On Sunday, June 28th Union Rescue Mission recognized 23 men for their commitment to a restored life and the completion of our 12 month Christian Life Discipleship Program. Our chapel was filled with love from proud family, friends, and mentors as our graduates were celebrated for their accomplishment! We thank Key Note Speaker, Keith Phillips of World Impact, for his inspiring words and musical guest, Carol Picott, for her moving performance.
Excerpt from program:
The Christian Life Discipleship Program helps program participants in discovering their true self as created in the image of God. Consequently, healing takes place when men are re-parented and begin the process of learning new life skills. As participants come to know God, they realize that He will meet all of their needs, and they can have a greater sense of security as a result of believing and trusting in God. A relationship with God fosters an interpersonal bond of mutuality, giving a sense of belonging, nurturing growth, love respect and care for self as well as others. The ultimate goal of the Christian Life Discipleship Program is to assist men in growing in the “Image of God.”
“And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Colossians 3:10
Many inspiring individuals have found refuge at Union Rescue Mission, including 17 year-old, Kenneth Chancey. Currently staying on the Mission’s 5th floor, this high-achieving and diligent young man is determined to change his circumstances. He’s got his eyes locked on the road to a brighter future, starting with Harvard University.
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Kenneth Chancey, 17, walks down the littered streets of Skid Row, one of the roughest areas of Los Angeles. Drug deals are made around him. A man screams at his girlfriend. The stench of the place is overwhelming.
Chancey keeps his head down and tries to tune it out. “It’s kind of horrible,” he says, as he escorts his 14-year-old sister, Stephanie, through it all.
But Chancey is on another journey too, one that not many of his friends know about. An honors student and star football player, he hopes to go from being homeless to becoming a Harvard grad.
It’s graduation time at Union Rescue Mission. On Sunday, June 28th, 2009 at 3pm we are recognizing the hard work and dedication of our program men to a transformed life. Our men have successfully completed their year long commitment to URM’s Christian Life Discipleship Program. We are so proud of you, Graduates!
At Sunday’s graduation ceremony, Union Rescue Mission is excited to welcome key note speaker, Dr. Keith Phillips. Dr. Phillips is President of World Impact where he supervises inner-city ministries in 11 cities and 4 camps. He is a dynamic Christian leader and speaker who has appeared on a variety of well-known Christian television and radio programs, and he is a Conference Speaker with Promise Keepers. Dr. Phillips is also the author of They Dare to Love the Ghetto, The Making of a Disciple, No Quick Fix, and Out of Ashes.
With a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA, a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Seminary, Dr. Phillips is a distinguished figure in the ministry field. He serves on the Board of the Christian Community Development Association and is a nationally-recognized authority on inner-city ministries.
Union Rescue Mission is honored to have Dr. Phillips speak words of truth and encouragement to our faithful graduates, family, and friends.
In these challenging economic times my wife and I made the decision to share a car, rather than driving two separate vehicles. Dropping her off for her early morning 12 hour shift and picking her up late at the hospital has allowed me to enjoy long productive days at Union Rescue Mission and interesting opportunities to eat dinner with lots of little buddies, including Tyron, Tyrell, and a little guy named Da’Da. Some nights they ask me to pray with them before dinner, and Tyron prays, “Lord God, please keep Andy Bales safe! Please keep me safe! Please keep my mama safe!” I really am touched by these prayers and the chance to spend time with these precious little guys.
This week, my wife needed her car, and I took the train to work, forgetting that I also needed to run out to Hope Gardens for a tour. I quickly had to scramble to catch a ride with our van driver, and when I ran down to the parking lot, I saw Da’Da running toward me shouting, “Andy, Andy! I am moving to Hope Gardens!” He excitedly jumped up into my arms and gave me a hug and repeated, “I am moving to Hope Gardens!” I realized that I was about to ride in the van with Da’Da and his mom as they took the life changing trip from Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row in Los Angeles, to the beautiful wide open and forested spaces of Hope Gardens. What an opportunity for me to spend time with this joyous mom and hopeful little guy as they made a 22 mile journey that will quite likely make all of the difference in the world for this little guy and his mom’s future. Hope Gardens represents a chance to find a ladder out of poverty and to never spend another day homeless. Da’Da kept asking, “How long until we get there?” I gave him my phone so he could play Brick Breaker and relax a bit before we arrived.
When we arrived he leaped from the van, I introduced him as a special fellow to the staff and children, and watched as he took it all in…the green grass, the big oak trees, the koi pond, the coast redwoods and walking path, and an apartment of his own to share with his mom. He asked me if he’d still get to see me, and I assured him that I would be spending time with him at Hope Gardens just like I did at the Mission in downtown Los Angeles. Though I would miss eating dinner with him at the Mission, I told him I would even come out and see him on some Saturdays. In fact, I am going to Hope Gardens tonight, to be treated to a dinner put on by all of the moms and children of Hope Gardens to thank others and me for being Father figures to their precious children. I will be eating dinner with Da’Da tonight. Please keep Da’Da and the children and moms of Hope Gardens Family Center in your prayers.
Our dear friend and colleague, Richard Felipe, went home to be with the Lord early Wednesday, June 10th, 2009. He was an amazing, incredible, and wonderful man.
Richard Felipe was a man with an excitement for life. The king of adventure, generosity, and relationship, he never wasted an opportunity to love. Richard faithfully sponsored a Ugandan boy for years through World Vision. When a missions opportunity to Uganda came along through his church, Richard jumped on board. Not only did he serve the people of Uganda with his church group, Richard went above and beyond the traditional call of duty to his World Vision child. Richard separated from his group for a time. He hiked for three hours to reach the isolated village where his child lived in order to minister to the villagers and meet the child he’d only known through letters. Richard’s heart for God and relationships is an example to us all. Click here to read Richard’s World Vision story of faithfulness.
Richard in Uganda.
He asked that donations be made in his memory to Union Rescue Mission in lieu of flowers.
Richard’s viewing will be on Monday, June 15th from 5:00 to 9:00pm at Gates Kingsley & Gates Moeller Murphy Funeral Home. (1925 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90403)
Richard’s memorial service will be held at 2:00pm on Tuesday, June 16th at Trinity Baptist Church in Santa Monica. (1015 California Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90403)
Richard will be buried in Emporia, Kansas.
Richard dancing the Irish Jig at St. Patrick’s Day potluck.
by alex on Thursday, June 11th, 2009, Filed Under General | 5 Comments
With summertime approaching, Union Rescue Mission has seen an increase in volunteers ready and willing to serve. Many youth groups have chosen to serve closer to home, volunteering at URM instead of going to Mexico for missions trips. Since March, we have seen a steady stream of youth groups participating in Urban Experience, our overnight volunteer program. Groups spend the night on the URM rooftop during their volunteer stay.
Also, due the job market, we have seen many more professional volunteers willing to give more of their time. Many of these volunteers are currently unemployed, but have decided to do something and give back by volunteering their services at URM until they secure a new job.
Here are some volunteer events coming up this summer:
* June 22-26: Crossroads Community will be holding a Vacation Bible School for the children of URM.
* July 21st: Bel Air City Sound Concert on the Roof – All URM residents will be invited to enjoy a barbeque dinner and an evening concert on the rooftop.
* August 2-7: Indian Hills Camp will be hosting at Day Camp for the children of URM.
If you’d like to make a difference in the lives of our guests, contact the volunteer office at (213) 347-6300 x1148 or via email volunteer@urm.org
Heroes for Hope are growing in Los Angeles! On June 10th, 2009, Union Rescue Mission held its first annual Heroes for Hope Luncheon at the beautiful and historic St. Vibiana’s Catheral in downtown Los Angeles.
Hearts were touched from testimony by URM Program Alumnus, Irvin Atwater, and a special award presentation for URM’s first designated Hero for Hope, Brenden Foster. URM has named its dining room after the brave 11 year old boy whose dying wish was to feed men, women, and children who are homeless.
Andy Bales with Wendy Foster (Brendens mom) after plaque dedication.
This plaque, dedicated to Brenden Foster, now hangs in the URM Dining Room.
Union Rescue Mission offers a special thank you to all sponsors and table captains for their faithful support.
Major Sponsors: Tegner Miller Insurance Brokerage, Merrill Lynch, Grizzard Communications, CNA Insurance
Supporting Sponsors: Ken and Karen Miller, CIBA Insurance, Encompass Insurance, Lawrence Wholesale
Tune into CNN to see a URM special featuring a remarkable young man staying on our 5th floor. Mr. Kenneth Chancey is 17 years old and just finishing his junior year in high school. Already ivy league colleges have their eye on him!
The story is scheduled to air at 3:00am on Wednesday, June 10th and could run all day. Updates will be posted if air-time scheduling changes occur.
“[Homelessness] may be slowing me down, but it’s not going to stop me!”
~Kenneth Chancey
Union Rescue Mission was delighted to have the staff of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., an international law firm with an office in Downtown L.A., come out to serve lunch to our guests and residents on Thursday, June 4th.
Thank you, Fulbright & Jaworski Team, for sacrificing your own lunch break to serve the less fortunate in your downtown neighborhood.
Lots of folks are pushing the Housing First model as a solution to homelessness. Recently, an LA County Supervisor encouraged the business community to move all of their resources into Housing First and away from other, as one spokesman described, “archaic” models.
I fully support Housing First as a fabulous option, and indeed support the County’s Project 50 program, and even the planned Project 500 directed at placing the most chronic, physically and mentally challenged homeless people in our city into permanent supportive housing.
However, I need to share that the Housing First model is part of the solution to homelessness and that a continuum of housing is the answer to homelessness.
Let me start by explaining what we do at Union Rescue Mission. Some folks describe us as simply a shelter. We are much more than a shelter. We are the oldest rescue mission in Los Angeles—one of the largest, if not the largest rescue mission in the U.S. We are the only mission in downtown Los Angeles that houses single men, single women, women with children, two parent families with children, and single dads with children. In addition, we are one of the few in the County that accepts teenage children.
We provide meals and shelter to perhaps more people than any rescue mission in the U.S. Many days we provide nearly 3,500 meals! Many of those who eat at Union Rescue Mission live in the Housing First-permanent supportive housing that surrounds us on Skid Row. We provide emergency shelter and meals to 260 single men each night. We provide emergency shelter and meals to 200 single women each night. During the rainy winter months from December 1st to March 15th, we double our number of emergency guests through a partnership with EIMAGO, our public benefits charity, and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
We also provide emergency shelter and meals to 35 single moms with 60 children each night. During the winter months this last year we saw, through our partnership, 7 times the number of homeless families coming to our winter shelter sites compared to the year prior. These are folks that would more than likely be on the streets each night, if not for Union Rescue Mission.
I would be the first to agree that shelter and meals alone are not the solution to homelessness. Shelter alone would mean the mere warehousing of precious human beings made in the image of God. However, at their worst these shelter beds provide a roof overhead and a waiting area for entrance into permanent supportive housing opportunities. At their best they provide a staging point for an opportunity for entrance into a long term program that could change their life.
When it comes to life transforming long-term program opportunities, Union Rescue Mission again leads the way among Los Angeles providers and in rescue missions throughout the U.S. We have 170 single men in an intense 1 year training program. These men attend hundreds of programming hours in classes on relationships, overcoming addictions, anger management, Bible study; hours in our Learning Center; in physical education; in work therapy and volunteering throughout the Mission. Then they proudly graduate in a cap and gown after successfully completing their year commitment to the program. If you doubt the transforming power of this program, please attend our upcoming Men’s Graduation on Sunday, June 28th, at 3 P.M., in our URM Chapel.
After graduation, our men have the option to move into a 6-12 month transition phase for securing a job and saving money as they prepare to move out on their own. We have 60 men in this transition phase. This totals over 200 men in our programs. We have 16 single women in our 6 month, life transforming program as well. This includes many of the classes mentioned above, but focused on women’s issues.
This Fall, when the economic downturn hit hard we launched Project Restart, a mini-program of sorts, to house and assist 2 parent families and single dads with children who are new to homelessness. The goal is to launch them quickly back into employment and housing. We currently have 15 families and 34 children in this program on our 5th floor.
We also have 30 moms and 60 children at our long-term, transitional housing program at Hope Gardens Family Center. This facility provides a safe environment for single moms and their children. Moms have the opportunity to save money while they further their education and career skills in order to gain employment and provide a home for their children. Hope Gardens also provides permanent supportive housing to 22 senior ladies. These precious elderly women have finally found a permanent home, bringing their cycle of homelessness to an end.
I share all of these statistics to say, URM is much more than a shelter! URM is a continuum of housing within the much needed continuum of care.
The Housing First model—permanent supportive, forever subsidized care—is certainly the best model for people who are physically and mentally challenged; for those who will likely never recover from the devastating effects of homelessness. These precious folks make up about 10 to 20 % of people experiencing homelessness. This percentage also includes families with parents who are debilitated, or families that, for whatever reason, decide to pass up on a life-changing opportunity like Hope Gardens Family Center. They are those that choose instead to move to permanent supportive housing, or, what I would describe as, “Survival and Subsidy.”
The next 60%, the largest portion of people experiencing homelessness, are struggling with a mountain of issues. But those issues may very well be temporary, or at least not insurmountable. This is where life-transforming programs take the stage. Long-term, intensive programs at places like Union Rescue Mission, Los Angeles Mission, Weingart Center, Midnight Mission, and even our own Hope Gardens Family Center, provide folks an opportunity to work hard and a chance to turn their life around.
The final 20% are folks like our first-time homeless families in our Project Restart program. They have, through a series of misfortunes, stumbled into homelessness. They possess job skills and resources to quickly get back on their feet, get back into the job market and into the normal housing market. Housing First’s permanent supportive-permanently subsidized housing would not only be inappropriate for them, but it would in the end be debilitating to their genuine well being.
I would argue that there is a need for this entire continuum of housing as a solution to homelessness. I also recognize that we certainly need to make the shelter experience as short, as welcoming and dignity affirming as we can, given the limited resources.
Affordable housing is a part of the continuum of housing that I have not mentioned, and it is a vital part of the continuum that must be enhanced so that folks in the 80% final two categories I discussed will have a housing option after completing their life transforming program, or after completing a program similar to our Project Restart.
Thanks for listening and please weigh in with your comments!
Andy B.
Richard dancing the Irish Jig at St. Patrick’s Day potluck.
Richard playing a baby shower game.
Union Rescue Mission was delighted to have the staff of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., an international law firm with an office in Downtown L.A., come out to serve lunch to our guests and residents on Thursday, June 4th.
