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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell was among nearly 20 participants today on the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team's ``Midnight Stroll'' which provides outreach and supplies to unhoused LGBTQ+ people in Hollywood, Koreatown, downtown and the Westlake district.
Midnight Stroll is a monthly outreach program by the nonprofit organization, and O'Farrell participated on Friday to mark Women's History Month and the Transgender Day of Visibility March 31, an aide said.
Team members bring food, toiletries, blankets, socks and personal protective equipment to people each month, and in 2021, 800 food bags were distributed, the aide said.
In association with the non-profit health and human service organization Special Service For Groups, the team provides mobile HIV testing and connects people with medical care and harm reduction programs.
APAIT also operates four housing sites to provide transitional and permanent supportive housing, including at Casa Zulma, the first publicly- funded housing project for transgender women in Los Angeles County.
``Queer people, especially transgender women, are at a greater risk of becoming homeless, and their experiences on the street are often far more dangerous,'' O'Farrell said.
``This program is treating the most vulnerable Angelenos with dignity, provides much-needed housing, and is literally saving lives.''