the child in me again. every since, i loved it. >> now, he rehearses with l.a.'s top artists. >> last december, palmer and street sympathy performed the messiah project. . >> all i own is a blanket and a pillow. >> on skid row in front of an audience of 100. palmer sang the most difficult movement from the ""messiah." ♪ >> i was weeping during the concert because that's his

story. >> in the audience was one of the country's top music critics. >> they said your performance surpassed any singers i have heard. he made the texts sounded like he was taken from his own life. did he get it right? >> yes, he did get it right. it is my journey through the drug addiction like the song talked about the people walked in darkness seeing the great light. i believe it has been a huge part of my healing process. a huge part. [ applause ] >> to those who would say v.j., this is great. these people need hope and help with addiction. >> yeah. >> you are giving them concerts. what would you say to them?

>> you are absolutely right. they do need homes and they do need counselors and our role as artists to be a bridge that changes the narrative and start the conversation so that these people are no longer living intense on the sidewalk. >> we would soon meet more angels like v.j. gupta trying to get people off the streets. >> need some socks? >> it is a problem that we discovered plagued los angeles for years. >> i work at a homeless clinic and i am homeless, how the heck did that happen to me? >> what we found is a window into a crisis that extends across america. a homeless crisis. >> we are no longer tolerance because we no longer have enough space for us. far darker and desperate than we

ever imagined. >> before we meet some of the other angels, heroes, really doing what they can to help the homeless, we'll ask you to come along with us in that desperate place. it may not be the first on your list of places to visit. you will understand what craig is talking about, it is a place that we all need to see. when we return. this isn't just any moving day.

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on any given night across america, there are half a million of people living in homelessness, a quarter of them are in california, staggering 5 55,000 in los angeles alone. in the downtown, it is the nation's homeless epicenter. when you see it for the first time, it is a shock to the system. what you need to really see to understand the crisis of homelessness. the smell of trash. urine and human 's -- >> do you get used to this of people sleeping on the streets? >> where else are they going to d go? >> christopher mac walks the

streets everyday helping with assistance. we walk with him through the 50 square blocks of tarps and tents. >> does this make you sad, angry? >> i cry for two years because looking at a man in this condition was very painful. >> who lives in skid road? >> common denominator, the disenfranchise. >> on skid road, the most vidabvi visible are the addicts and mentally ill. >> we met ynette who has been homeless for years. >> you got to keep it out here. they build institutionallize. when you got our tent, you are

your own captain. >> so you like your freedom. >> how are you, sir? >> 8% of the homeless are veterans like mike who have been living here for four years. >> do you think you will be here forever? >> where is your family? >> louisiana. >> why don't you go there? >> nobody in my family knows that i am here. >> a lot of people believe it or not will not contact their family and let them know. >> what's the knife and the machete and baseball bat. >> if we don't have nuclear arson, we'll be invaded. when it rains, conditions on skid road is deplorable, trash and water rises and people battles to keep their possessions dry. when nightfalls, the street belongs to the trash and rats. >> how do people sleep through

tl night here? >> people laying on the ground should not be acceptable. >> it is hard not to get depressed about this. i am only here for a day. >> i know. >> skid road is no accident. it has been a magnet. the city tried to move everyone out but when the he is threaten to move into other neighborhoods, the city adopted a policy of containment, skid road would be left alone as long as the homeless stay inside the defined border. >> all the problems that we could not fix, let's shove them here. >> steve lopez, a columnist for the l.a. times.

he wrote extensively about the homeless. >> one of the most i mpoverishe place you have ever seen. >> thousands of people cling to life inside skid road, above the street is a vast ecosystem of shelters and clinics, providing food and clothing and temporary housing. one of them, the midnight mission, some sleeps head to toes in its courtyard, a sanctuary or gangs or prostitution or drugs. it feels like a war zone. >> in one hour at this intersection, we saw four overdoses, police and emergency units removed one person after another. 831 people died homeless in l.a.

county last year. i have seen the terror. i have seen the paranoia. i don't judge somebody who's sick. they're trying to survive one more day. >> brian palmer, the homeless man we met in the choir knows what it is like to try to survive. >> you never know where there is danger and you are always harassed by police. the streets break you down completely. >> i call it the jungle. scary. >> but, palmer discovered in a place desperate as skid road. there are angels like christopher mac, he took palmer under his wings and got him into rehab and off the streets, he lives in skid road's apartment and works in construction. >> i was in their shoes and i

rose out of it. >> for those who live there, skid road is not a dunk, it is a real community with life and art and even festivals like this one. >> there is this humanity that exists that a lot of folks may not know about. >> they don't. >> it is a place for people to rise out of it, too. >> coming up, homeless people are just on skid road anymore, they live almost anywhere in l.a. >> it is in your home or land or on your yard. >> this man has an answer. >> proposals that i have made have met some resistance, when "dateline" continues.

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they're in bellaire and west beverly hills. they're all in l.a. now, homeless have spread into the heart of residential neighborhoods. these mothers are fed up. >> it is like it is becoming the new normal. i have had in the last six months either people trying to camp on my property or having to kick people off because they are doing drugs or having to ask people not to defecate in my yard. >> i am planning on moving. impregnant and i can't imagine

rolling the stroller down venice like this way. >> people are languaon the stre with no help insight. >> soaring housing costs creating a homeless sprawl. they live on sidewalks and beaches and along freeways and in cars and motor homes. even in the woods. venice beach is a wealthy l.a. neighborhood, home to many tech workers. it is a haven for the homeless. a political battle rages over what to do. it is a humanitarian crisis. >> mike bonman is representing west l.a. venice. >> it gave me a bit of appreciation of how easy it is to fall into homelessness. i was right there hanging on the

edge. >> the thing is, most of his constituents are homeowners and many are mad. >> i see the same people year after year rotting on the streets. >> i get the frustration of people who are angry about encampments and neighborhoods. i absolutely get it. after i walk my kids in the morning and there is often someone sleeping on the sidewalk. from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., you are allowed to sleep in the sidewalks. but with an extreme shortage of both, they're practically free to live anywhere. >> it is in your home and it is on your land and it is in your yard. >> with the crisis at a boiling point two years ago, angelino did something extraordinary, they voted to raise their own taxes to fund more housing for

the homeless over the next decade. people opened their wallets but not near neighborhoods where some do not want homeless housing built. that has not stopped mike bonman. let's get our butts and gears and provide the alternatives for encampment. he wants to build a storage center where the homeless can keep their belongings. sounds good but both buildings are near this men industelement. >> to put high-risk individuals next to a school, come on, do you want that next to a school where you live? >> we can't say you move away from the school until we have a place to move them to. that's what this is about, providing the alternatives. >> those efforts have been received by constituents?

>> proposals i have made have med some resistance. >> you are being kind. >> they're not quite burning me yet unless you have some photos i have not seen yet. >> at this meeting, he got a real ear full. >> it does not make economic sense. >> they're building in the palisade. go to the palisade park and build it. >> people don't want shelters. they have mentally ill. >> the anger is everywhere. >> no shelter. >> like in this rally in korea town, all over l.a. plans to build housing for the homeless have hit a human wall, some called them nimbys, that stands for not in my backyard. >> this is third street and what we have here is we got the richest corporation in the

world, google and we have got a public storage here where all the no dumping signs and right in between the middle of all this is the homeless encampment. >> right around the corner from you. >> rick sweener have lived here for 38 years. he's sick of the human feces on his doorsteps which is a health threat. >> you have done some research? >> i found e. coli in a black water pond next to a playground two blocks from here. >> human feces on the streets in the second largest city in the united states of america. at what point did that become acceptable? >> it is unacceptable. what's surprising that people have not taken to the streets to say open the dam bathrooms. >> to much controversy, bonham was able to open 24/7 bathrooms on the beach.

swingers think that has not stopped the problem. >> you sound like -- >> i got to tell you, i got it not only in my backyard but my front yard. you do not want this in your backyard. if you do, you are a fool. >> then in an instant, the colon fli conflict between the house and the homeless became clear. >> what are you guys doing here? >> this guy should not be around here. he does so much trouble. he should stop, let the city take over. it is not your job to fix this. >> i live here. >> stop harassing us. >> you are on the street here talking stuff to them. >> of course. >> of course. >> you are making a point to harass us.

>> we are not harassing you. >> i get the frustration but the solution to homelessness can't be more objectable than itself. >> coming up, the hidden homeless in the valley. >> she was living in that. >> the miracle worker who finds them real homes. >> the task is daunting. you know that you are making a dent.

mexico has a plan to deport some of the migrants crossing the board today. hundreds are seeking asylum attempted to rush the board. >> alabama, a man killed and shot by police, protesters say police should release the video. the actual gunman is still at large. now, back to "dateline." in los angeles, north of hollywood hills, a world away

from skid road is an area spanning more than 200 square miles, this is the san fernando valley. hidden among the forest are homeless encampment, clustered with tents and make ship homes. many have lived here for years and few would dare to enter except this man. eric montoya is with the n non-profit with l.a. housing. >> being homeless ais a 24-hour job trying to find food and homes. >> many traumatized for years outside. his goal to get them into housing as quickly as possible. >> this is one of your regular stops? >> yes. >> he took us to the area where

he discovered this tree house. >> a homeless woman named karen lives here. she was living in that. >> yes. >> this is sort of a fence. >> yeah, it is what they have. >> it is kind of scary. >> this is karen. for nearly eight years, she lived on the streets until 2013, when she walked into the woods and built this three story tree house. when montoya first approached karen, she refused to speak to him. it took five years of weekly visit to gain trust. >> i think that's how our relationship is. >> today karen calls this apartment her home. >> this is a kitchen. >> montoya's organization is a leader in los angeles on how to solve homelessness at least for

some. >> those who sleeps in parks and tents, those are folks sleeping with chronic conditions and have had long episodes of homelessness. their mission is to get homeless people off the streets as quickly as possible using different solutions, motels and temporary shelters and ultimately permanent housing, using public and private funds, works with the neighborhood to avoid push back. >> how many people would you guess over the years have been able to take from a situation like this to get them some permanent housing? >> thousands. >> thousands? >> i am eric, by the way. our mission is to help homelessness by providing people with housing and supportive services. >> their apartment complexes like this one are deliberately

designed to be attractive and blend into the neighborhood. >> come on in. >> i love the plans. >> inside a few feet from the apartments are services helping residence jobs and staying sober. >> i was in a desperate situation and not fall into the crack again. >> they gave me a place to live. >> the task is daunting but you know you are making it better. >> finding a homeless can be difficult. sometimes their hidden in plain sight. >> i used to think they're lazy and just want to let go. >> priscilla, her husband ryan stayed home to care for their two sons. the youngest had severe autism. they live on a tight budget and

their landlord raised the rent of $150. >> that's a lot of money for a lot of people that live paycheck to paycheck. the family was evicted in a place they cannot imagine, homeless themselves living in their car. >> i would literally think about taking my own life because i felt like i was useless to my family. i felt like i could not help my son. once we found out he was autistic and they would not give us service unless we had an address. for six months, she hid from her homelessness from her parents and friends and employer. >> how did you tell them that you were living on the streets? >> i messed up at work and i broke down in tears and i told her, me and my 18-month-old have been living in motels.

how the heck did it happen to me? >> priscilla's boss connected them with l.a. family housing that provided them with rental subsidies and found one of the few landlords who offers affordable apartments. >> this is home for us, we have not had a home like this. >> priscilla got a promotion and they now pay their rent on their own. but, they are one of few success stories. in the county, there is a shortage of 500,000 affordable apartments for the homeless and those on the brink. >> there are thousands of people, let's say around the country. >> who are economically homeless. >> they kancan't save enough fo deposits so they just bounce around from hotel to hotel? >> hopefully not. we'll never completely eliminate

homelessness. the goal is to be safe, off the streets but on a path in a permanent housing. coming up, why so many homeless, what changed? somebody got evicted and somebody lost jobs. >> i found a lot more people fallen through the cracks. when "dateline" continues.

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you can stand out there at the homeless encampment and look at the $30 million tear down. l.a. got everything. it is frustrated to see a city with such great wealth can't get a handle on this problem. >> california, the fifth largest states of the world. it raises the question, why has the crisis exploded here? >> we sat down with mayor eric garzetti who made it his role to fix the problem in los angeles. >> it was probably the most deplorable situations i have seen in the country. >> it is haunting. >> it is decades of failed policies. mental health system that was completely taken apart and now

was never replaced of anything. i like my neighborhood the way it is. all of these things conspire together which is why it is such an issue for folks. >> the homeless crisis have gotten worse. there are 36% more people without homes since he took office. the mayor insists he's the one who'll solve the problem. >> i will accept nothing less for a home for every person who needs a roof over here head. >> i want to be the person who put the stakes on the ground to end homelessness on the streets of lauos angeles. >> garcia says he has done more than any of them. he's also pushing for more public restrooms and temporary shelters. >> he often does the right

things but it is not enough. >> many people experiencing homeless necessaness in los ang what we call working poor. if you are working $12 an hour or $15 an hour, you are not going to be able to afford an apartment in los angeles. if you are not building enough housing then your supply is low and the landlord can charge whatever she wants. >> new jobs brought to the city faster than housing could be built. what i see among the homeless now is somebody got evicted, somebody lost a job. i find a lot more people just really fallen through the cracks. >> for decades, policymakers in california failed to see the crisis coming. they focus on homelessness while ignoring the growing flight of

the working poor. those sleeping on the streets, they were not counted as homeless. under the old model, if you are homeless tonight and we came to you next week, we would say to you, you are not homeless enough, come back in a year and a half. unless you come up with a plan to scale this up, the services and treatments and then cut-off those you know those pads that are leaving people onto skid road of lch.a. >> for garzetti, the stakes could not be higher. >> how could you be president if you can't manage to get people who are living in tents off the streets? >> part of the reason i am thinking about it is when i walk down the st. pereets down my ow city. we are making progress with

nobo nobody's help. this is on our watch. >> there is this perception that the problem is too big and it can't be solved. yet everyday there is successes. there are hundreds of people during the outreach making connections and rescuing people. they are angels walking the the streets. >> we were about to meet one more angel who has devoted his life to giving the homeless a face and a voice. >> coming up -- he knows their stories. >> we're regular people out here just like everybody else. >> because it was once his story. >> i literally had slept on this boulevard. >> and now she shares those stories with millions.

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for months we've talked to people struggling to solve homelessness, but we realized our story wasn't just about the crisis, it's about discovering who the homeless really are. >> people blame homelessness on the person. it's their fault. they made bad decisions. we all make bad decisions. and they should just be able to get out of homelessness themselves. it doesn't work like that. >> there's a lot of us out here that don't do drugs. >> we're people, too, we're just hurting a little bit more.

>> mike has devoted his life to shattering stereo types about the homeless. he created a web series called invisible people. >> wave been living outside for far too long. >> i've been out here two years. >> if people could look inside homeless people and see what they're going through. >> where are you sleeping? >> more than anyone else in the country his interviews give the homeless a face and a voice. >> we're regular people out here just like everybody else living from day to day or paycheck to paycheck. >> when it comes to the homeless what are we not seeing? >> we're not seeing them. >> but we do see them, we just ignore them. >> very true. and i put them back in your face. people are saying hey, we're here, we need to help these people. >> they're out here homeless in south lake city. >> he's traveled to 300 cities,

interviewed more than 600 people. millions of viewers a year watch his stories on social media. his work has attracted corporate sponsors like ford motors and hanes. he works alone with only a video camera and a pack of socks. >> could you use some socks? >> i could sure use some socks. >> once they agree, he turns on his camera. his intimate portraits are gritty, like this one who gave him a tour of her homeless camp under a bridge in seattle. >> you remain positive even though you're going to the bathroom outside. >> yeah, oats liit's like campi. >> but you keep telling yourself that. >> you have to.

you have to. >> olivia? >> olivia and her son alex have been living in this los angeles hotel since christmas. >> i mean, you can't afford an apartment. >> no. >> olivia makes just $12 an hour. she's one of the working homeless, people with full time jobs who still can't afford rent. she dreams of going to law school, but for now she tries to shield her son from the drugs and prostitutes outside their motel. >> little kids are always drawn into that gang lifestyle. >> we met olivia and her son away from their motel room. so when you're in these hotel rooms with him, can you go outside and play? >> no, it's not safe. >> he stays in the room. >> yeah. >> so what do you know about where you live? >> it's bad and we only have one bed. we don't have a couch like this

and we don't have a room, like a real room, like a door like that. and that's hard. >> behind the lens he feels their pain because it's familiar. >> how do you even survive? >> after losing his job in the tv business in 1994 he turned to drugs and alcohol, and he became homeless. that's when he found himself here, on hollywood boulevard. >> i literally have slept on this boulevard. it was hell. i beat myself up every day. how did i get here? >> it took years for him to get sober. finally back on his feet he decided to use his tv skills to tell the homeless story. >> how long you been out here? you cannot allow people to die on the streets now while you're waiting to solve homelessness in the future.

>> this isn't our lifestyle. we just want a place to go. >> thank you very much for talking to me. >> he says he is always struck by their resilience and insists he remembers every person he's ever interviewed. of the hundreds of videos he's made this one of monica and her five children has stayed with him. >> we'll close it out with you guys singing another song. ♪ oh, beautiful for spacious skies, for purple mountains majesty ♪ >> if we don't change people's perceptions we're never going to gain the public support needed to end homelessness. ♪ and crown thy good with brother hood from sea to shining sea ♪

>> that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. follow "lockup" producers and crews as they go behind the walls of america's prisons and jails. to the scenes you've never seen. "lockup: raw." >> start with your right hand. totally relax. >> unlike prison, the majority of inmates inside the nation's county jails are only charged with crimes and are awaiting trial of the resolution of their