Homeless on Capitol Hill

May 10, 2015

A day in the life of a homeless man who serves some of the nation’s most powerful lawmakers

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Homeless on Capitol Hill

Each weekday morning, Charles Gladden arrives at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill to work in a cafeteria where high-powered politicos lunch. What the senators, lobbyists and other staffers there may not know is that Gladden is homeless. Although he cleans up after some of the most powerful people in America, he hasn’t had a fixed address in years. He spends his nights sleeping on the street just a few blocks from the White House. Last year Barack Obama signed an executive order increasing the minimum wage for contract workers like Gladden to $10.10 per hour. While it's a positive step, Gladden says it’s still not enough to lift him out of his financial predicament. For “America Tonight,” Lisa Fletcher explores the plight of minimum wage workers and the working poor through the eyes of Gladden, a homeless man working in the halls of power.


 

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