We're Out of Time - The POWER of Helping One Homeless Person at a Time! The Story Of Rema Mays

Episode Date: December 24, 2024

In this inspiring and touching episode of the We're Out Of Time podcast  @RichardTaiteOfficial  welcomes Rema Mays. This is the most personal episode yet, as Rema and Richard share their chance meeting and how Richard helped Rema go from homeless to housed. and how they've remained friends ever since. For all things Richard Taite, the We're Out Of Time podcast, and Carrara Treatment Wellness & Spa: https://linktr.ee/richardtaite Key moments from this conversation with Rema Mays & Richard Taite. Intro 00:00 How can we all help a person in need? 00:01 Where did Rema grow up and when did she become homeless in Los Angeles? 01:11 What are some of the locations Rema was sleeping in while homeless and why does he have gratitude for those times? 05:22 How did an inner voice that Rema heard lead to her and Richard's connection? 9:28 Why did seeing a photo of Rema change Richard's life and he knew he needed to help her? 13:06 Why does Rema live by the rule "treat others as you want to be treated"? 15:40 How are lower-income individuals being taken advantage of by having to pay housing application fees? 18:24

This was very hard for me to make public. But the woman that you're going to meet, Rima Mays, is the blessing of my life. And the reason I'm introducing her to everyone is because I have a hard time believing that we allow people to live like this. I don't think anybody should have to live like this. We can all sponsor a homeless person. It's not hard. And it's not that expensive. Schools can do it.

Businesses can do it. It's important. And you can always reach out and we'll tell you how. So, Rima, how long, sweetheart, were you homeless? Well, before we get there, okay? what I want to talk about is you were born in Alabama. Yes. And you lived in Alabama all your life.

Basically, yes. How long were you in Alabama for? Well, most of my, I want to say, teenage and adult life. Okay. And then when you left there, when you left Alabama, where, mobile? Mobile Island, Alabama. Where were you? What part of Alabama?

Tuscaloosa, Alabama. You lived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama? I'm from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Hold on a second. Krista, go grab me my Alabama-pracent-tide. Roll-tie. Roll-tie. Now, in 2019, when you get here, what do you do?

Where are you living? I found a season. shelter on um it was the old i learned it was the old armory building over on federal and wilshire so i'm sorry you stayed on federal and wilshire i found a seasonal shelter there what does that mean a seasonal shelter you can only stay there uh for a limited time it's seasonal like like i don't know they'll give you one season there you get three months there and the mood like yeah yeah something like that. I didn't stay there very long at all because what I didn't like about that shelter was two reasons, three reasons. The first reason was they had us sleeping on carts. Let me be the hard

carts and they give you a blanket. Cots. Carts. Cards. Yeah, it's like, it's like this big, wide and it's got this little thing like this, like a... Something really thin. Yeah. Honey, when I would get on that car at night, oh my goodness. The next morning, I'd be stiff. I could not move. That cart was killing me. And then the second reason why I didn't like it was the food.

Oh, my goodness. I didn't really need to eat there anyway, you know, but I just took the food to show appreciation and, you know, just kind of sipped out of it. But the food was like, who cooked it and why? You know what I mean? Who made this and why? So that wasn't good.

And so the third real reason why I left that. shelter. Okay. When morning came and we wanted to take our shower, I can't remember whether you had to take your shower in the morning or at night. But either way, you give a shower

a day, but this is what I did not like. It was out and the open. They have one big one big open shower. With a bunch of different heads so people can stand up at the same time to do it? No, no. Just the shower might be as

biggest this room that we're sitting in, right? And they tell us, all of us ladies. So, okay, everybody undressed, everybody undressed and get in the shower. At once. At once. Right. We, everybody. Like a locker room for a football team.

You stepping on me. I'm stepping on you. Your dirty getting on me. My dirt getting done. Yeah. Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. So one particular morning, oh, yeah.

And then they tell us, they said, you got five minutes. shower, right? So one particular morning, I didn't even get to take a shower because when we got up and all, she said, okay, y'all got 10 minutes, five minutes in the shower like that. So I said, well, ma'am, you know, I was raised my hand a little bit like I'm in school. I said, ma'am, I said, I need to use the ladies' room. She said, well, go ahead. So I went to the ladies' room, right? So she was telling me, well, you need her up because you only got five minutes. I said, well, ma'am, I'm using the restroom right now, so I need longer than five minutes. Well, okay, well, you just missed your shower. I'm sorry because I had used the back.

I was, absolutely. I don't you think I went back that night. I just ain't going to work. Where'd you go after that? I probably, I probably stayed in my van. I probably, a couple of times in between all of this, I did stay a couple of nights at the Santa Monica Mall up under the escalator, you know.

It was something where I didn't find another shelter or, I didn't have, it wasn't a good day that day. or some or something didn't go right. So I just went to the Santa Monica Mall, I think two or three times and stayed under the escalator in the Sanamonic Mall. I put the little chair from one of the tables, and I would go and sit in that chair right upon the escalator.

I had my coats and stuff, so I was worn, right? And I think I got away with that for maybe two or three nights. And then finally, security came out and told me to say, ma'am, they were so nice. And they hated to tell me this. It's a, ma'am. You can't keep sleeping here, okay? So we're really sorry, but you can't stay.

You know, so that was the end of that. But, yeah, but that's what I did. You know, they had been seeing me sleep there under the escalator. So I was happy that they had let me sleep those nights because, you know, security, they care of me. You know, they see me, but they just let me stay. You know, and then finally they came and told me that, man, you can't keep sleeping. So I remember the day that I spoke to you. And the day that Danielle sent me that picture of you, where were you sleeping then?

If I didn't find a shelter, I would just stay outside somewhere. How often did you stay outside? I'll say, I guess I stayed outside maybe two or three nights. A week? Yeah, before I found Pacham. Or if I didn't have the money, much. Your phone wasn't working then. It was turned off because I remember I called you.

Yeah. I asked Danielle, let me just back up. So I'm sorry. It's just, you know, I love you so much that to even think that you spent one night on the street is so much for me. I don't know. I'm sorry. One minute. I know.

But you know something, Richard. honey, I give so much praise and thanks to Jesus that he protected me. Nobody never bothered me, you know, and it's just, oh, honey, when you look back and you think about it, thank you, Jesus. Because nobody never bothered me. It was just, it was, it was bad, it was inconvenient, and I would go, and I would go and buy me a jug of water, right? You know, that's why I can understand why some of these homeless people, why they, why they don't wash up. you know, I was going by a jug of water at the store when I had to stay outside and go to some of these like little alley streets where it's all alley and, you know, fences and

stuff. Honey, I would go get the jug of water and go in the dollar store and buy my soap. And I always use white face towels because of my sense of the scam. And I would buy me a little dollar pack of watch calls, honey. And I would just, with my big old jug of water, I would just take a, just a, You know, just a washout, you know. I always tried to keep myself clean and, you know, but it's just, you know, if I think about it, I don't know if I could do it again now, but just, but I did it then. Hey, you're never going to have to do that. Amen.

Not ever. Amen. So, you were staying on Podshare and then one day you were on the bus bench with all your stuff and what happened? I was trying to decide where I was going to go to vendor peanuts, right?

And sometimes I can plan I can say, I'm going to go to Main Street today, but then by the time I get on the bus, something will tell me, I hear a voice say, no, don't go to Main Street, go to Albuquerqueen. I said, okay, well, I go to Albuquerqueen.

I'll change my mind just like that, right? Change my direction. So I decided to go to Albu Kenney This particular day that I met Danielle So I was sitting down Ben and Peanuts I always keep a little stew with me to sit on You know

Because for years I used to stand Seven and eight hours on my feet bending peanuts And so that was kind of getting to my legs I started keeping a stool with me now And so Danielle passed by I did not know her She did not know me

when she passed by me I said ma'am would you like a bag of would you like to buy a bag of peanuts for me? And it was so cute

thinking about it now Danielle she looked she looked back at me and she said she don't know right she said

what? I said would you like a bag of peanuts I said I'm sitting here you know vending peanuts and they are roasted

they're unsoucated they're unsouliable I said, they're really good. I eat a lot of them. She said, you know, she had a little funny expression on her face. She said, well, wait a minute. I got to run right here in this store and I'll be back like that. So I said, okay. I said, thank you.

So I sat right there, kept bending peanuts as people walk by. And I really didn't think Danielle was going to come back. I said, well, she's probably not coming back, you know. And so, for real, I say a couple of minutes later, maybe five or ten minutes. she came back. And she said, now what did you say? I said, I was just asking,

would you like a bag of peanuts? I say, I'm sitting here, you know, vending peanuts. This is how I help, you know, take care of myself. I say I sell peanuts and, you know, buy my food, help pay for my, you know, like room and board, hostel. And, you know, I came here from Alabama, you know, and I just talked to it for a minute. I said, you know, and I'm just trying to, you know,

help, you know, trying to find a way to earn a way to help take care of myself. And she said, yes, I will buy some penis from you. And she said, you know, she told me her name and all there. And she said, can I take your picture? I said, oh, I'm looking at, I said, please don't take my picture. I'm looking at a mess right now. She said, no, it's okay. She said, I want to get your picture. I said, okay. She took my picture. And she said, I'm going to tell my friend about you. I had no idea who her friend was. or anything. She said, I'm going to tell my friend about you like that.

And so she took my picture and she, I think she gave me $20 and took a couple of eggs of peanuts. She didn't want the peanuts, but I was insisting, you know, that she takes some peanuts. Yeah. And she doesn't eat peanuts gone. And so I gave her, she asked me for my phone number. I gave it to her.

And she said, I'm going to tell my friend about you. We're going to call you. And the next day, I was not expecting the call. I figured I wouldn't, you know, I mean, I'm just thinking that this lady's just saying this to me, you know, I probably won't never see her no more or anything. And, and so, you know, she walked away and the next day, for real, Mr. Richard. The next day. I think it was the very next day. It wasn't. Well, that week. It wasn't long. It was that day.

Okay. Well, I thought it was the next day. But I said, St.son. She sent me the picture with no explanation. And so I called her right. back and I said, what is this? And she said, it's just a picture I wanted to send you. I said, does that woman have a phone? And she said, yes.

I said, give me her phone number. She went to you and gave and got your phone number and gave it to me. I called it and it was out of order. So I called her back and I screamed at her. And I told her to tell you to wait there. and if she wasn't at my house and a half hour to lose my number and when she got there I gave her some money I don't remember what I gave her

and I said, you gave her a thousand dollars? Honey, I didn't give anybody a thousand dollars I gave her more than a thousand dollars and I said to her I said I think I gave her two thousand and I said to her I said find this woman a place to live and let me know where she's at

she didn't know where to go did she but you knew where to go yeah and then what happened she was asking me she said um she called me and she told me that she had talked with you and that um we that we you know she wanted we had to find me a place to stay so i told her i said well how about podshare and i had found out from podshare through about pausher through my son because he was searching the internet for trying to find places to stay. So he found part of share. My son did the one that's here. And actually, he started working for Elvina.

And that's how I found about. Alvina and her wife's name is? Becky. Becky. Okay. Those two women, they're married, right? And they've got a child and I think they've got another child now. Really?

I think they do. These two women are the great. greatest human beings on the face of the earth. Oh, yeah. The best. Oh, yeah. Pod share, P-O-D-S-H-A-R-E. And that's where people stay.

Yes, I liked Pod share. You know. You loved it. Yeah. You loved it. Avina and I, we had a really, really, really great relationship because I did what I was supposed to do, you know. I mean, I, you know, I mean, I came and go with everybody,

knew I did peanuts, you know. But I'm saying, I had, I had no problems with Averina. A lot of the people that stayed there, they thought Irina was so mean and this and that, but I had no problems with her. Everybody loved you there. Yeah. Everybody.

That's what Elvina said. That's what she said. Everybody. That's what she said. If somebody doesn't love you, the problems then, just see you know. Yeah, I treated. I treated everybody the way that I would have wanted to be treated. How long you stood it?

So that must have been what? I know how much. Was it two years, three years? Two and a half years. See, I was close, wasn't it? You were perfect. That's called a bracket. I was ready to try and find a little small apartment.

Can I know what you said? Yeah. Exactly. Because I remember. And I said, would you, I see, would you, I was asking you, you, would you more like reference for me, or could you help me find one? And I said, I was out word and paid a rent. I was telling you all these things that I was willing to do.

What you said to me exactly, verbatim, is, Mr. Richard, I was just wondering, it's all the same with you and you're willing to pay the money that you're paying at Podshare. I think I'm ready to live on my own now. And if we fall short, I'll just sell more peanuts. Yes, yes. I remember you right? I said that.

And I said, go find your place. That is perfect. I've been waiting for this call. Yeah. And I remember you telling me that some people didn't even get back to you. They just take the money. Right. You have to pay that application fee.

That's money. You're not going to get back. And I called you every maybe three weeks, month. And I asked you how it was going. And that's what you told me, right? Yes. Wasn't going good. And then you told me, do you remember what you said?

You said, they've been taking my money. They don't even call me back. So I just gave up. Yeah. Remember? Right. And then. What you don't know is I said, don't worry, I'll take care of it for you.

I called Farley into my office and I said, find this woman a place to live right now, please. And I asked him every couple days for two weeks. And then I screamed at him. And I'm like, what is going on here, man? Okay, he goes, they're not calling me back. So then I said, I will deal with it. I called these people and they didn't call me back not once. I must have called 10, 15 places like in an hour.

I just bang, bang, bang, bang. Not one return call for a week. So then it hit me. The light went on and I said, oh, this is how poor people get jerked around. And then I thought to myself, oh, okay. So I picked up my phone and went through my contacts. And I called my buddy Jeff, who owns a lot of buildings. And I told him about you.

And I said, oh, you need a place. And he said, Rich, I don't have anywhere, okay, in these areas. Because I wanted you close to me, right? And she didn't have anything. And he said, but don't worry about it. your problem is my problem and I'll have something for you by the end of the day. And he showed me three places. And one of them was in Century City right across from the mall.

And you're about a nine iron from my lawyer, Kevin, one of my best friends. And so I knew I'd be able, if God forbid there was an emergency, he could run right over, right? or Farley could or I could and found me that place did you know about the place before we took you there? No.

You didn't, right? Good, because I didn't want you to know about it. And what Farley and I did was we went and we got all the furniture. Right. The bed and the side table. Do you have side tables? Bed and the side tables.

the couch at the end of the bed with the coffee table, the TV, the desk, in the chair. We got you a computer. Still having. So this is why, you know, I am very sentimental, very emotional about you, okay? You could have, if you needed my right arm. Okay, we're done with that. I'm just taking it out. Give it to him.

That's how much I just love you, okay? I want to tell you. If I need somebody's right arm, I'm, taking his. Okay. Okay. I love you so much. But,

uh, okay, I just put my shoe off. I got a closing and kicked my shoe off. I never put my shoe back off. I love you so much. So, my.

Got a good grip on. You know, break. You're a big man. Oh, you are? Paul. And I want the action. How did you get the shoe? Alibon shirt?

I've got resources. Okay. Turned on one second. See, next Tuesday. I hope we're done today. Thank you. Nice to meet you.

I love you. I love his man somewhat, you know, and thank you, dear, and so much. Okay, if you're done for it,

this is too much. So, listen, I have... We're out of time. Please subscribe on YouTube, click the thumbs up, and leave a comment. Please subscribe on Apple Podcast and Spotify and leave a rating and a review and share the We're Out of Time podcast with others you know who will get value out of it.

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