The Mission – July 2010
With an unemployment rate over 12% in Los Angeles, finding a decent job is difficult for almost everyone. But for someone like Al — a grandfather and a recovering crack addict with a spotty work history — landing meaningful work can be nearly impossible. Al had first discovered crack in 1985. “After that, my addiction got the best of me and my life just spiraled out of control for 23 years,” he recalls. Finally in the spring of 2008, Al took a hard look at himself in the mirror. “I’ve seen people dying,” he says. “I know what it looks like. And I was dying.”
In May 2008, Al came to Union Rescue Mission for help. Over the next year, he found new faith in God and received the real help he needed to overcome his addiction. But when he graduated a year later, in the midst of the greatest economic downturn since the Depression, what would he do now? “Preparing men like Al to find a job is one of the most important things we do,” says Steve Borja, chief programs officer at URM. “We help them get the education and training they need. We help them develop their resumes and their interviewing skills, teach them where to find job leads, mentor them through the application process, and even supply them new clothes so they’ll look their best.” By November 2009, Al had landed a job at a local Vons supermarket, where he now works as a meat-cutter.
“I love going to work,” Al says. “But mostly, I love having my life back. I can go out to dinner now, or go to an amusement park or a museum. This job is like a new birth to me.”
Please join us in supporting men like Al:
