As you may know by now, Joe is truly a homeless veteran. He and his wife live in transitional housing for homeless vets in Las Vegas. This is not by choice, by because of circumstances, primarily related to illnesses that both he and his wife Olivia have dealt with over the years.
Joe does not get paid for providing this type of entertainment, but they are in dire need, primarily for his wife, Olivia, who has Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and has not been able to get the proper care she needs due to lack of funds. She deals with kidney pain on a daily basis and nausea and some vomiting on most other days.
Prior to moving to Las Vegas from Colorado, Olivia was denied Medicaid for over 3 years and couldn't obtain any type of medical care. After moving to Las Vegas, she has been able to qualify for Medicaid, however, the care she needs is limited because she does not have any private insurance ... she needs to be seen by a nephrologist.
They both also have a strong desire to not only bring awareness to the homeless veteran dilemma, but they want to make a difference in the lives of other homeless vets.
Neither Joe or Olivia can work due to their illness (Joe is truly ill and has been hospitalized 6 times in the last year; he was transported by ambulance 4 of those times), but they both maintain a positive outlook on life and try to laugh every day, even during the most difficult moments of their lives.
