VENICE, Calif. — Three years on the street will tan, callous, and thicken your skin, and by now, Randy Bernard is used to hearing the word ‘no.’
- Art school dropout has been homeless for 3 years
- Randy Bernard says he draws for free on boardwalk
- Bernard working with nonprofit ‘Chamber of Hope’
The art school dropout peddles pictures on the Venice Boardwalk. He draws for free, hoping his subjects will donate a few bucks to cover the cost of his art supplies.
When he’s done, he walks to his home — a suitcase under a tarp in Venice’s most notorious encampment: Third and Rose Avenues.
Bernard sleeps behind the Gold’s Gym, showers at a nearby YMCA and charges his phone at Starbucks.
“I don’t have a bank account,” Bernard said. “I’m now more aware of the things you need to function in society, like a credit card and a birth certificate.”
Bernard is working with local nonprofit Chamber of Hope to try and get off the street, but because of his mental health and addiction issues, the journey has been difficult.