Skid Row talent show brings out the best of homeless drug addicts and prostitutes–critics ask why not a job fair instead

Skid Row, located in downtown Los Angeles, is the country’s largest concentration of homeless people. The talent show was organized over the weekend by Reverend Gary Carr, who spent nearly 30 years homeless himself and had previously been incarcerated.

Carr joined the ministry in 2009 before becoming a pastor and working at a homeless shelter. He organized the event in partnership with a sister church that sponsored the show.

“People give up on the disenfranchised, thinking that they’re worthless,” Carr said, according to the Associated Press. “They have value, and through the talent show today you can see — it’s a life story there, it’s a struggle.”

Many of the performers sang or rapped songs written by themselves. One participant included a person singing a rap song cover in honor of a friend who was fatally shot. At one point, a fight broke out outside.

The winners of the talent show were selected to meet regularly to put together a performance for Easter.

One participant, 45-year-old Ladelle Handy, sang and danced to an original song. He had moved to Los Angeles to pursue music 10 years ago but ended up homeless. While living in Skid Row, he began to use drugs.

“Showcasing my gift that is a God-given talent, I know I have it,” Handy said. “I just wanted to make sure that the world remembers that I have it.”

While the talent show appeared to be a source of entertainment, critics questioned whether the talent show was the most effective use of resources for homeless people.

“The local Chamber of Commerce should have organized a career fair outside the church,” one user on X said.

“Well sir, if rapping can't turn things around, I'm all out [of] ideas,” said another.