The Pastor/LAPD Chaplain team of Regina and Steve Weller are placing approximately one homeless person per week, according to Regina. They are placing them where they can get services with continuous guidance. Hopefully, they will become productive individuals and never live on the street again.

Recently, Tami Pardee of Pardee Properties donated a sizable amount to the Wellers for their work.

Karen
By Regina Weller

We had met this person before. Got a call from a woman in the neighborhood regarding help for a homeless woman who had settled in at the corner bus stop by the Home Depot. Steve and I grabbed a hygiene kit and went to pay her a visit.

It was a red light at Jefferson Blvd and all those in their cars waiting for the light to turn were fixed on this woman with her hoard of items measuring four feet high and four yards across covered by a tarp. She was a black woman, unbathed and dressed in black, soft spoken and polite and unfettered by the stares of onlookers. It was apparent that she had stepped away from society a long time ago, and had deemed the bus bench as her personal sofa.

We began by introducing ourselves, and “How are you doing? What’s your name? Can I give you a hygiene kit, and why are you living out here?” Karen accepted the hygiene kit and replied, “I’m fine. I’m waiting for my husband. He’s coming to get me.”

So after our pitch about placement into housing, which she declined, we returned home sadly resolved by the fact that we can help people in crisis, but only if they are willing. Karen was not. She was lost in Los Angeles, and faithfully waiting for a husband who would never come. And when the long awaited rains came to quench the drought, I thought of Karen sitting in the rain all by herself.

Months later, I saw Officer Peter Abskharon at a Venice Neighborhood Watch meeting and he mentioned to me that Karen was still in the street but had moved to a new location, and was getting a lot of complaints from the neighbors. A few days in, we received a call from Officer Peter to come to the Police Station right away. Karen had been picked up and brought to the police station, charged with a misdemeanor infraction. He asked us to find her a home. “She has an infraction, but I don’t want to arrest her. She needs help.”

We placed a call to one of the organizations outside the city that we had networked with many times before, and let them know beforehand that I would be bringing in a homeless female. I drove up to the police station gate and was let in the back parking lot. Officer Peter had Karen in the police car and said, “I’ll follow you.”

When we arrived at the housing organization, a gentleman came outside to greet us. Karen got out of the police car and I re-introduced myself to her and the plan to help her. “I’m a nervous wreck,” she said. “You’re gonna be ok,” I replied, “I’m gonna be your friend. Is that ok with you?” “Yes,” she answered. I told Officer Peter that all was okay and he could go.

A worker handed Karen a cheese sandwich as a worker patiently gathered information from her. We discovered that Karen was receiving Social Security disability and had been homeless since 2007. It is now January 2015, and I wondered as to the amount of suffering and isolation a human being could withstand.

The database was searched to find a room for rent in housing that would fit Karen’s status and needs, and finally she was interviewed by phone with a particular owner. Within the hour I was driving Karen to her new home, but I was somewhat concerned that the homeowner would decline once she set eyes on Karen’s current condition. As we drove up the driveway, the owner, along with three other women, greeted Karen with smiles and kindness.

Karen was interviewed by the owner for about ten minutes, and then shown to her private room in the large front house. Karen giggled with delight as she was handed toiletries, a towel and directed to the bathroom to take a shower. “What size shoes and clothes do you wear?” they asked her. “We have the prettiest clothes for you, Karen. You’re going to look so pretty.”

I informed the owner and Karen that I would be checking up on her. As I got ready to leave, Karen opened up her arms to hug me goodbye. It both surprised and humbled me. Four hours had passed – she had entered her new home.

The Homeless Task Force has become a relay team for the city. We are all simply using our talents and gifting to assist another human being who has lost his way. And it can be swift. The police, being familiar with all the transients in their jurisdiction, inform us, the Venice Foursquare Chaplains. We provide transportation to assist the homeless at their point of crisis and then utilize the best of existing social services. If Officer Peter had not intervened for Karen, the circumstances would have certainly worsened.

But in the end, when the rains did come, and we were nestled in our own beds to sleep, we rested well knowing that one who had crossed our path was also safe in her own bed, listening to the rain outside.