Jeff Dietrich: Help for the Homeless

Photography by Barbara Davidson

Jeff Dietrich, author of Broken and Shared: Food, Dignity, and the Poor on Los Angeles' Skid Row, joined the Los Angeles' branch of the Catholic Worker, a lay organization designed to aid the downtrodden and poor in the city, with his wife Catherine Morris in the early 1970s. The couple have actively helped and fed the many homeless located in Skid Row, a portion of downtown LA notorious for the significant amount of homeless that reside there and their terrible conditions. Despite contention from their neighbors and a few ill-fated enemies, Dietrich and his wife remain steadfast in their mission: helping the poor and needy of Los Angeles. In a recent article published by the LA Times, "A couple's commitment to Skid Row doesn't waver", writer Kurt Streeter interviews the couple about their continued service and explains their impact on the community they serve. As one women says in the article: "I would be dead without [them]. How can I not love these people?"

To learn more about Jeff Dietrich and the good work that he does, read more about the article here.

Jeff Dietrich has also published a book called Broken and Shared: Food, Dignity, and the Poor on Los Angeles' Skid Row made up of essays written over a 40 year period that tell the stories of the poor women and men found in Skid Row, the indifference of the city towards their plight, and the changing landscape of the town and its people. Through the lens of Jeff Dietrich's perspective and rooted in his life of self-imposed poverty, this book is both a prescription for change and an inspiration for how we might find ways to live more meaningful lives because we know the importance of caring for those who have nothing to offer but themselves. His book can be purchased here.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tsehai Publishers has published more than 70 books and journals which can be found here. | For updates on what Tsehai is doing next or events we are hosting, please visit our Facebook. | If you're inspired, wish to buy a book, or want to know more, please feel free to contact us here.