On December 5th and 6th, the Crystal Park R/C Raceway in Compton, CA hosted a Support Union Rescue Mission Toy Drive Race! Miss Keesha Sharp was our special guest, and along with all the racers made it a very fun event. It definitely will make this Christmas extra-special for all the kid’s that call Union Rescue Mission home this holiday season.
Special thanks to Crystal Park R/C Raceway, Andy Bales, Keesha Sharp, Don Nose, James Rees, and Jeremiah Johnson for their help with this event and continued support of Union Rescue Mission.
For more information on how you can get involved with Special Supportive events, pease contact Jeremiah Johnson at (213) 347-6300 ext 2225 or email jjohnson@urm.org
Paris and Nicky Hilton have teamed up with West Third Street boutique House of Petro Zillia to benefit Union Rescue Mission! Thursday, December 17th, from 7pm-10pm, the sisters will be hosting the shopping extravaganza; proceeds of all sales will be donated to URM.
Thank you to Paris and Nicky Hilton, who continue to support URM, and to House of Petro Zillia for taking part in this great event!
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Starting Over in a One-Room Mansion: By Jasani”
No child ever deserves abuse. So what do you do when your own stepfather tries to rape you? When I turned 17, I moved in with my boyfriend. But I couldn’t escape the abuse. He got violent with me and it continued through the rest of our marriage. But I didn’t have the courage to leave. By the time I turned 22, I had three kids. And I needed help. But my husband wouldn’t let me have any contact with family or friends. I was so traumatized, I started to feel like I deserved the abuse. My whole life just kept getting worse. First, we got evicted from our apartment. We lived in motels for a while and finally ended up living out of our car. I couldn’t even afford to wash our clothes. My kids struggled with speech problems and even started acting out violently. It broke my heart, but I felt so helpless.
Then, in the fall of 2008, I learned I was pregnant again. I had to do something. My husband didn’t want to go to a shelter, but what choice did we have? I started praying, “Lord, please give us a stable roof over our heads and help us keep our family together. Please.”And God answered. Union Rescue Mission gave us our own room, but that one room felt like a mansion. When we moved in, I wanted to kiss the floor. But soon after we arrived, he left me for another woman, just before our fourth child was born in May.
Yet God never abandoned me. Last year August, we moved in to Union Rescue Mission’s Hope Gardens, which helps single mothers and kids get their lives back on track. Now we have a safe place to live, I’m going to school, and I even have a part-time job. I have a peace I’ve never known. I walk with my head up and I really see myself achieving something with my life now. My dream is to get a job as a licensed vocational nurse – that’s my passion. I give God all the credit, because He led me to Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens. This place saved my life.
Together, Let’s Change the Face of Homelessness in the City of Angels
Although we’re a city named for angels, Los Angeles contains more people who are homeless than anywhere else in the country. In fact, 10% of all people who are homeless in America live in L.A County. Today, as many as 110,000 men, women and children – maybe more – live in homeless shelters, SRO’s (single-room occupancy buildings), cheap motels, cars, and even on the streets and sidewalks of neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles.
For years, our region’s long-time strategy was to funnel people who are experiencing homelessness toward Skid Row, corral them there, and then forget about them. But it’s not working. We need a new plan. After years of neglect, the problem of homelessness in Los Angeles is an infected, open wound that we all must face today. No one deserves to be homeless. That’s why - with your help – Union Rescue Mission is planning to change the face of homelessness forever in the City of Angels.
Reaching for Lofty Goals
Next year, beginning with our January issue of The Mission, we will outline a bold plan with 10 specific solutions to address the four states of homelessness in Los Angeles. Our goals are lofty.
Three-year goal: Cut the number of people living on the streets of Skid Row by 90%
Seven-year goal: Cut the number of people who are homeless in LA County by 50%
Ten-year goal: End Los Angeles’ reign as the homeless capital of the United States
We Can Do It If We Work Together
Reaching these goals will be hard – and we can’t do it alone. First, we need the extraordinary generosity of people like you. But if we’re going to reach our goals, we must enlist the resources – and the hearts – of the entire city of Los Angeles. Our message? All of us must band together to end homelessness. Together we can change the face of homelessness forever. Union Rescue Mission has been reaching out to people who are experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles for 118 years, and no one is more motivated to lead this movement against homelessness that we are. We have hope and faith in a God who cares about those who are experiencing homelessness, and who gives us the strength and courage to confront what seems to many a tragic but impossible problem. Poverty and homelessness have reached all-time highs in our City of Angels. Enough is enough. It’s time to help our city live up to its name. Help make a difference to end homelessness in Los Angeles – we can’t do it without you.
Every morning, I wake up heartbroken over the thousands of people who are living homeless in Los Angeles. I’m heartbroken because it’s a personal issue for me — personal in that every man, woman, and child who’s experiencing homelessness is a precious, beautiful soul with a face I cherish. A face just like Jasani’s, who you read about in this newsletter. Or a face like the father I recently met who was laid off and lost his home. Thank God he had the courage to bring his four precious little girls and his pregnant wife to Union Rescue Mission, where he’s now getting the help his family needs. Or a face like the 16-year-old boy I recently encountered who was looking for a job. His mother had been unemployed for 18 months and they were about to lose their home. He was considering dropping out of school so he could work and help save them from homelessness. Fortunately, we were able to help him find an after-school job.
Yes, those who are experiencing homelessness have faces. That makes it a personal issue for me. And I pray that everyone in Los Angeles makes it a personal issue, as well.
From November 30th – December 5th, volunteer groups came in to URM to help “Deck The Halls”. We are very appreciative to all who helped make our halls a bit more festive and joyous during this Christmas Season!
Thanks to our decorating groups: Mr. & Mrs. Hague, Network Capital Irvine, San Gabriel Country Club, and Josie Campbell & Friends, as well as Caesar Chavez High School for donating two Christmas trees!
Each December, we transform our Chapel into a Christmas Store for families who can’t otherwise afford gifts – to shop for free! There is nothing worse for someone experiencing homelessness than to be unable to provide Christmas for their family, so we invite single moms, dads, and families to come down and experience Christmas shopping with us.
While there are many programs in our community that provide toys and presents to underpriveleged children during the holidays, we like to take it a step further; we believe it’s important for each family to have the dignity of being able to provide their children with presents they personally select, wrap, and give. We’ve seen too often what can happen when generous and well meaning families show up with gifts for another family in need – instead of bringing joy to the parents, many feel guilt and shame for not being able to provide for their own children. While parents shop, kids experience a visit to our Kid Zone where they enjoy holiday crafts, games, and treats, and also experience the joy of giving by shopping for their parents in their own special store.
Union Rescue Mission is much more than a shelter – URM provides a community of support for families and individuals and special events like the Christmas Store bring great joy during trying times. With your help, we are able to show our guests love that goes beyond words!
Please take a moment to watch Phillip’s video about his experience at the Christmas store, and see how your generous support can bring joy to so many during the Christmas Season!
A wise young man was in my office the other day. We had a great chat, and he invited me to an interesting event that is a new concept – An Idea Camp. He asked me to consider talking about the high cost of being in a position like mine, as CEO of Union Rescue Mission. I instantly thought about what I could share:
the cost of time-24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
the price my family has paid over the years because of my commitment
the cost to my health as I often worry and fret too much about finances
with that, the cost of feeling the load to keep employees on the job
This is just a start to the list of the high cost of being in charge that I will share at the Idea Camp, but the highest cost came this weekend. That is the high cost of heartache. While I was away over the weekend, visiting my 15 month old grandson, I received a call that one of our original pioneer Seniors, Mary Jane, who moved into Hope Gardens on August 8th, 2006, and not only changed her own life, but helped secure Hope Gardens to receive our single moms with children later in June of 2007, had lost a long struggle with cancer. Shortly after this call, I received word that one of our former young residents had lost their life in a tragic incident in their own home. Today, I received word that one of our moms will enter into treatment for a serious, life threatening ailment, and her children will need to go into foster care just before the Christmas Holiday.
Our team had some moments of silence, tears, and prayer this morning as we met and reflected on the weekend and week’s events. One of the leaders around the table had called me during all of this and said, “I guess when I signed up for this I didn’t consider that it would sometimes involve domestic abuse, other forms of violence, and even death.
Yet, when you decide to work on Skid Row among sometimes very desperate people, that is exactly what you sign up for. That decision to work among and love people right in their desperate situations does come at a high cost. The high cost of heartache.
The good news is that with that high cost and high investment comes high returns. More often than not, in fact 65 % of the time, we see total life transformations. For me, those kinds of returns are worth the cost, and help me cope with tragic losses and the heartbreak that comes with those losses.
Collide Magazine, which describes itself as a magazine for church leaders who use media and technology to communicate Truth, has nominated URM’s Stories from Skidrow in their annual Readers Choice Awards! We will be competing in the category of “Best Non-Sermon Podcasts”.
Voting ends on December 14th, so please click here to vote for us!
The fourth annual Project Homeless Connect Day- Downtown LA will be held on Thursday, December 10th. The event will be held on 6th street, between Wall and San Pedro, and will run from about 10:00 am until 2:00pm.
Project Homeless Connect is part of a national initiative designed to bring together service providers, agencies, and organizations to provide housing, hospitality, information, health-care and other services for our nation’s homeless population. Los Angeles County, along with Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena, Downtown LA, South Los Angeles, and the East San Gabriel Valley will each be hosting an event to bring awareness and connect those experiencing homelessness to much needed services. The goal is to provide area homeless and working poor access to the assistance they need to become self-sufficient and to ultimately obtain affordable housing.
Some of the day’s activities will include:
Health related services – HIV/STD testing, flu shots, screenings, education
Public information distribution by DPSS, DCFS, DMH, LASD, LAPD
In addition to Music & Entertainment, Food to be provided, Jumper, etc.
Project Homeless Connect Day will:
Unite government, volunteers, non-profits, businesses, civic leaders, social service providers, and faith-based organizations, to create single points of engagement and entry for homeless individuals and families.
Engage the general public in offering assistance to people who are homeless through volunteer opportunities.
Create a unique opportunity for homeless citizens to access services in a supportive community-type setting.
Provide the necessary connections for homeless individuals and families to get started on the pathway to self-sufficiency.
Get Involved and Help Make a Difference
Project Homeless Connect Day is a great opportunity for you and your organization to get involved with doing your part in trying to reduce the County’s homeless population.There are several ways to be a part of this special event.
Monetary donations are needed for supplies, activities, lunches, security, logistics, and other items that will be identified as the planning progresses.
In-Kind donations of all sorts are needed.Hygiene supplies, phone cards, food products, beverages, t-shirts, catering, socks, and much more is needed.
Volunteers to assist on the day of the event. Hundreds of volunteers will be needed to serve lunches, escort people through the service providers, provide hospitality services, and assist with various tasks throughout the day.
If you are interested in getting involved in any way, or would like more information, please contact Sara Farnsworth at (213) 316-2752 or via email at projecthomelessconnect@urm.org.
Mark Horvath, known to many as @hardlynormal on Twitter, has been busy helping with the annual Winter Shelters Program. He says, “I get a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing I am part of a team that will provide a safe place, hot shower and warm meal for the next 3 months. But so very sad knowing most spent the last year living outside homeless…”.
Want to see what the winter shelters are really like? Check out Mark interviewing Andy just before the shelter opened on Tuesday night.
Yesterday, December 1st, was the opening day of the annual Winter Shelter Program. EIMAGO, a subsidiary of Union Rescue Mission, operates 4 of the 14 shelter sites administered by the Los Angeles Housing Services Authority. This termporary program runs in LA County from December 1st – March 15th each year. As the weather grows colder, it is a blessing for many to be able to sleep in a warm bed at a winter shelter!
The services offered include overnight shelter, meals, showers, access to the health, mental health, dental & legal aid clinics; in addition to recovery programs, education assessment, job training and personal and/or career development. Each Winter Shelter Program guest will have an opportunity to transition into longer-term programs that will assist them in their efforts to gain permanent housing and self-sufficiency.
As Andy Bales said, “The purpose isn’t just to welcome them for the night or the winter season…it’s to connect people to services so that they are no longer on the streets. We do have a plan for the day that we don’t have one precious human being on the streets. That’s why we do this.”
To hear about the impact of the Winter Shelters, click here to watch John’s story or click here to read about this years’ Glendale Shelter.
For more information on how the Winter Shelter Program is run, check out the LAHSA website.
