For months now, one local business owner and his team of insurance dealers have been quietly feeding the homeless.
Every Wednesday, Susman Insurance Agency, a family-owned and operated Brentwood staple on San Vicente Boulevard for more than 25 years, carves out two hours to prepare about 200 sack lunches for the local homeless community.
Owner Karl Susman drives to the shelters around Los Angeles and sets up the food in the kitchens.
On the menu?
“Each sack lunch gets a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that we make, then we add a piece of fruit, some chips, and some cheese,” said Susman, who pays for all of food out of his own pocket.
The shelters, located in West Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Pasadena, are part of People Assisting The Homeless (PATH) Services, a network of shelters and supportive services in California.
“Being a small business owner, I initially thought I would make a difference by getting involved politically and backing people who seemed to share my passion about helping the homeless. I quickly realized that I was not going to get the immediate satisfaction of actually helping people that I was looking for,” Susman said. “At any rate, I wanted to make a difference now, today, so finding a way to feed homeless people seemed like the most direct method.”
The 2015 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count determined that there are 44,359 individuals experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles on any given night.
For Susman, a man whose passion for eradicating homelessness dates back to childhood, finding PATH was providential.
“It isn’t just about a warm bed and a meal and off you go, best of luck. These people [PATH] help in job training, feeding, and housing short term and long term,” Susman said.
For anyone interested in joining Susman and his weekly food preparations, call the office at 310.820.5200 or email at karl@susmaninsurance.com.
