Samaritans KCRW, Anna Scott

In the first episode of Samaritans, we meet Christine Curtiss, learn where she came from and what her everyday life is like on the street. She has a community of friends in Mid-City, LA who look out for her. One of them enlists the local government in helping Christine. But getting help doesn’t necessarily mean getting housed.

In the second episode of Samaritans, Christine comes face-to-face with the life or death consequences of living outdoors.

In the third episode of Samaritans: For the first time in more than seven years, Christine sleeps indoors, in a bed with a roof over her head. But her new situation doesn’t last long.

In the final episode of Samaritans, Christine moves into a new women’s shelter. But her future is still uncertain.

Los Angeles County is spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to combat homelessness. But why is the problem getting worse. ? For more than a year KCRW reporter Anna Scott followed a woman named Christine Curtiss through LA’s homeless services system. She found answers.

Anna speaks with Liam Dillon of the LA Times and Matt Levin of CalMatters, who co-host the podcast "Gimme Shelter," about homelessness amid the pandemic, projections for the future and what local and state leaders are doing to try and prevent a worst case scenario. This episode was produced with help from Ray Guarna.