Walking Skid Row

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Last night was the monthly Skid Row Neighborhood Walk, organized by the Central City East Association. It takes place the first Wednesday of each month, so go ahead and mark your calendars now for August 2nd (though I’ll actually be in Kauai then… more on that soon).

I last mentioned the walk back in March, when I finally made it out for one. It was a fascinating experience, and one that’s very disconnected from even my life just blocks away.

Last night’s walk was just as interesting. Jan Perry was there, though you can barely see her in the left edge of my one picture… Don took some better ones, so you can check those out as well.

The most interesting thing for me was hearing the answers people on the street would give for why they didn’t want to go to a shelter. Faced with the very simple question – “Wouldn’t you like a bed to sleep in tonight?” – they would respond by saying “I need somewhere with privacy” (ie a tent on the sidewalk) or “They don’t let couples stay together” (and you’d rather have your wife stay on the street?). Everybody’s got it figured out in their own head…