Thanks to all our church partners who were able to attend the Pastor’s Luncheon yesterday at Hope Gardens Family Center! It was a great time of fellowship and bonding. We look forward to see what God has planned for us!
Key February 2010 Stats (Compared to February 2009) INCLUDING WSP
*URM= Union Rescue Mission
*WSP= Winter Shelters – Downtown, Glendale, Culver City, and West LA
*HG= Hope Gardens Family Center
Total Dental Clinic Visits = 515
Total Legal Clinic Visits = 108
Total Mental Health/Counseling Sessions = 131
Total Medical Visits = 637
Volunteer:
Hours – 4532
Visits – 1251
Meals Served:
URM: 80,424 avg/day: 2872 12% increase
WSP: 44,094 avg/day: 1575 (2009 Data only includes 1 winter shelter)
HG: 12,600 avg/day: 450 (same)
Total: 137,118 avg/day: 4897
Nights of Shelter:
URM: 23,851 avg: 852 19% increase
WSP: 20,913 avg: 747 (2009 Data only included Downtown WS)
HG: 3,312 avg: 118
Total: 48,076 avg: 1717
WSP Nights of Shelter
Downtown
Avg: 301 ppl per night (20% increase from last year)
Culver City
Avg: 142 ppl per night
West LA
Avg: 130 ppl per night
Glendale
Avg: 174 ppl per night
** Increases as compared to February 2009 data. If no increase, 2009 data was not available/compete.
**Averages are per day.
As the high in downtown Los Angeles neared 87 degrees yesterday, URM employees took to the streets with cold bottles of water!
It’s a tradition for us to distribute water to the people of Skid Row every time the temperature hits 85 degrees or higher. The Water Walk is a great opportunity for us to build trust with the citizens of downtown Los Angeles – it is our hope that they will realize how much we truly care about them, and maybe they will stop in to see us sometime!
Lakers fans enjoy some refreshing H2O on a warm spring afternoon!
Although usually a summer activity, we are blessed to be enjoying beautiful weather early this year!
If you are interested in coming along for a Water Walk sometime, feel free to contact our Volunteer Department at (213) 347-6300 x1148. If you would like to donate so that we can continue to provide for the people of Skid Row, please go to urm.org/donate for more information!
Last night, 11 of our amazing employees were honored with a night out to enjoy the Clippers game in one of the VIP Suites! These employees were all nominated by their peers or managers to be named “Employee of the Month: April”.
We would also like to send a big thank you to Rick Rozman of Merrill Lynch for providing us with the Suite so we were able to treat our nominees!
Also, big thanks to all our nominees for their hard work each and every day and the dedication they continue to show to URM and the people we serve - we couldn’t do it without them!
This months’ nominees:
Laura Bartlett
Phillip Choi
Sara Farnsworth
Jeremiah Johnson
Rae Marie Johnson
Monica Jokiman
Michael Jones
Elizabeth “Betsy” Kelly
Roygene Robinson
William Robles
Steve Solis
Thirty-three graduates in cap and gown walked proudly across the stage last Sunday as we celebrated together the 12 months of hard work they had accomplished in graduating from Union Rescue Mission’s Men’s Life Transformation Program. Friends and family packed the Chapel, acknowledging their feat with a standing ovation. Graduate Brian Mitchell said it best, “I am a completely different man than the man who entered Union Rescue Mission!” Brian’s lovely girl friend, thankful mom, and proud Uncle and Aunt were overflowing with joy at what has happened in Brian’s life.
This celebration is the life blood of Union Rescue Mission. Seeing lives completely transformed, hearing powerful stories of change, like, “I used to be the guy addicted to crack laying out on that sidewalk out there (pointing to Skid Row), now I am leading my work team, leading worship in Chapel, volunteering to help others, speaking before the City Council, and visiting my mom for the first time in 30 years!”, and viewing the changed men and women right before our eyes keeps us motivated to do this work every day with every ounce of our being.
This is why Support Life Transformation Programs is the 9th vital Step in our http://youarethemission.org initiative to end homelessness as we know it in Los Angeles. Many, in fact most who enter into the experience of homelessness have significant barriers to overcome before they can return to a productive life on their own. Devastating emotional impacts, addiction issues, insufficient job, life or people skills are all conditions that hold people back and keep them trapped in a cycle of homelessness and poverty. These barriers are not insurmountable or permanent, but usually take a structured, long-term recovery process that is available here at Union Rescue Mission, our own Hope Gardens Family Center, the Los Angeles Mission, Midnight Mission, the Salvation Army, the Weingart Center and others. These agencies have helped thousands of individuals and families address and overcome their obstacles and return to the community as productive citizens.
These amazing agencies should not be overlooked by the current push by many to take a Housing First and Only approach to ending homelessness.
Do not get me wrong, as some have, we believe in the Housing First approach for the 10% to 20% of people who have been devastated by long term, chronic homelessness and are dealing with serious health, mental health, and addiction issues as a result of living on the streets for years. Housing First is absolutely the best approach for this group of precious people experiencing homelessness. In fact, we are pushing for this approach for the final 750 precious individuals still left on the streets of Skid Row.
However, a Housing First and Only approach would have been a disservice to the 33 proud men who walked the stage last week, and to all who walk similar stages after completing a Life Transformation Program. To place them in a permanently subsidized housing unit with little expectation rather than encourage them through a rigorous exercise in transformation would cheat them out of finding their destiny. As I closed the service, I shared the story of a graduate from 1938 named Joseph Mitchell. He left Union Rescue Mission to create two popular games, Don’t Break the Ice, and Don’t Spill the Beans! Last year, during an unparalleled financial crisis, his estate left us an $800,000 bequest. He gave the rest of his estate to the Billy Graham Crusade.
My final charge to our graduates is equally appropriate for our staff and the faithful friends who join us in the fight to end our city’s reign as the homeless capital of the nation. “We have high hopes for you! We expect you to go out and conquer the world!”
Weekends are sometimes boring when you live on Skid Row, but today is different. Calvary Church – Pacific Palisades brought more than 100 volunteers to host a huge carnival for all the kids at Union Rescue Mission as well as kids activities and work projects at Hope Gardens!
The carnival was split into two sections, with Jr. High and Sr. High enjoying tug of war, bumper car kids (you have to see the picture!), and other games, while the elementary kids are able to have their faces painted, bounce around in the jumpers, and play games for prizes!
In addition to donating their time, volunteer participants are calling on their friends and family to text the word URM to 85944 to make a $10 donation to further help the Mission. Check back for more pictures on our website at urm.org during the next week!
Congratulations to all the men who graduated from our Christian Life Discipleship Program on March 7th! We are so proud of you!
Leb Bradley
Eddie Daniel
Jon Federonich
Charles Holden
Clyde Johnson
Jeffrey Knott
Damon Peebles
Johnny Werschin Jr.
Mark Wells
Phillip Green
Wesley Hunter
Kevin Perkins
Darrell Richardson
Michael Starr
Earle Turner
John Wilson
Asa Belton
Phillip Craig
Richard Dolf
Raymond Shelly
Franklin Smith
Reynaldo DeGuzman
Bernie Martinez
Ryan Martinez
Brian Mitchell
Marcos Sosa
Daniel Zeron
John Haynes
Frank Randolph
Christopher Silva
Hugo Sanchez
Jeremy Whorton
Aaron Yackey
A new way to support Union Rescue Mission! To donate $10 from your cell phone and have it billed to your phone text the keyword URM to 85944. You MUST reply with YES to the confirmation message to complete your donation.
Union Rescue Mission is supporting the text-to-give campaign for the Pop Laval Foundation. A one-time donation of $10 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Message and Data Rates may apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t. You can unsubscribe at any time by texting STOP to 85944.
We would like to send a special thanks to Oasis Christian Center for hosting a food drive, with the donations going to URM! They were able to collect more than 2,500 cans of food.
In particular, we appreciate the hard work of Pastor Phillip & Holly Wagner, Pastor Alex Jones Moreno, and the whole Oasis team for being out in the rain collecting food!
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