A millionaire has welcomed a homeless couple into his $4 million mansion in California to show people that living on the streets isn’t ‘contagious’.
Greg Dunston, a former security guard injured on the job, and Marie Mckinzie, a former cashier and certified nurse assistant, lived on the streets of Oakland, California, for a decade before generous Bay Area homeowner Terry McGrath offered them a roof over their heads.
McGrath gave the couple his in-law unit of his mansion in the upper-class Piedmont neighborhood after seeing a story that was published about them in the San Francisco Chronicle in January 2019.
Otis Taylor, a journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle, told ABC News last year there is huge disparity in the Bay Area between the wealthy and the homeless.
Greg Dunston, a former security guard injured on the job, (left) and Marie Mckinzie, a former cashier and certified nurse assistant, (right) lived on the streets of Oakland California for a decade before moving into the Piedmont home
Generous Bay Area homeowner Terry McGrath (above) gave the couple his in-law unit of his mansion in the upper-class Piedmont neighborhood after seeing a story that was published about them in the San Francisco Chronicle in January 2019
San Francisco is both the wealthiest city in the US – with more billionaires per capita than any other – and one of the poorest, with a homeless population of almost 8,000 people.
‘You have people able to purchase multimillion-dollar homes in cash and then you have people who don’t even have enough money to eat on a daily basis. Who sleep in the same clothes in rags, they sleep in doorways and parking lots next to dumpsters,’ Taylor told ABC News.
Taylor said that when he met Dunston and Mckinzie, he recognized that while they both suffered from disabilities, they ‘were still engaged with meeting people and they still had love for each other through it all’.
After hearing about their plight, real estate developer McGrath, offered them the space in his hilltop home where they have lived ever since moving in on February 1 last year.
‘The thing that struck me and got me right away was the love between Greg and Marie and how it was able to survive in probably one of the harshest environments on earth,’ McGrath told ABC Nightline.
He said he hopes the move will help break down perceptions many people have of homeless people.
The black couple (above) had faced obstacles moving into the rich white neighborhood with several neighbors making 911 calls on seeing them
New footage released in February by BBC News showed that there had been some tensions building between the couple and the homeowner one year on from them moving in, as McGrath encouraged them to get paid employment while they sought to volunteer to help others in similar positions to they had been on the streets. They are seen talking about their differences and learning from each others’ experiences
‘Our natural tendency is to move away from that kind of pain,’ he said.
‘That’s why we avert our eyes. That’s why they just become part of the background, part of of the wallpaper and it’s easier to just move past it.’
Taylor said: ‘There was no decision, there was no thought, there was no judgement. I was just like ‘this is done.’
‘I didn’t vet them. These are human beings and they’re not serial killers. They want to get in out of the weather. They want a roof over their head. They want to be warm.’
McGrath said many people have lived in the unit over the years, including his own children, other relatives and an intern.
Yet, McGrath told ABC Nightline that the black couple faced obstacles when moving into the rich white neighborhood.
California’s growing homeless emergency. Figures as of August 2019, include San Francisco with 8,011 homeless people and San Diego with 8,576
According to data from the US Census, the Piedmont population is almost 72 percent white. Just one percent of residents are black.
Despite McGrath saying several people had come and gone in the unit over the years, he had never had reports from neighbors about his previous white tenants.
‘I got a call at 9:30 at night on my cellphone — I thought she was calling about organizing the neighborhood summer block party,’ McGrath said of one of the first responses.
‘I realized when she mentioned the word ‘situation’ that she was referencing Marie and Greg. And I said, ‘What situation?’ Are they vandalizing cars? Are they burglarizing homes?”
‘I just said, ‘This is one of the most offensive conversations I’ve ever had.’,’ he added.
Several complaints were also raised with the police, when residents noticed the black couple in the wealthy white area.
Dunston and Mckinzie said they were happy to leave life on the streets behind
The homeless rate in the entire state has surged a staggering 16.4 per cent in the past twelve months, meaning more than 140,000 California residents are without shelter on any given night
‘I just pulled into the driveway and there’s some strange folks hanging around the house,’ one resident told 911 dispatchers.
Another said: ‘I just wanted to notify you that this woman is sitting at Lexford and Hampton … She’s smoking a cigarette — could be drugs.’
Having anticipated such a response, McGrath said he had already informed Piedmont chief of police Jeremy Bowers that Dunston and Mckinzie had moved into his home, meaning officers knew how to handle it.
Dunston and Mckinzie said they were happy to leave life on the streets behind.
‘I don’t want to live on the streets. A lot of people do, but I want to get in,’ Mckinzie told ABC Nightline.
‘I love to cook a lot so I wanted a kitchen, bed and shower.’
‘We wanted to do that,’ Dunston said about moving into McGrath’s home.
‘There are a lot of people out on the streets but they have no choice.’
He added that they ‘never dreamed or imagined we would be living in Piedmont’.
McGrath said Dunston and Mckinzie are now ‘family’ and that they’re welcome to stay in his home for as long as they want.
Homelessness in California makes up more than a fifth of the entire homeless population across the US
The epidemic has been used by Donald Trump to slam his political opponents. He tweeted in December that homelessness was ‘easy’ to fix and that the governors of California and New York, where the issue is rife, should ‘call and ‘politely’ ask for help’
‘They’re like family. There’s no way I’m going to let them go back to the street,’ he said.
‘Most people who know me well know it’s easy to start and it’s hard to finish. And I’m never not going to finish.’
New footage released in February by BBC News showed that there had been some tensions building between the couple and the homeowner one year on from them moving in, as McGrath encouraged them to get paid employment while they sought to volunteer to help others on the streets.
They are seen talking about their differences and learning from each others’ experiences.
Acts of kindness like this are critical as California’s homelessness crisis continues to rumble on.
The homeless rate in the entire state has surged a staggering 16.4 per cent in the past twelve months, meaning more than 140,000 California residents are without shelter on any given night.
Homelessness in California makes up more than a fifth of the entire homeless population across the US.
The epidemic has been used by Donald Trump to slam his political opponents.
He tweeted in December that homelessness was ‘easy’ to fix and that the governors of California and New York, where the issue is also rife, should ‘call and ‘politely’ ask for help.’
He also attacked House Speaker and California Democrat Nancy Pelosi telling her to ‘clean up her filthy dirty District & help the homeless there’.
Then, on Christmas Day, he threatened to step in if California governor Gavin Newsom doesn’t ‘fix the problem’.
‘If he can’t fix the problem, the Federal Govt. will get involved!’ the president said.
The president has repeatedly proposed plans to implement a police crackdown in California to clear the streets of homeless people.
‘We can’t let Los Angeles, San Francisco, and numerous other cities destroy themselves,’ he said back in September.
Trump has been slammed by activist groups for fueling the problem further.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson rejected a housing aid request from Newson and mayors from the state’s 13 biggest cities, which asked for additional resources to fight homelessness, including 50,000 housing vouchers for the poor.
In December, California officials announced plans to channel almost $12 million in emergency money into clearing a mile-long homeless encampment that has grown to more than 200 people on a popular bike trail and is deemed a public health emergency after reports of it being rat-infested.
California officials are threatening to clear a mile-long homeless encampment (pictured) that has grown to more than 200 people on a popular bike trail and is deemed a public health emergency
In December, Sonoma County’s Board of Supervisors approved nearly $12million in emergency money to provide housing and other services to those living in the encampment (pictured) of tents and makeshift shelters along the Joe Rodota Trail in Santa Rosa
The $11.63 million plan was approved by Sonoma County’s Board of Supervisors to provide housing and other services to those living in the encampment of tents and makeshift shelters along the Joe Rodota Trail in Santa Rosa.
The funding includes around $7 million for county officials to buy existing multi-bedroom units and also to open at least two ‘indoor-outdoor’ shelters where people can hook up recreational vehicles and have safe parking spots if living in their cars.
There will also be protected areas for people to sleep outdoors if they refuse to come inside.
The vote came amid growing complaints from residents and businesses about squalid, unsanitary conditions, including rats and other pests and a rash of used needles in the area.
Sonoma County isn’t the only part of the State where homelessness is rife.
A Guardian investigation found that homelessness had increased 16% in Los Angeles, 17% in San Francisco, 42% in San Jose, 47% in Oakland, and 52% in Sacramento county in the last year, with many people experiencing homelessness for the first time.
The issue has perhaps hit headlines most in San Francisco where the makeshift tents and cardboard boxes are at stark odds with the global brands of Silicon Valley.
In February, London Breed, the city’s mayor, announced that a center for people experiencing methamphetamine-induced psychosis will open in San Francisco to help them get sober in a safe place.
The center, believed to be the first in the US specifically for people who are high on methamphetamine, will open late this spring on a city-owned parking lot in the Tenderloin neighborhood, where streets are littered with syringes and addicts congregate.
In February, London Breed, San Francisco’s mayor, announced that a center for people experiencing methamphetamine-induced psychosis will open in San Francisco to help them get sober in a safe place
Mayor London Breed said the 24-hour center will get high people off the streets and connect them with addiction treatment and other services.
Each tent will have 15 beds.
Breed has largely been praised for her efforts in tackling the city’s homeless crisis.
But last month she was rocked by revelations that a high-ranking public servant tasked with helping solve the crisis and an influential businessman were at the center of corruption claims.
Mohammed Nuru, San Francisco’s Director of Public Works, and the man tasked with keeping the city of San Francisco clean, including cleaning up trash, removing vandalism, repairing sidewalks, and tackling the city’s homelessness crisis, was charged with corruption, after an FBI probe.
Meanwhile, Breed received a donation from the second man involved in the scandal, Nick Bovis, 56, a well-known local restaurant boss in 2018 towards her mayoral campaign.
Breed has largely been praised for her efforts in tackling the city’s homeless crisis but was rocked by revelations that a high-ranking public servant tasked with helping solve the crisis and an influential businessman were at the center of corruption claims
Mohammed Nuru, 58, (right) and Nick Bovis, 56, (left) a well-known local restaurant boss, have been charged with allegedly attempting to bribe an airport commissioner to win a bid for a restaurant contract at San Francisco International Airport
In January, Bovis and Nuru were charged with allegedly attempting to bribe an airport commissioner to win a bid for a restaurant contract at San Francisco International Airport.
Four other allegations of corruption continue to be investigated, authorities said.
It includes one where Nuru is believed to have provided Bovis with insider information to bid on contracts for providing mobile housing and toilets for homeless people across the city.
Since becoming director of Public Works in 2011, Nuru has come under fire for a lack of progress in tackling the city’s homelessness problem.
The so-called Mr Clean has struggled to clean up the city, with trash, used needles and human feces a big issue.
Public officials have given a mixed response to news of his arrest.
Aaron Peskin, supervisor on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said the news was ‘explosive’ and ‘extremely disturbing.’
It ‘implicates not only the individuals that we’ve heard who were arrested but many other people, including commissioners and developers,’ Peskin said.
‘I feel ashamed for the city and county of San Francisco that this could be going on and I think the mayor and the board has some investigating to do and some house cleaning to do.’
US Attorney for the Northern District of California David Anderson said at a press conference that the FBI investigation had uncovered a ‘web of corruption’.
Breed issued a statement saying the allegations were ‘extremely serious’ and that the city attorney would be conducting ‘a thorough review of any implicated city contracts or other decisions’.