Rescues before the storm: How LASD's homeless outreach team is saving lives
ABC7 spent a day with the team and it was clear, without this intervention, lives would have been at risk during the recent storm.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Another atmospheric river means another round of damage and cleanup in Southern California, but the silver lining is there have been fewer river rescues.
That is not a coincidence.
Hoping to keep people out of harm's way, the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's Homeless Outreach Services Team, also known as HOST, patrols river beds throughout the county whenever rain is on the way.
"We're not out there criminalizing where they're staying or anything. If they don't take the shelter that's available through the county's augmented winter shelter program, to get to higher ground because we do anticipate some significant rain," explained LASD Lt. William Kitchin.
Eyewitness News spent a day with the team as the most recent storm approached, and it was clear, without this intervention, lives would have been at risk due to rising water levels.
It's labor intensive to clear all of the people living in riverbeds around L.A. County out and to safety, but with rain on the way, letting them stay is also not an option. In some cases, people have taken shelter in an area that could become a death trap in an instant.
"Even though it may be dry right here, when it's raining up in the mountains or elsewhere ... they don't know that the water is coming, and it surprises them, and that's the danger of them encamping in these types of alcoves," said LASD Sgt. George Suarez.
Since August 2023, HOST convinced nearly 100 people living in the San Gabriel Riverbed to leave before the area became dangerous.
"Getting away from here would be heaven ... it's like heaven and hell," said Ray Coville, who, along with his brother, lived in the San Gabriel Riverbed through the storms early this month.
They accepted housing offered by HOST.
"This is a humanitarian mission," said Lt. Kitchin. "Mother Nature threw us a window of opportunity, so we're going to use that window of opportunity because of the rain to see if we can get people to come inside and get them to a safer place."
