For Mark Anthony, setting up his tent and living on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles has been his reality for nearly two months now.
"I knew one day I'd be here, for some reason," Anthony said. "When I was driving by I would see these tents and I was just thinking, gosh, one day could be me. And sure enough it is me."
During this time of year, Anthony and the other people who live in the shadows of LA's tallest buildings along Spring Street are being forced to deal with the difficulties that accompany winter storms and rain.
"All my blankets are wet," said Colton Childrey, another man who lives there. "If they’re lucky, they’re able to dry off before it rains again, if not, they soaking wet, they get asthma, pneumonia, and stuff like that."
When he first started living there, Childrey noted he did not have a tent. He now sees the makeshift home as a luxury.
Yet despite the challenges they face, there is something happening on this corner of Spring and Arcadia streets. Just beside the noises of the 101 Freeway, there is a silent spirit that is starting to glow.
"We need a good year, that's the truth," Anthony said. "I want a good year for everybody."
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Anthony says he wants to get off the streets soon, but wants to help whoever he can while he is still on Spring Street.
"I felt like, I'm gonna get out of this hole so I wanted to make sure, I wanted everybody to know that they can do it too," Anthony said.
This year, Anthony and Childrey used scraps from local Christmas tree lots to make their own Christmas tree in an attempt to bring some attention to their corner. They hope for donations from those who pass by, and perhaps to bring a miracle to those on Spring Street.
"If they look in their garages and see tents there that they don't use no more and all dusty. We'll take them," Anthony said. "And if there's blankets there that they don't use no more, we'll take them."
"Miracle on Spring Street, it's gonna happen. And I just want to be a big part of it," Anthony said.
