Out on the Streets

Every night, 7 days a week, the Outreach Van patrols the streets of Los Angeles on a special mission—to help. And Jason Mendez is a major part of it. He works as part of the Street Outreach program for Covenant House California and is one of the drivers of the Outreach Van.

Jason says he loves his job. “I enjoy the one on one contact with people.” He says. “I like the idea of being able to contribute to the community by helping people. If someone needs help then I can be there for them.”

As part of the Street Outreach program, its part of Jason’s job to drive throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding areas searching for teens that are homeless and hungry. Van personnel will offer free sack lunches and sometimes clothing while trying to inform the street youth about what Covenant House has to offer for them.

"It’s important that we’re out there, letting people know that Covenant House is available for them.” Jason says. “They may not know the people in the van, but they know the van itself. It helps us build trust with the youth and that trust is important if we’re ever going to be able to reach out and help them.”

For Jason, his position at Covenant House is just an extension of the type of jobs he has always been doing. “Before coming to Covenant House, I worked in the Department of Child and Family Services for 14 years. I had been doing different types of Outreach since high school. Covenant House seemed like a natural fit for me.”

Jason says that his job has bad days but the good ones, where he is able to reach out and truly help someone, makes it all worthwhile. The Street Outreach Van can be contacted at 1-800-999-9999.

Click here to support programs like the Outreach Van