Street engagement teams seek out homeless as El Niño rains begin

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Podcasts Take Two

Jan 6, 2016

Listen • 7:20

Street engagement teams seek out homeless as El Niño rains begin

For the majority of Angelenos, rain means worries about windshield wipers, rain gutters, and bad traffic. For homeless people, the concerns are much more dire.

Homeless women prepare for another day and night on the street near Skid Row in Los Angeles, California on May 12, 2015. A report released by the Los Angeles Homeless Authority on May 11 showed a 12% increase in the homeless population in both Los Angeles city and county, which according to the report have been driven by soaring rents, low wages and stubbornly high unemployment. One of the most striking findings from the biennial figures released saw the number of makeshift encampments, tents and vehicles occupied by the homeless increased 85%. AFP PHOTO / FREDERIC J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

For the majority of Angelenos, rain means worries about windshield wipers, rain gutters, and bad traffic. For homeless people, the concerns are much more dire.

The El Niño rains have arrived.

For the majority of Angelenos, the rain means worries about flood insurance, windshield wipers, rain gutters, bad traffic. For L.A.'s homeless population, the concerns are much more dire.

Outreach teams have been working for months to get the word out to people living in high-risk areas, but that effort is still ongoing.

Rabbi Marvin Gross, CEO of Union Station Homeless Services in Pasadena, and Va Lecia Adams Kellum, Executive Director of St. Joseph Center in Venice, joined Take Two for a conversation about their efforts to bring homeless people in from the winter storms.

To hear the full interview, click the link above.