Good Karma LA & People of Skid Row Join Alliances

LOS ANGELES, CA - Skid Row is known to be one of the largest homeless neighborhoods in the Los Angeles country, with as many as 4000-8000 people living on the street. Visual Narayan, the Owner of The Good Karma LA, wanted to help the people of Skid Row and deliver some "Good Karma."

"When we first got out here, people didn't trust us, It took time for us to build that community trust, now we hear we love you," Narayan said.

Photo by Jordan Henry

The Owner first started The Good Karma LA with his father who gave him the idea to get his food truck and start helping the homeless, especially in the summer months in LA as temperatures get very hot—making it even harder for non-profit organizations to want to come and help out. But not for Good Karma LA, volunteer Brianna Kaur she says, "It's a hot day, and a lot of the unhoused do not have access to water, do not have access to food, or care kits, so us being out here is vital to their survival.”

The federal report estimates that California's homeless population was at 161,548 people as of January 2020, before the pandemic, a 7% increase from 2019.

The people of Skid Row tend not to trust anyone, as many of the unhoused have been poised or tricked by the people who claim to help them. The Owner of Good Karma said it took time before they could gain the trust of people there, and now they have built great connections with the people. Volunteer, Joty Kay says, "some people come in take the photos and leave, and make empty promises, the thing that makes us different from other non-profits is that we are here every single week."

An eviction crisis has been unfolding across the country, and combined with job losses, there’s every reason to believe that the number of homeless people today is far higher than 580,000.

Good Karma LA didn't just stop there. They added another addition to their service; a community fridge was placed there after the last fridge was removed. Community leader Roger Purnell says, "I don't know what happened to the other fridge, but the people of Skid row will be happy. It's beautiful."

Photo by Jordan Henry

The Owner says Good Karma LA is taking safety precautions very seriously to maintain the fridge's cleanliness, volunteers will be disinfecting the refrigerator every week. The Good Karma LA team hopes to be out every week giving back and gathering more volunteers to support their cause.