As volunteers around him passed out plates of ham and vegetables on Skid Row, actor Mr. T bent down to wrap 5-year-old Madison Cline in a hug while her mom snapped a photo.
Madison doesn’t know who Mr. T is, but her mother, Stephanie Cline, grew up watching “The A-Team,” Stephanie said. The actor was among dozens of volunteers, including gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, who spent some of their Easter morning on skid row for the Midnight Mission’s annual Easter brunch.
Midnight Mission, which offers housing and services for homeless people, often holds such events for the community, both inside and outside the mission. A block of 6th Street was closed to traffic from San Julian to San Pedro streets, while adults and children served pastries, or plates heaped with chicken, ham, yams and vegetables.
A few hundred people ate at the long tables set up on the street and covered with bright tablecloths, while a giant Easter Bunny walked around with a basket of chocolate. Some ducked under the yellow caution tape cordoning off the street and ate their meals on the sidewalk, sitting next to half-opened suitcases, trash bags, tarps and people still sleeping.
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