VIDEO – ANGELS IN THE FLESH –
Sept. 1, 2025 – At the newly opened Skid Row Care Campus, harm reduction is at the forefront of helping those experiencing homelessness and struggling with addiction. Most of the people working there are also part of the skid row community, like Jorge Naranjo. He is a Safety Team lead, helping oversee the campus and de-escalating any arguments if needed. Now, 19 months sober, he uses his own life experiences to connect with the folks using campus services.
“Especially because I know what it’s like to go through. I know what it’s like to be that kid on the street all alone who’s angry, who said he just wants to break out at the world because nobody cares about him, so why should he care about anybody else?” said Naranjo.
At 34, he has spent the past 15 years of his life struggling with substance abuse.
“I’ve overdosed over 20 times myself. I’ve dealt with fentanyl and I’ve dealt with heroin, with every single drug you can think of,” said Naranjo.
The harm reduction approach has been criticized for enabling drug use, but Naranjo said people don’t realize getting sober doesn’t happen overnight.
