Homeless service workers

Education

SMC program hopes to fill much-needed jobs

Fiona Ng is LAist's deputy managing editor and leads a team of reporters who explore food, culture, history, events and more.

Published November 24, 2024 5:00 AM

Two men are shaking hands in front of a RV parked along a street. There's a grocery cart with bags of stuff next to them.

Santa Monica College has launched a new program to train frontline workers in the homeless sector.

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Courtesy LAHSA

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Topline:

There are some 1,300 jobs in the homeless services sector in L.A. County that have remained unfilled, according to Santa Monica College and others working in the sector. These jobs cut across a variety of roles, particularly entry-level positions on the frontlines.

Why it matters: The Homeless Service Work certificate program at Santa Monica College was created to address that need — a model the college hopes will be replicated throughout California.

The backstory: The passage of Measure H in 2017 helped fund the creation of these jobs — something Measure A, which voters approved this November, will continue to do.

Tai Harris breathes and lives music. The Van Nuys resident worked in the business side of that industry for many years, but said she became "jaded" several years back. So she made a big career change seemingly out of left field — by diving headlong into working with Los Angeles' unhoused population at a local nonprofit.

"I saw the position either on Craigslist or Indeed, and I was like, 'Wow, that sounds interesting,' you know, helping homeless individuals obtain resources," Harris said.

In four short years, Harris climbed the ranks, becoming an associate director focused on housing the unhoused.

But this year, she decided to go back to school to supplement the hands-on experience she's gained working in the sector. Harris is one of 20 students in a pilot certificate program — the first of its kind in the state — launched this year by Santa Monica College to train a workforce that is integral to solving this vexing challenge.

"There's education around social work, there's education around music, but to have something specific to homeless service work, it was like, 'Whoa, I definitely want to know more about this and be involved,'" Harris said.

Help wanted: Homeless service work

There are some 1,300 jobs in the homeless services sector in L.A. County that have remained unfilled, according to SMC and others working in the sector. These jobs cut across a variety of roles, particularly entry-level positions on the frontlines.

The passage of Measure H in 2017 helped fund the creation of these jobs — something that Measure A, which voters approved this November, will continue to do.

"What's often overlooked is all the heroes that work behind-the-scenes and on the frontlines and work as case managers or work in outreach," said Steven Sedky, associate dean for career education at SMC. "But there's not enough of them to do the work."

The Homeless Service Work program was created to fix that need — a model the college hopes will be replicated throughout California.

"We have close ties to our local communities, we have close ties to industry leaders," Sedky said. "Community colleges are well positioned to do this work."

A program years in the making

The concept to create a pipeline was brought to the school in 2019 by a trustee, Nancy Greenstein, who was holding a series of conversations among residents in the Westside and those working in the sector on finding solutions to the crisis. An issue quickly came to the fore: staffing.

"One is burnout," said Patricia Ramos, dean of academic affairs at SMC. "The work is really hard."

Another reason is the mismatch in skill sets.

"They seem to be getting a lot of students out of social work school and other places, and the education felt like it needed to be more hands on and more kind of helping students to become more resilient in all of the, you know, trauma that they were going to be facing in the job," Ramos said.

The pandemic hit, but eventually these discussions regained steam, tapping into a bigger network with a more fleshed out vision that led to a partnership between the college and Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), which provides funding to offset costs like faculty salaries, student laptops, counseling and other student services under the certificate program.

"We were, as a college, prepared to help scale and develop this workforce development system. And LAHSA came to us because they do training themselves and they are not able to develop and scale an academic program," Ramos said.

A man in a beanie cap is standing at an open door of an apartment unit with a big smile on his face.

A curriculum designed for students to hit the ground running

In turn, industry leaders led the design of the four-course certificate curriculum that includes an internship to get on-the-ground experience — all combined to give students the training they need to engage and work with individuals while navigating a complex bureaucracy of services and government entities.

"We really relied on the experts in the field who have decades of experience on what the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to put into the curriculum," Sedky said. "Then one step further in the curriculum development process is thinking about how those fit into classes, what those classes are, and what that sequence is."

The program has also brought in sector veterans to teach classes, including Leepi Shimkhada with L.A. County Department of Health Services, who is leading a course in health equity.

"A lot of times in homeless case management we find people who have various degrees, which is great, right? It brings people from multiple disciplines together, but rarely do we have that person who has had formal training in what it means to be a case manager in homeless services, because it's really a complex space to be in," Shimkhada said.

Often, she added, challenges facing unhoused people are often multifold, including health, mental health and substance abuse disorder.

"There are funds for outreach teams, for interim housing programs, to provide ongoing supportive services when somebody moves into permanent housing, to do benefits advocacy, but we just need this workforce that's ready and willing and able to come in and do the work very quickly," Shimkhada said.

A woman in a button-down shirt smiling into the camera.

Cultivating the next generation of leaders

The program has drawn students from all walks of life, said Sedky at SMC. They include high school graduates and mid-career people who are considering a career change after having volunteered in the space.

"We have a Ukrainian refugee. We have a bus driver who drives through Skid Row and wants to do more," Sedky added. "We have a few people that are already working in the sector and they want to move up in the sector."

Harris from Van Nuys would fall into that category. She said the program has opened access to a wealth of knowledge from those who've worked in the industry for decades.

"For me, it was to be able to learn more about policies and, you know, to have my pulse even more so on things that are going on and things that are coming in the future," Harris said.

But it's also about being in a cohort of like-minded people — committed to the cause — who the program hopes will become next generation of leaders in the sector. Because the work is hard, burnout is real. The pay scale for entry level jobs, said Harris, is typically between $20 to $25 per hour.

"It takes a certain type of individual to work in this field. No two days are the same. No two seconds, honestly, are the same," Harris said. "You have to be someone that really has a passion for this work. It's a great thing that this program has come about to be able to help get those next groups of people into this field."

Climate & Environment

Rain is here

Forecast and more

By Dañiel Andres Martinez and Josie Huang

Published September 6, 2026 9:19 AM

Ocean water flooding a beach parking lot. Cars are parked everywhere.

Flooding in Seal Beach Saturday afternoon. Heavy rains began Sunday.

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Courtesy Rhea Presiado

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Topline:

Up to an inch of rain is expected today across Los Angeles County from the effects of Hurricane Marie hundreds of miles away in the Pacific Ocean, according to the National Weather Service.

Street flooding: Roadway flooding was reported this morning on the westbound 134 at the 5 Freeway, near Glendale and Griffith Park.

Coastal Flooding: All weekend, forecasters have warned of dangerous rip currents and an elevated risk of coastal flooding.

Flooding was reported yesterday in Seal Beach and Long Beach.

"We have quite a few reports already of waves up to 10 feet on some beaches — Zuma Beach especially, where we've gotten reports [of] strong rip currents," said Todd Hall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

What's next: Hall said to expect more showers across L.A. County today. Tomorrow, he said isolated rain is expected, mostly in the mountains.

Topline:

Up to an inch of rain is expected today (Sunday, Sept. 6) across Los Angeles County from the effects of Hurricane Marie hundreds of miles away in the Pacific Ocean, according to the National Weather Service.

Street flooding: Roadway flooding was reported this morning on the westbound 134 Freeway at the 5, near Glendale and Griffith Park.

Coastal Flooding: All weekend, forecasters have warned of dangerous rip currents and an elevated risk of coastal flooding.

Flooding was reported yesterday in Seal Beach and Long Beach.

"We have quite a few reports already of waves up to 10 feet on some beaches — Zuma Beach especially, where we've gotten reports [of] strong rip currents," said Todd Hall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Advisories and closures:

An ocean water quality rain advisory has been issued for all L.A. County beaches until Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. That means to avoid ocean water contact for at least 72 hours after the rain.
A coastal flood advisory and a high surf advisory for L.A. and Ventura county beaches remain in effect until Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 11 p.m.
The City of Seal Beach is closing two beach parking lots due to flooding concerns.

What's next: Hall said to expect more showers across L.A. County throughout Sunday. On Monday, he said isolated rain is expected, mostly in the mountains.

A crash course in bees

There’s a Bee 101 explainer by the front door, which shows the differences between bees and wasps, and fun touches like pop songs containing the word “Honey,” and a list of Noteworthy Beekeepers including Aristotle, Benjamin Franklin, Leo Tolstoy, Emily Dickinson, Angelina Jolie and Sherlock Holmes.

One long-standing myth is that honeybees are stingers. “People always ask me how often I get stung, but I don’t wear gloves, and I don’t use smoke, and it very rarely happens. And honeybees die after they sting, as opposed to wasps, who can sting repeatedly,” she said.

Five bee models sit on a museum display describing bees as pollinators that eat nectar, sting once, and are fuzzy and yellow.

Most arresting is a floor-to-ceiling collage series of framed model fruits, vegetables, nuts and berries, all of which the honeybee has a role in pollinating. Beside that is an exhibit on pesticides, one of the insect's biggest threats. Pieces of dried honeycomb are everywhere.

Diazzz has also been hosting school trips for the Boys & Girls Clubs. “I might be the only beekeeper they will ever meet,” she noted. The point is to give bees the respect they deserve. “Did you know that it takes 12 honeybees their entire lives to make one teaspoon of honey?”

Rescuing hives across Southern California

A window display with jars of honey inside the store. On the outside it says, "More than just honey, Honey."

There are no live bees in the store, but Diazzz has her own hives in Burbank.

“They are from rescues: I cut the hive out from a wall,” she explained. She takes care of hives from San Diego to Bel Air, with many in the San Fernando Valley, and a couple with a view of the Hollywood Sign. Her caretaking quests have taken her on skyscraper roofs, at apartment buildings and in parking lots.

Almost a year ago, she began her studies as a honey sommelier at the American Honey Tasting Society in Connecticut, where she learned about the science and experience of honey. Her future includes going off to Bologna, Italy, the world honey hub, for the final round of studies and tests at the Albo Nazionale degli Esperti in Analisi Sensoriale del Miele or the National Register of Experts in Sensory Analysis of Honey.

Small honey jars in varying shades of gold and amber sit on a table, one labeled 'Raw Multi-Floral Honey' from La Crescenta.

“Nectar and honey are not the same thing,” she explained. “Nectar is the liquid sticky substance that bees collect from flowering plants and take back to the hive. They transform it into honey by dehydrating the moisture out of the nectar, and capping it over with wax.”

Diazzz recently held her first informal tasting experience at The Bee Museum, and has small batches of various local honeys for sale: cactus, sage, and honey from her own hives. “I usually leave the honey alone, and only take any extra they have made to sell,” she said, because bees use the honey as sustenance. Her favorite? “A toss-up between dandelion and sunflower. Orange blossom is delicious too, but very sweet.”

Arts & Entertainment

Stop doomscrolling

Here're 5 games to play instead

By Linda Holmes | NPR

Published September 6, 2026 5:00 AM

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NPR

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Topline:

NPR's Linda Holmes is a daily puzzle devotee. She recommends games that will test your knowledge of geography, history, and even the most obscure corners of Wikipedia.

Keep reading and dive right into her list of recommendations.

Maybe you, like me, are a daily puzzle player. Maybe you like a Wordle, or a crossword, or one of the other entries from the New York Times puzzle empire.

But maybe you're looking for something else.

So, with a tip of the hat to the people on Bluesky who helped me discover a bunch of games I love in the last month or two, I'm sharing a few games that I'm particularly enjoying these days — ones that are not NYT word games. (No disrespect to my original love, Spelling Bee.)

There are more, of course: the spelling bee game Beeswax, the word game Smush, the vexing Anthropeum, the movie games Framed and Cinematrix. Truthfully, I have more games in the "daily games" folder on my phone than I could ever actually play daily. But given a choice between puzzling and doomscrolling, I'll take the puzzles every time.

MapTap

MapTap is a very simple game. You are shown a 3D globe that you can rotate with your finger, but there are no lines dividing countries or territories. So you are just looking at the unmarked terrain of the world, and you are challenged to tap as close as you can to a particular named location. Maybe "London, England, U.K." You tap. It shows you the distance between where you tapped and where the place really is. You get more points the closer you are. There are five questions in each daily round.

This game can be genuinely humbling, because without those familiar borders showing, it can be difficult to even locate places you are very familiar with. (Without state and national boundaries, it always takes me a minute to precisely find even a place I myself have lived.) But what I love about MapTap is that as I do it, over and over, I actually get better at world geography, which is worthwhile and enriching.

TimeGuessr

In the same family as MapTap is TimeGuessr, where each day's challenge is made up of five puzzles that each start with a photo. Your task is to choose, on a timeline, what year the photo was taken, and to choose, on a map of the world, where it was taken. Sometimes, the photos are of historically meaningful events, like the aftermath of a battle or a natural disaster. Sometimes, they are photographs of ordinary people going about their lives.

The trick with TimeGuessr is detective work. Some hints are straightforward: a sign in the window of a store that might tip off the location (if you can figure out what language it's written in), a license plate, something along those lines. But sometimes, the clues are more subtle. What are the people in the photo wearing? What do the cars look like? How is everybody wearing their hair? It's a fascinating exercise in putting together clues, and again, you can actually increase your knowledge of the world while you play.

The Loop

A screenshot of a game. It has a bowl of pasta in the middle.

The Loop is my favorite early-morning game, perfect for when I'm only partially awake. It offers you 12 simple illustrations that you have to arrange in a circle so that each illustration connects in some way to the ones on either side of it.

So, for instance, in one round I played, a square-root symbol connected on one side to a carpenter's square (because square/square), which then connected to a picture of a toolbox (because a carpenter's square is a tool). On the other side, the square-root symbol connected to a carrot (because it's a root vegetable), and then the carrot to an icicle (because they're the same shape). It can be fun to crack all the different ways that the images connect to each other, but the game design also offers so many chances to get it right that there's a huge amount of grace for making mistakes. That, of course, is why it's perfect for being half-awake.

Clues by Sam

A screenshot of a game made up of many boxes with emojis inside each box.

Clues by Sam is a logic puzzle. It presents you with a grid — four across and five down — of people, each represented by a name, an emoji and an occupation. Your job is to figure out which of those people are innocent and which are criminals. (There is no set number; there could be lots of criminals or only a couple.) Your opening clue might say, "Michael is one of three criminals in row 2." Then you click on Michael and mark him as a criminal, and when you're right, that gets you another clue, and so on.

Like most of these games, this one is enjoyable largely because it's simple, but its diabolical twist is that you can't guess. If you try to label Jane innocent, for instance, and she eventually will be, but the game hasn't given you enough information yet to actually know that, then that answer is wrong and is rejected. You are only allowed to deduce from the clues you have, because it is genuinely the journey and not the destination. Note that Clues by Sam gets harder each day from Monday through Sunday, so if you're a beginner, give it a whirl early in the week to get the hang of it.

Catfishing

Without a doubt, the hardest game I play regularly. In this game, you get a list of at least some of the categories that a particular Wikipedia page belongs to, and you have to try to figure out what page it is. There are ten questions; my average score is about four, and the highest I've ever gotten is eight.

For example, if you know a page is filed under "20th century musicians," and "21st century musicians," and "American folk musicians," and "people born in Minnesota," you might start to zero in on Bob Dylan. But be warned: Many of the answers are far more obscure than that, and it's very common for me to give up and reveal the answer, only to learn that I never stood a chance, because I've never heard of the person (or event, or phenomenon) at all. It doesn't matter how many ways you classify certain medieval rulers or political conflicts of 19th century Iowa; I may never get there.

This piece also appeared in NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss the next one, plus get weekly recommendations about what's making us happy.

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The Brief

Help wanted: Homeless service work

A program years in the making

A curriculum designed for students to hit the ground running

Cultivating the next generation of leaders

Keep up with LAist.

A crash course in bees

Rescuing hives across Southern California

MapTap

TimeGuessr

The Loop

Clues by Sam

Catfishing