peter_planteen_marin_community_action
POVERTY: Peter Planteen, a social worker with Community Action Marin, visits Bolinas every week in search of homeless people. He gives out sandwiches and socks, and attempts to steer them to county mental health services and, eventually, housing.    David Briggs

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 63-year-old Peter Planteen drives through West Marin, checking up on homeless clients, some of whom he’s known for years. His white van, painted with the words “Community Action Marin—Care Team 1,” carries a box loaded with 100 heavy metal CDs he blasts while making the rounds.

“I play it loud, and it relaxes me,” he said. “This work is tough.”

Mr. Planteen, who claims to be the “only Republican social worker…