Los Angeles homeless outreach workers caught tossing food into dumpsters

[Demovictory9]

"It's appalling what I see on that video," said Handal. "This is an absolute disgrace."

For months, the investigative team watched outreach workers with LAHSA picking up food for the less fortunate. The employees were supposed to spend their days interacting with the thousands of homeless in Los Angeles. LAHSA administrators said the goal was to build trust with the unhoused, using the food in hopes of convincing them to accept government service and housing.

One team that CBSLA followed could be seen picking up the homeless food, driving around for hours, stopping twice to give out meals before going on a break to walk around Balboa Park for an hour.

However, at the end of their shift, they were seen giving away all the food at a homeless encampment in Panorama City, folding up the empty boxes the food was once in.

But another team was seen driving and making stops at Target, Starbucks and McDonald's all while passing dozens of homeless people along the way. When they finally returned to their office, instead of folding up empty boxes, one LAHSA employee was seen throwing a case full of food in the dumpster behind their Panorama City building.

Another team was seen taking the boxes out of their car, walking into the room with the dumpsters and throwing a box filled with food right in the trash, even though there was a group of people living on the streets just a block away.

LAHSA — which received $800 million in public funds this fiscal year — did not provide anyone to speak with the investigative team but did write a statement which said in part:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/goldstein-investigates-cameras-catch-employees-throwing-away-food-meant-for-the-homeless/ar-AAXE62v

[rockfordfile]

1. That other team should be arrested

[Demovictory9]

2. agreed , or fire supervisor - they were just killing time all day, clocking it til the day over

not hustling to find homeless people to give food to.

Btw, it's really easy to find the homeless in that area. I've lived in the SFV. They could literally, drive a few feet, give out the food, drive a bit more, give out the food, barely walking 10 feet from the car. its not like they have to rustle through the bushes or forest. These are big city homeless, hanging on street corners or in parks

==========

interestingly...these "homeless outreach" jobs are ALWAYS posted.

[Hortensis]

3. Terrible, but there's huge turnover in these low-level workers due to low pay,

and I think this makes it obvious that expectable low morale is also a problem. The director, or whatever her title was, left or is leaving because she was not allowed to raise their wages.

I haven't read just where they tend to hire from, but I'm guessing a fair number are people who've turned or been referred to government job placement programs. And not all would believe in what this agency does or have what it would take to deal well with often problematic people, even though performance level would be related to that.

In any case, reportedly the LAHSA never had adequate power to meaningfully address its part of the huge homelessness crisis and will be replaced with a new agency.

[Demovictory9]

4. It seems like a position best.jeld by a trained social worker

Instead they hire off the street
I hope the new agency does.better

[Hortensis]

5. Me too for the new agency. I'd think to be really good at this work,

which offers the chance to become positive, even if minor, elements in the lives of a wide range of troubled people, would take some talent. Being big enough to discourage threatening behavior would be a nice plus.

Failing that, just employees who believe in feeding homeless people and are able to find the positives more rewarding than the negatives discouraging -- plus wages that'd allow them to take these jobs over others.