The LA Homeless Count

Tonight was an evening that I won't soon forget. I had volunteered to take part in a county-wide census of the homeless population here in LA, and tonight was the first part of that census.

I was paired up with a gentleman by the name of Joey, and we canvassed the central downtown part of Santa Monica, crisscrossing streets by car. In three hours, we counted over a hundred homeless people. As tough as it was to see them, it was nice knowing that even though they didn’t know we were there, we were doing something to help them.

The really amazing part of this evening was the time I got to spend with Joey. He seemed to be in his fifties, though it was a little hard to tell. Very intelligent guy, and super nice. He had been formerly homeless, formerly incarcerated, but one one of those special people that was able to pull himself out. He spent time in a shelter, and was able to move to temporary housing, and then just recently into a small apartment, all in the Skid Row area. I think he said he pays $52 a month, which was a lot for him. He is set up with a job as a street cleaner, and he has been substance-free for about eight months now.

At the end of the night, I asked him how he was getting home, and he said he had a bike which he used in conjunction with the buses. I offered him a ride home, telling him my car was made to transport people and bicycles. On the way home, we had a chance to talk a little about God. He seemed very spiritual, making small comments throughout the evening, so told him that I wanted to pray for him. This began a conversation that we started with Jesus and took us through Christianity and Islam (he had converted to Islam many years ago from Christianity) and ended up with a very simple parting message: You can read as much as you want, study as much as you want, talk to the scholars, the priests, whatever you want, but in the end it comes down to a matter of faith. If God wanted us to have all of the answers, they would be written across the sky for everyone to read and understand. Instead they are written across our hearts, and it is up to us to accept or reject.

This seemed to have a profound affect on him. I got his number and told him maybe we could meet for coffee next week and keep talking. He was very excited about that, and told me "I knew something special would happen tonight". A couple of hugs and handshakes later, I was on my way.

I've never seen someone so excited about just a couple of simple revelations. We'll see where it leads. Either way, he's a good man and I was very honored to meet him, and be a part of a greater cause to help people in need. Stay tuned for more on Joey and on the homeless.