The raindrops are terrifying. No place to lie down, nowhere to hide from the rain-this is the reality for the homeless.
This year, a record-breaking winter storm hit. On the afternoon of February 13, Los Angeles experienced heavy rainfall of up to 1.2 inches per hour.
For the homeless, it is a time of extreme hardship. The cold rain soaks not only their bodies but also their hearts with despair.
At 1 p.m. on February 13, 65-year-old Aebok Yoon moved under the eaves of a commercial building. Yoon is a Korean homeless person living near 8th Street and Catalina Street.
The rain was pouring so hard that it splashed back from the ground. Yoon was already drenched from head to toe, having been exposed to the downpour for some time.
“The rain makes it feel even colder,” Yoon said tremblingly. “I have to protect my belongings from getting wet.”
But Yoon’s “belongings” were only a plastic bag containing a few worn-out socks and a paper cup. The cardboard box Yoon used for sleeping on the streets was soaked and limp as if it had been used as a makeshift umbrella.
Yoon’s move under the eaves was a desperate choice—a struggle to escape even a little of the rain. But Yoon couldn’t help but feel uneasy, fearing that the store owner or Korean passersby might scold or drive them away.
Near the intersection of Hoover Street and Olympic Boulevard, another Korean homeless man, Andy, was trying to survive. Andy suffers from mental illness.
“I want to go to a shelter to escape the rain,” he said, “but I can’t get into one. All I can do is wait endlessly for the rain to stop.”
For homeless individuals with mental illnesses or substance abuse issues, finding refuge in shelters during heavy rain is often not an option.
Pastor Moody Ko of Father’s Table Ministry, which provides meals to the homeless in LA, explained, “When the rain is this heavy, we try to let homeless individuals take shelter with us because the situation is urgent. But if their mental health issues are severe, they can sometimes pose a risk to others, which puts us in a difficult position.”
At the intersection of Berendo Street and Olympic Boulevard, another homeless person, 78-year-old Gu Maeng, lay quietly inside his soaked tent. Maeng is essentially paralyzed from the waist down. Despite being drenched, staying inside the tent was his only option.
“I usually cook meals on a small fire in front of my tent,” he said. “But the rain keeps me trapped inside. I haven’t eaten anything for two days.”
The situation in Skid Row, LA’s largest homeless encampment, was no different. Driving through the area revealed a landscape of devastation.
Despite the downpour, the tents along San Pedro Street stood where they always had. But the streets were littered with waterlogged cardboard, food wrappers, plastic bags, and other debris swept away by the rain.
Most of the homeless had no umbrellas and stood exposed to the rain. Some wore rain ponchos—likely distributed by relief organizations—but the thin plastic was torn in many places and provided little protection from the relentless rain.
Pastor Joo-ok Na of The Well Mission, who has been serving the homeless for 26 years, noted, “On rainy nights, many homeless people try to sleep under store roofs after the businesses close. But those with severe mental illness may not even register that it’s raining and end up sleeping directly on the streets.”
During severe rainstorms, some relief agencies such as LA Mission, Midnight Mission, and Union Rescue Mission send vehicles to Skid Row to transport homeless individuals to temporary shelters.
Julie Jeon, a volunteer who assists the homeless, shared, “When the rain is too heavy, some agencies use vehicles to relocate the homeless to churches or warehouses for shelter. But the problem is that there are far more homeless people than the available shelter spaces.”
That day, the daytime temperature in LA was 56°F. As night fell, soaked bodies felt the chill even more acutely.
The rain showed no sign of stopping. For the homeless, it was a time of unending despair.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
