[The Korea Daily-USC: Healing California Project]
“The first person I met, he said his business failed. He sent all his family to Korea and he fell off a bridge and tried to die, but he didn’t. And there’s another Korean homeless person sleeping on the street. I got everyone together, bought them breakfast at McDonald’s, and asked, ‘What do you need most?’ They said they need a bus token because it’s so cold after sleeping on the ground and if they can take the bus in the morning, they can warm up.”
Father Yohan Kim first met Korean American homeless people in 2008 while distributing free meals at his church. This led him to gather a group of Korean American homeless people who had been living in hiding and form a family-like community. It wasn’t something he planned, but it has been over a decade since he started living together with them.
Today, Kim’s concern is the growing number of Korean American homeless people asking for help.
“In the past three years, 11 people have passed away at this shelter,” said Kim. “Most of them are old and sick and have lost their ability to work. It is important to help them live with other homeless people in the same situation as friends and family as much as possible. The best way to do that is to help them spend the rest of their lives while having fun at the shelter.”
It wonders if it will be difficult to raise the $4,000 a month needed to operate the shelter. “With the help of friends, acquaintances, and church members, it’s not a big problem for us to live,” Kim said, adding, “but there are still many Korean Americans who sleep in their cars, those who live in tents or under tarps keep calling to come to the shelter.”
“Korean American homeless people are afraid of other homeless shelters in LA. I wish we could find more housing where we can keep them together as a family.”
Fore more information on supporting Kim’s shelter, call (323)244-8810.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM, HOONSIK WOO [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
