Jeff Dietrich

Through his decadeslong tenure at the Los Angeles Catholic Worker, where many have passed away inside the home, Jeff Dietrich has learned more about death than he ever imagined. One of the most impactful rituals the community shares is the observance of Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.

When I heard about Catholic Workers, a light went on in my soul. I thought this is what Jesus would be doing if he were alive today: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless — and burning draft files.

LA Catholic Worker Jeff Dietrich has lived and worked among the poor of Skid Row since 1970. The work "keeps me in contact with reality when I become too complacent, too comfortable in my own bed," he said. 

Perspective: I sit here holding out my bottle of hand sanitizer, and our guests in the food line shuffle past me to receive cleansing: dirty hands, clean pink hands, open hands as if begging to be sanitized.