Josh Hoffman, director of homeless services at the Little Tokyo Service Center, shared his experiences with aspiring service workers, emphasizing the importance of persistence in helping the homeless. He recounted a story where a woman with mental health issues eventually found housing after multiple rejections. Despite the challenging nature of the job, new initiatives like the Los Angeles Unhoused Response Academy provide essential training and support, aiming to reduce burnout among workers and enhance their effectiveness in addressing homelessness.
"Helping people get off the street can be a grueling, poorly paid job, one where workers often feel unsafe and lament that they haven't received enough training on how to help..."
"If we had never gotten that call we would have figured ... our work with her hadn't really had an impact on her life, but it did," said Hoffman, now director of homeless services at the Little Tokyo Service Center.
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