Constance Gervasoni and Tim Huxford stood in the middle of a homeless encampment on Bessemer Street and Cedros Avenue in Van Nuys.

Just a few steps away from a Metro-owned Orange Line bike path, the two were flanked by small businesses of various collision centers, auto body shops and a crossfit gym. Surrounding these businesses toward the east end of Bessemer were tents, bicycles, piles of trash and numerous individuals who called this alley their home.

Gervasoni and Huxford stood in front of a shopping cart where Huxford had his iPad propped on top of two 5-gallon water jugs inside the cart. Huxford, a social worker for People Assisting the Homeless, asked her questions like, “Where do you sleep most frequently?” “How long has it been since you’ve lived in stable housing?” “Have you been attacked or beaten up since you’ve become homeless?” “Will drinking or drug use make it difficult for you to stay housed or afford your housing?”

PATH employee Tim Huxford helps Constance Gervasoni fill out a coordinated entry system for individuals survey on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (Photo by Pierce Singgih)

PATH outreach workers enter a homeless encampment to provide services to people experiencing homelessness on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (Photo by Pierce Singgih)

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PATH employees move Constance Gervasoni’s belongings across the street before an LAPD sanitation on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (Photo by Pierce Singgih)

Homeless encampments along the Orange Line bike paths on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (Photo by Pierce Singgih)

PATH employees move Constance Gervasoni’s belongings outside of the LAPD’s sanitation area on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (Photo by Pierce Singgih)



Britney Sanders, 32, has been homeless for about two years. She makes designs on her shoes to help pass time on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (Photo by Pierce Singgih)

Homeless encampments along the Orange Line bike paths are common because they are secluded and covered with shade on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (Photo by Pierce Singgih)

A homeless encampment set up near an Orange Line bike path on Bessemer Street and Cedros Avenue on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (Photo by Pierce Singgih)

PATH employees take begin their patrol on the Orange Line bike path on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (Photo by Pierce Singgih)

While Gervasoni, 55, answered his questions, two Los Angeles Police Department officers suddenly rounded the corner of Cedros with two sanitation trucks, announcing the encampment would be cleaned in 15 minutes. Gervasoni believed she had not been adequately notified about the cleaning ahead of time and could not move all her belongings in 15 minutes. As she tried to pack all her things, Huxford and other PATH employees jumped in, carrying her tents, bicycles, filled water jugs and heavy crates of food and clothing away from the sanitation area.

Gervasoni has lived in that alley for about a month and a half and has been homeless for two years. While she has received services and support from other homeless outreach programs, PATH employees “did more than give you a call.” They connected with her. They built a relationship with her. They helped connect her with a permanent housing solution and they helped move her belongings before they were thrown away.

She is just one of the nearly 59,000 people experiencing homelessness in LA County and one of the thousands of people helped by PATH under the Metro’s homeless outreach initiative.

Amid the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles, Metro CEO Phillip Washington began the initiative to help alleviate homelessness in the Metro and in LA County in 2016, according to Metro Special Projects Manager for Systems Security and Law Enforcement Jennifer Loew.

Since 2017, Metro has held a contract with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services to deploy PATH on the Metro. The program started as a pilot in 2017 with only two teams on the Red Line, but in 2018, the program was expanded under a $5 million contract to eight teams who patrol the entire Metro system 24/7. After the first contract extension, from March 2017 to May 2018, Metro’s outreach team made nearly 5,000 contacts with homeless individuals, provided support and services to nearly 2,000 homeless individuals and permanently housed 88 individuals.

Earlier this June, the contract was expanded under the same amount for two additional years to provide support and services to people experiencing homelessness throughout the entire Metro system.

In the San Fernando Valley, PATH personnel mainly patrol the bike paths that connect the Orange Line Busway. Their teams usually consist of three people who are outreach workers, substance abuse or mental health specialists. Every other week a registered nurse will join the teams to provide health and medical services.

When PATH personnel patrol the Metro, they try to do two things: build relationships and see what immediate services they can provide to those experiencing homelessness.

PATH personnel’s first step is to let those they interact with know they can be trusted. Not everyone wants immediate help, but these relationships help PATH employees connect with them and provide possible services down the road.

“Possibly a rapport is being built and at some point, people will accept services because they see our outreach workers as a friend and someone they can trust to take care of them into their next steps into housing,” Loew said.

In their backpacks, PATH employees carry different forms and vouchers to provide immediate services for their “clients.” These include ID vouchers, clothing vouchers or even applications to help those experiencing homelessness with permanent housing solutions.

These services, no matter how big or small, can help lift morale among the homeless. Britney Sanders, 32, has been homeless for about two years. As she remarks, “when you are homeless, you lose hope real quick.” However, just the act of filling out an ID voucher brought her hope again.

Along with providing permanent housing solutions, PATH employees also want to help bring agency back to their lives.

“People ignore them. They’re invisible, but we notice them,” PATH outreach worker Jonathan Farnham said.

PATH employees on the Orange Line walk miles upon miles every day, facing rejection or potential harm with every shift. Their work can be tough. Sometimes, they never know if one of their connections has been hurt or killed. But still, they carry on because they know they can make a real difference in someone’s life.

“I think about the people we put in apartments, their faces when we give them a key for the first time in 10 years and I know we’re making a difference,” PATH Program Manager Puzant Chrianian said.