On Wednesday, November 11th, URM will be hosting a Radio-Thon on KKLA 99.5FM. Andy Bales will be speaking with Frank Pastore on his show from 3:30pm to 7pm PST. We hope that you will tune in, and as always, we appreciate your support!
Next week we are launching our new website! We want to make sure it’s the best it can be, and we need your help. Could you take just a moment and answer our poll? Thanks so much!
“The King has one more move – God has plans for you!”
This was the message that our Men’s Christian Life Discipleship Program graduates were encouraged by as they celebrated graduation on Sunday, November 1st. Albert Tate, Intergenerational Pastor of Lake Avenue Church, spoke to 30 graduates and a full Chapel (it was standing room only!). He spoke about David, who was considered small and unimportant to most, but not to God. God had a plan for his life, just like he has a plan for each and every one of us.
He also told a story about two friends visiting a museum, one a teacher and the other a professional chess player. They encountered a painting of a chess board and a few chess pieces, titled “Check Mate”, which the teacher was rather uninterested in. He went about the museum, looking at the other pieces until finally it was nearly closing time. He went back to his friend, and found him still studying the chess painting. “This picture is wrong, ” he said, “It is not checkmate. The King still has another move. The game is not over- the King has another move!!” His powerful message reminded us that God has a plan for our lives – the enemy has not won, because the King still has one more move.
The program included musical performances by Rick Austin, and short speeches from Rev. Andy Bales, Chief Programs Officer Rev. Steve Borja, and Messengers Group Chaplain Rev. Rodney Tanaka. Anthony Armstrong, Rickie Furnal, Donald Jelks, and Raymond Peters, of the graduating class, also shared with the group some of their personal testimonies and words of appreciation. Afterwards, there was a delicious meal served in the dining room. Graduates and guests enjoyed roast beef, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and salad, and of course cake and ice cream! All in all, it was a great time of celebration and encouragement as these men enter a new phase in their lives!
Thank you to everyone who made this celebration a success, and congratulations to the new graduates!
I guess you could say we take giving thanks pretty seriously here at Union Rescue Mission. Our guests are thankful to be off the street and to have a safe place to sleep at night. The men and women enrolled in one of our life transformation programs are thankful for the opportunity to rebuild their lives with the help of loving case managers and chaplains dedicated to helping them succeed. Our growing population of families who are experiencing homelessness for the first time are thankful that we have stepped up to meet the needs of whole families and single dads with kids. Last but not least, our staff and team of dedicated volunteers are eternally grateful for the sacrificial giving of our donors that allows us to do all that we do.
Needless to say, we take Thanksgiving pretty seriously too! Our Thanksgiving celebration is a time for us reach out to the community we serve and shower them with love, attention and of course great food. And for many of the guests who attend our special celebration, it’s the first step in their journey toward home.
Take a moment to watch this special Thanksgiving video and see first hand the difference you are making in the lives of so many people.
Happy Thanksgiving,
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority on October 28th released its 2009 Homeless Count. There was remarkable news – the total number of persons counted in this latest survey decreased by 38% compared to the total number of homeless persons counted in 2007.
Among the 48,053 homeless individuals in Los Angeles County Continuum of Care, the survey identifies 4,885 individuals in 1,840 homeless families in our community, reflecting a stunning 70% drop in homelessness among families with children during the last two years.
As agencies that advocate for and provide housing and services to homeless families throughout Los Angeles County, we have a unique perspective on these numbers.
The results of the survey suggest that our concentrated efforts and focus on successful strategies is making an impact on reducing the number of homeless families throughout Los Angeles. We have on our staffs experienced skilled professionals who understand the unique challenges associated with family homelessness. We have strong partnerships with public and private agencies committed to our common cause. Our program models are successfully demonstrating positive outcomes.
However, we feel that the 2009 Homeless Count substantially understates what those of us on the frontlines of addressing family homelessness are seeing on the street. A sampling of data from providers that focus on family homelessness indicates a 40% increase in family homelessness between 2007 and 2009. Confirming this perception, the Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) recognized 7,500 homeless families in January 2009, the same month the Count was conducted, a 49% increase from April 2008.
Families who are homeless have been referred to as the hidden homeless: they typically are less visible than chronically homeless adults. They may live in an automobile or on a friend’s living room floor, and spend the day at the mall or a city park. With a child in a stroller, the family’s homeless condition is less noticeable to the public, or even to outreach workers. These are some of the reasons families are under-represented in the Homeless Count.
We fear these numbers will likely get worse before it gets better. Family homelessness tends to lag behind unemployment by six to nine months. As we endure the worst economic plunge since the Great Depression and the unemployment rate soars past 12.7% across the region, we are bracing to support a surge in the number of homeless families, possibly rising to 10,000 homeless families in LA County alone.
If homelessness was truly decreasing in our community, we’d be the first to celebrate. However, our experiences from the frontlines indicate that the problem is getting worse, not better.
For this reason, the release of the 2009 Homeless Count should be a call to action to continue investing in solutions that work. We need resources to dramatically accelerate the pace of affordable housing development and to provide more Section 8 housing vouchers for families. We need additional resources to help families who are currently homeless and those who are at risk of losing their housing in the near future. Most importantly, we need a regional, collaborative and aggressive approach to end family homelessness.
Despite surging demand and diminished resources, agencies across Los Angeles County that address family homelessness remain dedicated to battling this crisis. Let the 2009 Homeless Count be a call to all of us in Los Angeles to rededicate ourselves to addressing this unconscionable crisis once and for all.
Reverend Andy Bales
CEO
Union Rescue Mission
Jill Govan Bauman
President and CEO
ImagineLA
Devorah Brous
Executive Director
Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness
Rabbi Marv Gross
CEO
Union Station Homeless Services
Tahia Hayslet
Executive Director
Harbor Interfaith
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer
President and CEO
LA Family Housing
David Littlehales
Executive Director
Rio Hondo Temporary Home
Joel Roberts
CEO
Path Partners
David Snow
Executive Director
Upward Bound House
|
CalWORKs Homeless Families |
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|
FY 07-08 |
FY 08-09 |
FY 09-10 |
|||||
|
Date |
Families |
Date |
Families |
Date |
Families |
||
|
Jul-07 |
6009 |
Jul-08 |
6114 |
Jul-09 |
8118 |
||
|
Aug-07 |
6380 |
Aug-08 |
7080 |
Aug-09 |
8061 |
||
|
Sep-07 |
6420 |
Sep-08 |
7218 |
|
|||
|
Oct-07 |
6441 |
Oct-08 |
7454 |
|
|||
|
Nov-07 |
6341 |
Nov-08 |
7356 |
|
|||
|
Dec-07 |
6110 |
Dec-08 |
7588 |
|
|||
|
Jan-08 |
6059 |
Jan-09 |
7581 |
|
|||
|
Feb-08 |
5915 |
Feb-09 |
7442 |
|
|||
|
Mar-08 |
5766 |
Mar-09 |
7448 |
|
|||
|
Apr-08 |
5415 |
|
Apr-09 |
7574 |
|
||
|
May-08 |
5734 |
|
May-09 |
7611 |
|
||
|
Jun-08 |
5875 |
|
Jun-09 |
7880 |
|
||