Over the last year, Union Rescue Mission has produced a series of short documentaries titled Stories from Skid Row. These short films are a behind the scenes look at the lives of individuals who are being served, as well as the staff and volunteers at URM. Stories from Skid Row provide a glimpse into the issues surrounding homelessness and the work being done to combat this serious problem in Los Angeles.
We will continue to produce the series throughout 2009. Please share these with your friends and family. There are several way for people to view the films and keep up with the latest stories. Click on the logo below for information.
Cara Mia DiMassa and Richard Winton of the LA Times write about the recent settlement between the ACLU and the LAPD.
Los Angeles police officers face significant restrictions on when they can search people under a agreement announced Thursday that settles a landmark homeless right case.
The agreement comes 18 months after a federal judge found that the LAPD was unconstitutionally searching homeless people in the skid row area as part of Chief William J. Bratton’s crackdown on downtown crime.
Jessica Garrison of the LA Times writes about the increase in families who are homeless this season. Several individuals from Union Rescue Mission were interviewed.
The economic crisis and cold weather have created a larger than usual influx of families to shelters in Los Angeles County this year, according to shelter officials and other service providers.
On Wednesday, officials at the Union Rescue Mission, which runs the county’s cold-weather shelters, held an emergency meeting to figure out what to do when they run out of hotel vouchers for families, which could happen this month. The numbers, said Chief Executive Andy Bales, are sobering: The region’s winter shelters and the skid row mission have seen 86 families in the last three weeks.
By comparison, last year the agency took in 20 families at its emergency shelters over the entire cold weather season from Dec. 1 to March 15, with 15 to 20 more at its downtown mission. Two weeks ago, the mission downtown opened up its fifth floor to two-parent families and single fathers with children, something it has never had to do before. It may also convert its chapel to sleeping quarters.
Molly Hennessy-Fiske of the LA Times writes about the effect current laws have on the ability of Mental Health workers to effectively assist the mentally ill.
Alarmed by reports that Los Angeles County mental health staff — hobbled by a countywide shortage of beds for the mentally ill — are increasingly forwarding emergency calls to police, commissioners overseeing the department on Thursday asked that a plan to end the practice be presented by early next month.
Department of Mental Health workers have turned to law enforcement officials because hospitals are required by law to take emergency mental health patients transported by police. If a county mental health worker brings a person in for treatment, facilities are not compelled to accept them.
URM’s Andy Bales talks about the importance of utilizing Mental Health professionals in dealing with patients on skid row.
Advocates for the mentally ill and the homeless say that there are not enough hybrid teams to go around and that police who respond alone can aggravate emergencies.
“Folks who are trained to deal with people who are having mental health issues have the experience to calm things down,” said the Rev. Andrew Bales, chief executive ofUnion Rescue Mission on skid row. “Somebody who’s distressed is probably going to panic when they see the police. I’ve been in that situation where I’ve been trying to help someone and they became upset when the police arrived.”
Troy Anderson interviews Andy Bales and some friends of ours at Union Rescue Mission regarding the increase in middle-class professionals who are struggling with homelessness.
Colin never thought he’d wind up on Skid Row.
As a middle-class father and business owner, he had achieved the American dream. But that all came crashing down recently when his coffee-bean importing business went under and the home he was renting in El Segundo went into foreclosure.
With nowhere else to turn, the Westmont College graduate sought shelter for his family at the Union Rescue Mission in downtown Los Angeles.
Andy Bales, president of the Union Rescue Mission, said he’s also seeing professionals and other middle-class people coming into the mission who are experiencing homelessness for the first time, including former mission donors.
Richard Guzman writes about the drop in donations to organizations working on Skid Row.
Andy Bales has seen a lot of hard times during his years as CEO of the Union Rescue Mission. But now, the organization that for more than a century has helped those down on their luck is in need of desperate help of its own.
“We’re down about 25% over our normal donations, so we’re barely hanging in there,” Bales said. “I’ve never seen it this bad.”
Homeless Basketball League at Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row in Los Angeles was featured on ESPN E:60 Tuesday night October 7th. CLICK HERE to watch the video.
Stories of men living on the streets of Skid Row, or if lucky, in missions who experience life as it used to be for a few hours a week by playing basketball.
