Stephanie Popescu

Stephanie Popescu will be my guest on The Born To Talk Radio Show Podcast on February 13th, from 1-2 PT. Stepanie is the Co-Founder of Grass Roots Neighbors. Stephanie earned her Master’s in Social Work at CSU Long Beach. She has extensive background working in homeless outreach and medical social work. Stephanie lives in Playa Del Rey, California with her husband, Vlad, and their son.

Meet Stephanie.

This is Stephanie’s story. In 2011, the fallout of the foreclosure crisis and subsequent bank bailout gave rise to the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Long after the protests faded, groups remained intact and worked on advocacy at both the local and national levels. In Venice, California, Occupy Venice activists observed how the foreclosure crisis accelerated the gentrification of their neighborhood, and neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles. This rapid gentrification resulted in rent soaring, and more and more people on the streets experiencing homelessness. Stephanie met her husband, Vlad, during the Occupy Wall Street movement. Together, the pair co-founded a weekly meal outreach service based in Venice Beach, California, called Feed the People.

Grass Roots Neighbors.

How it all began.

In 2013 a group of activists in Venice, California began the Feed The People program. Their aim was to provide a fresh, hearty meal every Sunday to their unhoused neighbors. In 2019, Grass Roots Neighbors was incorporated as a nonprofit. They continued their vision and expanded Feed the People as one of their programs. Today, their volunteers come from many walks of life. However, all are concerned community members who want to help their neighbors in need. They continue to provide weekly hot meals to unhoused neighbors on the west side, of Los Angeles.

While they recognize that sharing food and survival items will not solve homelessness, they also see that people are suffering and have immediate needs. Stephanie notes, that a lot of what makes this issue hard to tackle sometimes is that the emotions people hold around it are so big. Therefore, by building a community between housed and unhoused neighbors, they help people begin to see the problem from a new angle. So then, imagine, the difference this makes from this continued outreach and kindness.

Our Vision:
“A community effectively involved in ending poverty.” 

Our Mission:
“Grass Roots Neighbors is a volunteer community organization. We meet the immediate needs of our neighbors experiencing food and housing insecurity. We mobilize to fill the gaps in existing services by providing assistance with love and respect.”

Tune in to hear Stephanie’s Story! Perhaps, you’d like to start a program like this where you live.

*********************

Conversations + Connections = Community

Making the world a better place. One Story at a time.