There's a guy I see every time I go to work.

He sits on the sidewalk right next to the newsstand, always in that same spot.

His hair is dreadlocked and dirty, and he's often quietly muttering to himself.

A few decades ago, if you would have asked a bunch of experts what they think this person

needs, like what is the best way to help him, the answers you would have gotten would be

really different than the ones you'd get now.

And that shift in thinking, it's at least partly because of this guy.

Alright, hey Katie, Carlos here, she's got the microphone.

That Sam Semberis, with producer Carla Green who we sent to record him.

Okay, yeah, just tell me what you have for breakfast this morning.

Tell you what?

What you had for breakfast?

What I had for breakfast this morning.

So I've been eating bagels for breakfast for the last three days.

Okay, I think so.

So did I pass?

I mean, is that okay?

What it was scrambled eggs?

It's like, no, is there a right answer?

I just had an answer.

Sam is a psychologist who back in the 1980s was working with homeless people in New York

City.

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