Mary Marfisee, an assistant professor of medicine at UCLA, is also the family medical services director at the Union Rescue Mission. She's coming up on 20 years tending to the more than 5,000 men, women and children who come through the doors of the shelter every year. The homeless women Marfisee works with face even more challenges than men due to a lack of services.
Why it matters: Union Rescue Mission's internal studies found that about 87% of women were not up to date with their preventative pap smear or mammogram health screenings.And when women from shelters do try to get preventative care, they're often faced with a variety of challenges.
Women's health services: In December, Marfisee launched the first phase of a new women's health initiative at the shelter. Alongside some medical student interns, she leads regular town halls to raise awareness about important screenings, including cervical and breast cancer check ups.
Standing on a busy street in Skid Row on a recent sunny day, Mary Marfisee tried to block out street noise as she popped her stethoscope into her ears. Dozens of people were milling about. Dogs barked. Music blared. A constant thrum of cars drove past.
But Marfisee is used to the commotion.
"I'm going to listen to your lungs and see if they're ok. Is that ok?" Marfisee asked Hermione, a nervous woman in her twenties who declined to give NPR her full name out of fear for her safety. She was pushing a stroller loaded with plastic bags, stuffed with her belongings.
Marfisee pressed the stethoscope onto the back of Hermione's oversized sweatshirt.
"Your lungs are tight," Marfisee said with concern after a few beats. "Are you having trouble breathing?" she asked.
Everything about Marfisee's approach is slow and deliberate. Before touching Hermione's arm, she hovers her hand over it and makes eye contact. Then, she lowers her hand gently. It's a deliberate, patient approach she's developed over her long career as a family medicine physician.
Hermione's worried expression relaxed. She explained that she has asthma and her inhaler was running low on medicine. She also lost her emergency EpiPen, she said. But when Marfisee offered information about a few nearby clinics that would be able to take her as a walk-in patient, Hermione turned it down.
"Maybe later. They have a bed for me at the Union Rescue Mission," Hermione said, and Marfisee's face bloomed into a smile.
That's because Marfisee, an assistant professor of medicine at UCLA, is also the family medical services director at the Union Rescue Mission. The Christian organization operates a four-story homeless shelter that is one of the oldest and largest homeless missions in Southern California. She told NPR she's coming up on 20 years tending to the more than 5,000 men, women and children who come through the doors of the shelter every year. Over that span, she's also become a recognizable figure throughout Skid Row on regular walking rounds of "street medicine" delivered to unhoused people where they are.
The interaction with Hermione is a classic example of what typically happens with her patients — both inside the mission or on city sidewalks, Marfisee said.
"Their top priority" is finding stable housing. "Their health is at the bottom of the list," she explained.
As a result, small problems, such as infections, cuts or chronic health issues often fester and become much more serious, she said.
Christmas decorations adorn the walls at the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles. December 15, 2025.
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Zaydee Sanchez for NPR
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Women experiencing homelessness face unique health challenges with few resources
Los Angeles' Skid Row is an epicenter of the homelessness crisis — not just in California, but also the nation. According to a 2025 Los Angeles Homeless Services report, an estimated 43,695 city residents were homeless at the time of an annual count of the homeless population in February. Less than half — 16,723 — live in shelters while the rest are unsheltered.
Meanwhile, a 2024 study on homelessness in Los Angeles from the nonprofit research organization RAND found that Skid Row's unsheltered population continues to skew older and female. Data also shows that this group of women has significantly lower physical and mental health than those who are sheltered, due to factors such as lack of insurance and transportation. That's particularly true for basic services such as gynecological and prenatal care.
The homeless women Marfisee works with face even more challenges than men due to a lack of services, she said.
"There are clinics on Skid Row for general health services but nothing specifically set up to address women's health needs."
Union Rescue Mission's internal studies found that about 87% of women were not up to date with their preventative pap smear or mammogram health screenings.
And when women from shelters do try to get preventative care, they're often faced with a variety of challenges. Marfisee recounted one instance in which a patient who had a family history of breast cancer was trying to schedule a mammogram. After hours of calls, Marfisee said, the earliest appointment her team was able to schedule was nine months out. Then, there were more obstacles.
"She had to come in with her proof of Medicare. Well, she not only didn't have her medical card, she'd moved from address to address, didn't even have an I.D. anymore. So we had to start that whole process," Marfisee said.
Dr. Mary Marfisee and two UCLA medical students lead a cancer awareness talk in the Union Rescue Mission chapel in Los Angeles, educating women residents about cancer prevention and care.
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Zaydee Sanchez for NPR
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Another of her patients, a woman who had suffered from lower abdominal pains for decades, faced similar setbacks. When she wasn't in crisis mode — moving from one place to another, and in and out of shelters — the woman went from clinic to clinic seeking help, Marfisee said. But finding the root cause was difficult without consistent care from a doctor to see the case through.
It wasn't until Marfisee and her staff conducted an hours-long history that they learned she had had an IUD placed 32 years prior.
"We could correlate the pain to the birth of her daughter, who was 32 years old, and who was also [living at URM] with her," Marfisee said.
The team scoured their contacts and arranged an emergency appointment for the woman at a county hospital. That's where they confirmed that the forgotten IUD, which can last from 3 to 10 years, had never been removed and was "incarcerated into [her] lower uterine wall," Marfisee said.
She described it as a devastating and eye-opening moment that propelled her into action.
"We felt like we were doing Band-Aid women's health," Marfisee said. "We would just treat an infection or treat a problem, but not really get to the screening issues."
A resident at the Union Rescue Mission reviews a flyer providing information on different types of cancers and their risks. December 15, 2025
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Zaydee Sanchez for NPR
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Potential solutions meet red tape
It lit a fire in Marfisee to provide more resources for the 150 or so women who find themselves living at the shelter at any given time. Marfisee began contacting other clinics in the area but soon realized that they were not equipped to offer those services either.
"But I'm great at research," she boasted — and dogged, too.
In December she launched the first phase of a new women's health initiative at the shelter. Alongside some medical student interns, she leads regular town halls to raise awareness about important screenings, including cervical and breast cancer check ups. They encourage the women who attend to ask questions and talk about their own health.
But it's the next phase of the initiative that Marfisee believes will make the greatest difference in these women's lives. URM has partnered with a local hospital to bring a mobile health van to the shelter twice a month. That will allow Marfisee and other volunteer physicians to offer free pap smears and mammograms to the shelter's residents. She estimates they'll be able to provide up to 100 breast exams per visit.
"One of the things that [people who work with homeless women] always say is that these women are so resilient. And I understand why they say that," she said. "But I started to rethink that because they are not really able to take care of their gynecological health needs on their own. They can't really self-treat. They need to be told that this lump that they may have been palpating in the breast is something significant."
Unfortunately, she said, the plan to provide mobile health to these women hit a few red-tape and logistical snags, and is three months behind schedule; the van driver's schedule is booked up and the shelter needs to figure out how they'll be dumping any medical waste.
Marfisee, a self-described optimist, estimates they'll overcome the challenges and begin screening patients by February.
"No matter what it takes, we'll get it done. We just have to," she said.
UCLA medical students, working alongside Dr. Mary Marfisee, walk the streets of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, offering medical care to women in need. December 15, 2025.
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Zaydee Sanchez for NPR
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Meanwhile, the work continues
Back out on the street, in a small, neglected park about a block away from URM, Marfisee turns onto San Julian Street, which she calls "one of the roughest streets in the city."
There are more than a dozen adults at the park, in various states of alertness; some are in groups, others are alone. One of them is an older woman in a wheelchair. Her hands are gnarled, frozen in what looks to be a painful position.
She's got a scowl on her face as Marfisee and her students approach. But after a few minutes she warms up to them. They go over their set of screening questions: Any aches and pains? Skin issues? Cuts or bruises?
The woman's responses are quiet and mostly monosyllabic, but after a few minutes, she reaches out and takes Marfisee's hands into her own.
She's Marfisee's last street patient of the day. Heading back toward URM, Marfisee makes a note.
"Let's keep her in mind and make a note of where she hangs out, so we can follow up with her," she said.
Marfisee headed into the shelter where she'd jump right into seeing other patients. Maybe, she hoped, that might include Hermione.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Dr. Mary Marfisee and UCLA medical students Rashna Soonavala (right) and Jessica Menjivar Cruz (left). December 15, 2025.
Aaron Schrank
has been on the ground, reporting on homelessness and other issues in L.A. for more than a decade.
Published April 2, 2026 4:23 PM
Supervisor Holly Mitchell, L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer, actor Danny Trejo and others gathered at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Wilmington.
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Aaron Schrank
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LAist
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Topline:
A new private foundation called The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA launched Thursday, aiming to raise $2 million to shore up county health services this year. It comes after the Department of Public Health closed seven clinics following $50 million in funding cuts since early 2025.
Who's behind it: The foundation's board includes Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, the CEOs of Blue Shield of California Foundation and LA Care Health Plan, actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo and more. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 at the launch. Ferrer acknowledged it's "a hard day" when a public agency has to turn to private donors to fund basic services.
Deeper cuts ahead: The federal "Big Beautiful Bill" slashes Medi-Cal funding, and the department anticipates losing up to $300 million over the next three years. Federal dollars account for nearly half the public health budget.
Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.
A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.
“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.
She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.
Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.
The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.
More cuts expected
L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.
“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”
Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.
The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.
Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.
If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
is an arts and general assignment reporter on LAist's Explore LA team.
Published April 2, 2026 4:20 PM
Water infrastructure such as pipes that feed water to drinking fountains and toilets at the Rose Bowl Stadium are getting an infusion of $1 million for fixes.
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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist
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Topline:
Rep. Laura Friedman today announced that she secured $1 million for improvements to the water infrastructure at the aging Rose Bowl Stadium as it prepares for a global starring role in the LA28 Olympics.
Why it matters: The pipes may be working fine — for now — but the fear of backed-up toilets as the world watches is an ongoing worry at the venue.
Why now: Public officials have been pushing for spending to improve Olympic venues and surrounding areas as L.A. and other municipalities roll out the red carpet for the world to attend the Olympics. But they’ve hit road bumps and detours.
The backstory: The Rose Bowl is 103 years old and public officials have committed to spending $200 million to upgrade the Pasadena venue over the next two decades.
The Rose Bowl in Pasadena may be a centenarian, but it’s holding up pretty well as it continues to host events on its way to a starring role in the LA28 Olympics.
But before it can host the soccer final, it needs fixes, especially to the infrastructure serving the bathrooms and drinking fountains. Fears of a toilet backup while in the world’s spotlight led Rep. Laura Friedman to seek federal funds for upgrades. On Thursday she announced she secured just over $1 million.
“Two years from now, athletes around the world are going to compete for gold right where we are standing. This is not the time to find out whether or not these pipes are up to the task,” Friedman said.
The planned work, she added, will lead to improved water flow capacity and water drainage, eliminating the risk of backups and emergency maintenance.
The funds came from the House of Representatives Interior and Environment subcommittee. The fixes, an official said, will be completed by the LA28 Olympics.
The funds, however, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s needed to make needed improvements to the Pasadena venue.
Officials, including (left to right) Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation President Dedan Brozino, Deputy Fire Chief of the City of Pasadena Tim Sell, Congresswoman Laura Friedman, and Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Jens Weiden announced infrastructure funding for the 103-year old Rose Bowl.
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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist
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“Over the next 20 years there's about $200 million that we need to put in and that's everything from updating light fixtures to updating gas, water, wastewater lines, etc.,” said Dedan Brozino, president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the Rose Bowl stadium's preservation and enhancement.
Getting venues ready will be expensive
The money is a much-needed win at a time when elected officials in city, county, state and federal offices have been struggling to find the funds to get L.A.-area venues ready for the global Olympic stage in two years.
The entrance to a men's bathroom at the Rose Bowl.
Additionally, to save money, LA28 organizers moved Olympic diving to the Rose Bowl complex last year because it has two Olympic-sized pools, while the Exposition Park complex doesn't and would need expensive upgrades.
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Kevin Tidmarsh
is a producer for LAist, covering news and culture. He’s been an audio/web journalist for about a decade.
Published April 2, 2026 3:39 PM
This Cape vulture chick hatched March 14 at the L.A. Zoo.
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Courtesy Misha Body/LA Zoo
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Topline:
The zoo said it’s the first major breeding success in its Cape vulture habitat, which opened up last year. The chick now joins the zoo’s committee — that’s the name for a group of vultures.
About the chick: The chick hatched on March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of eight and a half feet.
About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.
How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.
Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.
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Courtesy Jamie Pham/L.A. Zoo
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What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”
About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the California condors that just hatched last year at the L.A. Zoo.
Topline:
The Los Angeles Zoo said it’s the first major breeding success in its Cape vulture habitat, which opened up last year. The chick now joins the zoo’s committee — that’s the name for a group of vultures.
About the chick: The chick hatched March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of 8 1/2 feet.
About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa and nearby countries. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.
How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.
Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.
(
Courtesy Jamie Pham/L.A. Zoo
)
What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”
About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the zoo's California condors that hatched last year.
What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses.
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Screenshot courtesy of BHAC
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Topline:
Last week, seven students and two staff members from the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) were detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses. Now, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling.
What happened: According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.
Allegations of racial profiling: In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado. According to Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation.
What is BAM? The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members.
What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses.
Now, nearly a week later, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling.
According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. Authorities then requested backup for what they described as “a large group surrounding officers,” LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im said.
The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.
The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members.
Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, had been with the students setting up for the ceremony minutes before the incident occurred.
According to Weber, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did, when staff were alerted that they were being detained.
Weber said he arrived to find students and a staff member pressed against the wall in handcuffs.
Video from the scene, taken by a staff member at the BHAC, shows multiple officers surrounding the group. At one point, an officer orders a person to “get on the wall” and displays a stun gun.
“No, none of that, these are kids right here,” the staff member replies.
Another staff member, Teotl Veliz, recorded a large police response.
“I counted 12 cop cars, that’s at least 25 cops, and they had a helicopter,” Veliz said. “It was just so comedic, tragically comedic, that it was on their graduation day too.”
Officers established a perimeter with yellow tape along the side of Ashley’s Beauty Salon as local business owners and witnesses gathered around the students.
“I was just incredibly disappointed in LAPD… because it became so apparent to everybody, all at the same time, that it was racial profiling and nothing else,” Veliz said.
Weber said officers gave shifting explanations for the stop at the scene, including blocking the sidewalk and possible underage vaping. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation.
Police have not responded to questions about what led officers to believe that the group was gang-affiliated.
Weber recalled pleading with the officers to let the group go and explaining to them that they worked across the street. Community members and local business owners also stepped in to vouch for the students.
“Our job is to help them gain a new perspective on life,” Weber said. “They’re coming out of juvenile detention and they’re turning their lives around. We can do our part in keeping them off the streets and keeping them doing better but what does it mean if they’re going to be profiled and treated exactly the same way?”
In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.
The incident ultimately resulted in an infraction for smoking a cannabis e-vape on a public sidewalk, according to a photo of the infraction shared with the Beat. LAPD did not provide details about the people taken to Hollenbeck Station or the infraction.
The graduation ceremony was cancelled that night and is expected to be rescheduled in April.
“Graduation should be a moment of pride and possibility — not fear,” Jurado said in a statement. “I’m seeking answers about what occurred, and this underscores the need for stronger relationships between law enforcement and community organizations so moments like these are protected, not disrupted.”
Carmelita Ramirez‑Sanchez, the conservatory’s executive director, said she was grateful to the community and Jurado for advocating for the students’ release. Jurado met her at Hollenbeck Station within 20 minutes of being alerted to the incident, she said.
“They had store owners, señoras, barbers, that ran out and were trying to explain to the police who our kids were,” Ramirez‑Sanchez said.
Still, she said the incident tarnished what should have been a joyous celebration.
“I imagine that what this does is derail this entire idea that you can be an active participant in your own restorative growth,” she said.
