Norm Langer Teams up with URM

Welcome back to The Way Home radio show and podcast presented by the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles.

Frank Mottek here along with Mark Hood, CEO of the Union Rescue Mission.

We're honored to be with the one and only Norm Langer, the owner of Langer's Delicatessen in the MacArthur Park area.

It's been an exciting conversation here and what an honor it is to be here at this historic location, Mark.

Well, it's truly exciting.

And Frank, I'm going to say once again, it's a wonderful time to be with Norm.

The only downside is my mouth continues to water and there's no food on the table.

But outside of that, it has been absolutely fantastic.

And what really warms my heart? is to meet someone in the city that has a heart for ending homelessness because we're talking about more than just sweeping the park and hiding people in hotels and letting them continue in the state of homelessness.

We're talking about a man that's looking for partners across the city with law enforcement and other agencies like the Rescue Mission that is cleaning the park up for the neighborhood, for the families.

But finding partners that can bring people indoors, that can address mental health issues, that can address addictions and domestic violence.

And how exciting it is to be sitting across the table with a man

that's leading that charge and has that vision.

People of all faiths are rallying around this important cause.

And again, supporting you, Norm Langer.

Any other thoughts here, building on what we talked about earlier, about turning not only MacArthur Park, but the whole city around? You know, when people hear about Skid Row, they think it's one street.

But as you know, it's about 60 blocks of the whole downtown Los Angeles area.

And as MacArthur Park has been cleaned up, we're told anecdotally that more homeless encampments are showing up in the Skid Row area.

What are you hearing here on the front line?

I'm hearing a lot of the same that you mentioned, Frank, but, you know, there is a problem, and the public doesn't understand the problem.

There is a major difference between the homeless and those that are medically challenged, and that's the problem.

Medically challenged means drugs, might mean mental illness, but that has nothing to do with homeless.

If I build an apartment building here tomorrow with air conditioning and a stove in it, and I put somebody in it that you say is homeless, and they get in there and they say, what am I going to do with that? I don't care about this.

I want to stay on the street.

But if I bring in somebody that's actually homeless, they're going to say, oh my God, it's got air conditioning.

Welcome back to The Way Home radio show and podcast presented by the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles.

Frank Mottek here along with Mark Hood, CEO of the Union Rescue Mission.

We're honored to be with the one and only Norm Langer, the owner of Langer's Delicatessen in the MacArthur Park area.

It's been an exciting conversation here and what an honor it is to be here at this historic location, Mark.

Well, it's truly exciting.

And Frank, I'm going to say once again, it's a wonderful time to be with Norm.

The only downside is my mouth continues to water and there's no food on the table.

But outside of that, it has been absolutely fantastic.

And what really warms my heart? is to meet someone in the city that has a heart for ending homelessness because we're talking about more than just sweeping the park and hiding people in hotels and letting them continue in the state of homelessness.

We're talking about a man that's looking for partners across the city with law enforcement and other agencies like the Rescue Mission that is cleaning the park up for the neighborhood, for the families.

But finding partners that can bring people indoors, that can address mental health issues, that can address addictions and domestic violence.

And how exciting it is to be sitting across the table with a man

that's leading that charge and has that vision.

People of all faiths are rallying around this important cause.

And again, supporting you, Norm Langer.

Any other thoughts here, building on what we talked about earlier, about turning not only MacArthur Park, but the whole city around? You know, when people hear about Skid Row, they think it's one street.

But as you know, it's about 60 blocks of the whole downtown Los Angeles area.

And as MacArthur Park has been cleaned up, we're told anecdotally that more homeless encampments are showing up in the Skid Row area.

What are you hearing here on the front line?

I'm hearing a lot of the same that you mentioned, Frank, but, you know, there is a problem, and the public doesn't understand the problem.

There is a major difference between the homeless and those that are medically challenged, and that's the problem.

Medically challenged means drugs, might mean mental illness, but that has nothing to do with homeless.

If I build an apartment building here tomorrow with air conditioning and a stove in it, and I put somebody in it that you say is homeless, and they get in there and they say, what am I going to do with that? I don't care about this.

I want to stay on the street.

But if I bring in somebody that's actually homeless, they're going to say, oh my God, it's got air conditioning.