Albuquerque pays homeless people to work. Could LA do the same?

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Podcasts Take Two

Aug 15, 2016

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Albuquerque pays homeless people to work. Could LA do the same?

How to reduce homelessness is always a vexing problem, with few easy answers. But the city of Albuquerque may have stumbled onto a promising solution.

File: Sylvia Welker feeds the pigeons on Skid Row in Los Angeles. There are currently 47,000 homeless people in and around Los Angeles.

How to reduce homelessness is always a vexing problem, with few easy answers. But the city of Albuquerque may have stumbled onto a promising solution.

According to the latest count, there are nearly 47,000 homeless people living unsheltered in Los Angeles County.

Reducing homelessness is a vexing problem with few easy answers. But the city of Albuquerque may have stumbled onto a promising solution.

They're putting those living on the streets to work through a program called "There's a Better Way."

Kellie Tillerson, director of housing and employment at the non-profit St. Martin's Hospitality Center in New Mexico, joined Take Two to explain how the program works and whether it could be replicated in other cities like LA.