Streets Team Member: ‘You Just Gotta Give Them a Chance’

Editor’s note: This is the third post in a series of videos about the Downtown Streets Team.

Michael Angelo Villagomez has seen how the Downtown Streets Team has helped some of San Rafael's homeless community members.

While Villagomez isn’t homeless, he’s been participating in the program because he currently doesn’t have any work. He considers himself a “volunteer” as he picks up trash downtown along with the other members of his team, who are homeless and in need of regular employment. 

He said he’s seen the Downtown Streets Team help some people turn around their lives. Hear him speak about the Downtown Streets Team in the above video.

“You just gotta give them a chance,” he said.

A union carpenter, Villagomez said he’s hasn’t been able to find work since his last project was completed on Aug. 7. “I hate being a bump on a log. I don’t like it. I love to work,” he said.

Villagomez, a Mexico native who moved to the states 47 years ago, said he’s worked for George Lucas for a long time, including projects at Skywalker Ranch and the Presidio in San Francisco. 

“He’s been a good man to me,” he said.

Now, he’s also been volunteering to support Measure F, the Marin Healthcare District’s $394 million bond to rebuild Marin General Hospital that’s on the November ballot. He said if the measure passes, he’s confident it will create plenty of work for him.  

See also:

Street Cleanup Leaves San Rafael’s Homeless Empowered

San Rafael to Put the Homeless to Work