Midnight Mission Gets Attention from NPR

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The Midnight Mission’s new facility gets a double dose of attention from NPR today. First up was a report on Morning Edition titled “Critics Say L.A. Homeless Shelter Is Too Posh”.

Los Angeles’ newest homeless center has drawn unexpected criticism for its gymnasium, hair salon and other amenities. Luke Burbank spent the night there to see what the $17 million Midnight Mission is really like.

DLANC Board member Orlando Ward gets on the air, and Burbank does a good job of dispelling the falsities that had been circulating thanks to shoddy reporting around the new building’s opening.

A little later in the day Burbank was on the air again, this time on Day to Day. Most of the time was spent on how absolutely untrue the AP story was that made its way around the wires, with the rest given to stories of some of the men staying at the mission.

This is good reporting, and though it won’t spread as far as an AP wire story, it will definitely do a lot to clear up the real situation.