He works for the most influential people of the USA and sleeps in the street.

Charles Gladden
Photo: video screenshot

Charles Gladden is an ordinary homeless man who sleeps on a makeshift bed on the sidewalk and works in the US Capitol. This is such a paradox.

Charles sleeps on the street near the metro station, wrapping himself in several blankets so as not to freeze. Every day he wakes up before sunrise, so that he can leave with the rest of the homeless before they are expelled. All his belongings are placed in one package.

"I work for the most powerful people in the country, and I sleep in a subway station," Gladden said, standing in the shadow of the Capitol dome.

He has been working in the Senate cafeteria for eight years now: he washes dishes and does auxiliary work.

“I just sweep, clean sinks, something like that,” he said.

He doesn't have a home, and he also doesn't have a soul. He bathes in a shell, which he calls a “bird bath.”

“I work around food. I can’t come smelling or dirty,” he said, pointing toward the Capitol.

Gladden 63 of the year. He earns about 11 dollars an hour and brings home about 360 dollars a week. He gives most of his earnings to his children and grandchildren, who have their own financial problems.

"I care about them," he says, "I don't want to be a burden to my children."

Charles understands his predicament, but his desire to help his children with money is paramount. He suffers from diabetes, and his health deteriorates every day. He has already lost three fingers on each hand due to the progression of the disease, which he has been fighting for a long time.

The fact that Gladden was homeless almost no one knew until he went on a one-day strike. On it, the workers demanded a living wage in 15 dollars per hour.

"If it happened to me, it could happen to someone else," Charles said.

"All they have to do is stop and ask the average person on the street... or in the building, the people who bring them food, who sweep and clean the toilet," he said, pointing to the Senate building behind him.