Q&a: Stephan Saengpradap

Melanie Hicken

Stephan Saengpradap is an outreach case manager with PATH Achieve Glendale, a local nonprofit that provides housing and support services to the homeless. PATH Achieve serves about 1,400 people each year. As a member of the outreach team, Saengpradap goes out on the streets to engage with local members of the homeless population.

MELANIE HICKEN: Sometimes people may think there aren't homeless people in Glendale. Is that true?

STEPHAN SAENGPRADAP: I think a lot of folks tend to focus on their own lives. They don't get to see exactly what the whole picture is. What there is in Glendale is a chronic homeless population. And I'm just speaking of people who stay on the streets at night in Glendale. You also have the transitory population — that get on the bus and come to Glendale for the day; they're day-trippers. And they come here to panhandle. They come here to socialize.

I've always said that Glendale has been more generous than a lot of communities. Historically, they've had a soup kitchen, food pantries. It's a tradition of Glendale to be generous and helpful.

Q: What brought you into this field? What attracted you to helping these people?

A: Well, it's not these people. It's just people. When it comes down to it, I firmly believe deep down in my heart, and that sounds cliche, but I do believe people deserve a break. I think people deserve a second chance. And I like to be somewhere in the mix and allow them to give themselves a second chance.

I think maybe one of the reasons I got into this is I remember me and my family were driving toward the beach and I saw this homeless man just weeping and sobbing; this guy was tearing his clothes, and I looked below him, and he was holding his dead dog. And I just remember that. That's one of the images I always keep with me.

Q: Do you think homeless people are stereotyped?