Andy's Updates - 2/2009

A Different Kind of Blog

by robin on Monday, February 23rd, 2009, Filed Under Rev Andy's Blog | View Comments

I am in my office, preparing to go on Union Rescue Mission’s yearly 2 day Senior Leadership Planning retreat. Normally a very exciting time, a chance to get away, cast a wonderful vision, bond as a team, enjoy a few meals out together. This year is very different, my wife and I are providing the venue, in order to be frugal, I am cooking most of the meals(we have a brave group), and our strategic sessions will be more about surviving this deep recession than casting a powerful vision.

I have to admit I am leaving with a lot of concern, and I say concern because many believe worry is a sin, and I don’t want to sin, but frankly I am worried. Our staff has responded well to wage freezes, a hiring freeze, stopping the employer match to their 401K’s, and even the knowledge that as of March 1st, our wages will be cut 5% across the organization, with some of us possibly reducing our wages by 10%. We’ve reduced costs in our warehouse by 66%, halted renovation and construction projects, and have tried to reduce costs in nearly every area, but with the economic news and recent trends in donations, I am afraid that we have not done enough. That, possibly not enough can be done.

Like many of our friends who have come to us homeless, this was not my plan. When I came to URM it was to be the pinnacle of my career of serving people who are struggling. I did not plan on the greatest economic disaster since the Great Depression happening on my watch!

Yesterday, I must admit, I was overwhelmed! Today, after a prayerful night, I know that we need to continue to step up to meet the needs of people coming to us. The number of families is up nearly 400% and climbing, our Chapel is beginning to fill with an overflow of desperate women and their children. They need us! People coming into our Mission looking for a meal is up nearly 40%, 900 a day! Somehow the Lord is providing because for the first time in our history we served 1 Million meals in 12 months with food purchases of only $300,000, a reminder of what Jesus can do with fishes and loaves and willing hearts.

I also realized last night in a prayerful night that I need to go directly to heads of Foundations and personally tell them our dilemma, and plead for help, as that is all I can do and must do.

I also must ask you personally for your help. I am troubled going to the well one more time, but for the sake of our guests, and the sake of Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens Family Center I must. Your giving in December was incredible! We were blessed in so many ways we could not have imagined, but that generosity and the growing bad news must have taken their toll because January’s giving was less than half what we projected, and February’s giving has decreased even more. We at Union Rescue Mission are facing events that I can’t even imagine; widespread layoffs, loss of services, closing of facilities, if this trend continues. The only power I have is to pray to our Lord, and to ask you personally to give what you can. I’d actually like to meet with you personally and talk to you if you would have time to meet with me and ask me questions to understand our circumstance. Please consider giving what you can today so that we can continue together to meet the needs of families with children losing their homes, hungry people needing a meal and an encouraging word. Please feel free to call me at 626-260-4761 or email me at abales@urm.org to schedule and opportunity to meet face to face. Thank you, for taking time to listen.

Weathering the Storm

by robin on Wednesday, February 4th, 2009, Filed Under Rev Andy's Blog | View Comments

It is hard for me to describe how proud I am of the URM team and the honor I feel in working alongside them. This year we have faced overwhelming odds. Our numbers of single guests are up significantly, at least 25%. Our number of meals served has grown from around 750,000 last year to an incredible number of more than 1,000,000 meals for the 1st time in URM 118 year history! We now have 59 families with 111 children at our downtown URM facility, with another 32 families and 62 children at URM’s Hope Gardens Family Center in Sylmar. We have already had an astounding 113 families in the first two months of our Winter Shelter Program compared to 35 families in the entire 3 ½ months of last year’s Winter Shelter Season. Yet our staff is not only holding up, but exceeding the need of people who are coming through our doors, desperate for help. Our staff has even adjusted to the new challenge of housing families in EDAR units (see http://EDAR.org) in our chapel, and we are expecting many more families to do so.

I am honored because our staff is doing this with less resources, less food donations, and during a time when the economy has forced us to freeze hiring, freeze wage increases and suspend the employer matching portion of their 401-K retirement plans. I’ve also had to alert them to a potential 5% pay cut across the board, and still they carry on with joy. Challenged to become a Hero of Hope this morning in our weekly Chapel service, more than a dozen employees immediately marched to the Human Resources office and signed up to have a donation automatically given to the Mission from their paychecks every payday in the future. All this, despite the possible impending wage cuts. I have to tell you, that I am amazed!

Partly amazed because I see many National, State, County, and City officials stunned, stymied, almost paralyzed by the gravity of the emergency situation as we face a Tsunami of families facing homelessness. I am thankful for URM and agencies and ministries stepping up to meet the need, and I am honored to be part of this team.