April 1^st of 2011, Union Rescue Mission, in some eyes, made a controversial decision to ask our guests who were able, to begin paying part of their way.  The decision was made with a lot of thought, planning, and prayer.

There is no question that the economy was a factor in the decision, but it goes much deeper than that.

Let me start by saying that I have long believed in guests paying part of their own way thanks to the influence of the grandfather of Christian Community Development, Dr. John Perkins, and his book, “Let Justice Roll Down.”   John taught me that the dignity of people is affirmed when they can pay their own way, at least in part, instead of having everything handed down to them as charity.  John and I both feel that people are empowered when they can learn to provide for themselves.

I also had the distinct opportunity to begin my Missions career at the Door of Faith Mission in Des Moines.  A Mission, I quickly learned that was ahead of its time.  My prior Missions’ experience was as a teenager accompanying my dad.  He would preach and I would sing.  We’d walk into a Mission he was scheduled to preach at , see the guys lined up, many of them intoxicated, and then watch as they moved to an area where they had to sit and listen to a message (my dad and I) before they could eat.  Routinely we would see a fellow fall out of his chair.  After the message, the men would be served a piece of day old bread and some watery soup, before they were allowed to go to bed for the night.  That was the picture I had of a Mission as I walked in to The Door of Faith Mission to apply for a job as the Associate Director 25 years ago.

However, when I entered the Door of Faith, I noticed that the guys were all sober, neat and clean, and the food portions were substantial.  I was intrigued.  I learned that the Founder of the Door of Faith, George Holloway had experienced homelessness for 37 years.  He had travelled the country and experienced Missions first hand.  He found Christ at either the LA Mission or Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles.  And, when he arrived in Des Moines, he decided to start a Mission that was unique.  George felt that it was hard to get sober when surrounded by people who were drinking or using so he had an expectation of sobriety, and instituted a breath test, and later I added drug testing to assist.  George also felt that men would feel better about themselves if they worked and paid a part of their own way, so he instituted a $6 a day fee, and this produced about 1/3 of the needed income for the Mission each day, while the other 2/3rds came from generous individuals and partner churches.  I later instituted a gradually rising daily fee after 3 months so that around 6 months later, when men began to pay $8 per day, they began to consider relocating to nearby apartments. George also believed that feeding men well helped them battle their addiction and strengthened them to go out and work hard to earn their pay, so he moved from what was known as soup kitchens to serving heaping portions at what we later called “The Faith Café”.

As I arrived at Union Rescue Mission nearly seven years ago, an impressive, historic place with a long tradition, I brought this idea of paying your own way with me.  When I brought up the idea in my interview, I could tell it was met with a look of “We’ve never done it that way!”, so I dropped it until I at least got hired! J

Four years later, when the economy worsened and our finances tightened, I broached the subject again.  It was again met with skepticism, caution, and the idea was put on hold.

Probably 18 months ago, the recession was putting a squeeze on URM and our future was not at all certain.  I was being pressed by the Board of Directors to come up with a strong sustainability plan, and as part of the sustainability plan, I introduced a Pilot Program, the Gateway Program, to implement with only 10%, or 50 of our guest beds,  ½  on the women’s side, and ½ on the men’s side.  To assist in my proposal, I shared with the Board that the idea came not just from me, but from one of our front line staff members, who was frustrated that many of our guests had substantial incomes, even more than $1000 per month, yet they would fritter away and use up all of their funds in a few short days and rely on the charity of URM the rest of the month for their meals and bed. This hurt our not highly paid staff member to see this charity taken advantage of.

I was allowed to implement the Gateway program into 10% of our guest beds.  It worked like this; guests who had an income from Social Security, Social Security Disability, Veteran’s benefits, or General Relief would pay $7 per day, of which $2 would be placed into their personal savings fund.  The extra $5 would pay for more intense case management for the guest, there would be an expectation of sobriety, attendance at some educational and life transforming classes, we would add a foot locker under their bunk so that their belongings would be safe and secure, and they would be allowed to rest in their bunks at any time rather than retreating to the guest area each day.  I blogged about the pilot program, Twittered and Facebooked in hopes of alerting the public of the change and receiving most of the questions and criticism up front during the trial rather than later when I hoped to fully implement this program.  We did make the news and received  good questions and some criticism up front.

We operated the 50 beds this way for a number of months, and then an even greater financial squeeze came on URM and even more pressure for a stronger sustainability plan came from the Board of Directors, and the only additional step that I could think of was to broaden  the Gateway Program from Pilot to full implementation to all 300 guest beds. This would not only implement what I always believed as a philosophy, but would also produce about $40,000 of much needed funds each month; equal to 1 day of our operating budget.  I also strongly believed it would have great benefit to our guests.

I’ve always believed that if you had 1000 beds for people to crash in any condition, you’d have 1000 people crashing in any condition, and if you had 1000 beds with high expectations for people to help themselves, you’d have 1000 people working hard and helping themselves.

We began to alert our guests of the change 90 days out.  Again, I blogged about the success of the pilot and the coming change.  We also invited community activists and bloggers in to discuss the change.  One supported it strongly while others had doubts, but at least we had informed them of the coming change.  Believe it or not, on April 1^st, we instituted the change.

Men were grabbing the communications off of the wall and trashing them in disgust, saying, “is this a cruel April 1^st joke?”  One man asked me, “What are you trying to do to me?”  I replied, “I’m trying to get you to help yourself and I am trying to keep this place open for all!”  “OK”, was his response.

So, on April 1^st, 2011, the worsening economy provided the opportunity to implement this new approach at URM.  We eased it in with good planning and care. The first 5 days are free for all, allowing folks to decide between the Gateway Program, our free long-term Life Transformation programs in which they will not pay fees but they will invest a lot of time and effort, or relocating elsewhere. Immediately, our guest bed count went from 300 to 170, and dropped off especially significantly on our women’s side which surprised me. The women, many of whom had substantial resources, were more reluctant to give part of their resources and chose the cold sidewalk rather than handing over any of their income.  This was and is heartbreaking to me.

However, many of the remaining guests came to me and said, “What you’ve done has transformed the Mission. Everyone who was causing problems and not working on their lives left and only those who care and want to try stayed.” Or “You’ve turned this place from a den of anger and rebellion to a place of peace.”

I was encouraged, but it was not without controversy.  During a drive back through the mountains from vacation I received an alarming call from a big radio station about our “charging rent” to URM guests.  This was followed by news agencies from all around, including the LA Times, NPR, and others inquiring about this new approach and it was difficult, though not impossible to share that it was not just the recession that brought this about, but a firm philosophy that we believe that people feel better about themselves and are empowered when they pay a portion of their own way.

The Results:

Soon, the numbers began to grow and today we have 295 guests.  132 men and 86 women are paying the fee.  Another 58 men and 24 women are in the 5 day free period, and a few without an income of any kind are allowed to stay if they volunteer a few hours a week.

The number of men enrolling in our long-term program has risen 20% and 100 of our Gateway guests have secured permanent housing and moved on since implementation.  Our emergency and police calls have been greatly reduced, and with this change and one other, we’ve been able to lower our security costs.  Our front-line staff thanks me each day for reducing their workload, their stress and their efforts to keep the mission in clean working order.

The other change also goes back to the Door of Faith.  At the Door of Faith, we fed guests staying with us 3 times a day, but the outside public only once, at lunch.  URM had been feeding overnight guests and outside public visitors 3 times per day.  At times it was dangerous and our daily meal count was quickly approaching 5000 due to the recession, a number that might not be sustainable and might take us under.  So, we moved from feeding outside guests 3 times per day to only once, at lunch.  In hindsight, it was wise that we did, because even with that move, our meals are only down 15% from last year.  Can you imagine the numbers we would be feeding if we were still offered 3 meals per day to outside visitors?  This also goes with my philosophy, that simply letting folks be on the street and report for 3 meals a day with no expectations is not helpful to them.  Now we utilize the 3 hour window at lunchtime, 12 to 3, to recruit our outside guests and invite them to become part of URM and enjoy the 3 meals and all that comes with being part of our Gateway Program or Life Transformation Programs.

Despite the positive impact we are seeing, we’ve heard that a radical activist group, LA CAN, is preparing to sue us over our Gateway Program. They’ve even handed out flyers to our guests telling them that LA CAN will assist them in suing us for charging “rent”.  All I can say is that some times when certain people attack you it is affirmation that you are doing the right thing.

Blessings, Andy B.

Earlier this month we began what will be a year long celebration of Union Rescue Mission’s 120^th birthday!  You’ll hear more about our plans in the coming months but as 2011 comes to end, I thought you would appreciate this quote from our history library:

“At a time when bread was only a nickel a loaf, thousands of men, women and children went without. Union Rescue Mission was there for them. In 1910 we served 5,693 meals and helped 875 men find jobs”.

Some might read this and be discouraged.  After all, bread costs a lot more than a nickel and men, women and children are still going without.  But for me, this passage from our history is encouraging reminder of God’s affirmation of our work and His love for people experiencing homelessness.  He has faithfully sustained this ministry for 120 years through wonderful people like you.  I’m humbled and blessed to work alongside you.

Our work here is far from complete.  According to the latest counts, the number of precious people living on Skid Row has doubled since last year.   By years end, URM will have served over 1 million meals.  Thankfully, we have 120 years of victory in the midst of challenge under our belt. We will continue to embrace people experiencing homelessness with the compassion of Christ – giving hope and healing for a changed life – helping them find their way home.

Union Rescue Mission needs to raise $3.5 million by the end of the year to meet the needs of the men, women and children we currently serve; move forward with the expansion of our Women’s Life Transformation Program; and implement a robust Job Training, Job Development and Job Placement Program!

As you consider your final year-end contribution to Union Rescue Mission, I have some exciting news to share with you.  One of our faithful, generous friends has offered to match every gift we receive between now and December 31st up to $200,000.  This means any amount you share will go twice as far. Thank you in advance for giving generously.

May God bless you!

Rev. Andy Bales

However, with some encouraging words by Dr. Nirmal Kumar that I needed to “work until I dropped”, strong support from my wife and the Board of Directors & team at URM, tripling of my medication, drinking two glasses of water with a tea spoon of baking soda each day, and going on a strict low phosphorous and low potassium diet, mostly made up of vegetables, fruits and water, along with several rounds of shots of Procrit to boost my red blood cells and rid me of dizziness I was experiencing, my kidney function has improved from 15% to 24%, moving me far away from dialysis for the time being.

I’ve not only improved remarkably in kidney function, but I’ve lost 34 lbs, my red blood cell count has improved  and my cholesterol is so good that hopefully the  blockage in my heart and arteries is being reduced!  I’ve tightened the control of my type 1 diabetes to the point that my tests almost ring true of a normal healthy person!

This strict regimen is the only way for me, as I’ve been dropped off the transplant list.  It seems that I cannot get a transplant until I have an angioplasty to remove a blockage in my heart, and the dye put into my body for the angioplasty would destroy the rest of my kidney function. So I am stuck in a bit of a quandary, but I’ve decided to stay on the strict diet and regimen, and keep doing this work that I love so much.

I haven’t had a diet soda, chocolate, cheese, dairy of any kind, chips, potatoes, and my favorite sweet potatoes or baked beans in nearly 1 year, but it is easy to follow a diet when it keeps you alive and doing the work that you love!

I lost a dear friend this week, a hero of mine, who fell ill at the same time that I did last year.  I don’t fully understand God’s grace to me through this difficult time, but I am so thankful.  My wife shared with me last week, “that we have so much to be thankful for!”

So, again this year I will be up with the URM team, strong, and deep-frying 200 turkeys overnight on Friday and early Saturday morning, preparing to feed 4500 precious friends at our big Thanksgiving event at URM.  And to top it off, I’m feeling well enough to spend the night on the streets with my precious friends tonight to raise awareness of the plight of our neighbors experiencing homelessness. The honor of serving in this ministry and spending time with my family and friends has driven me to do what it takes to survive, and I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Thanks, again, for your faithful prayers!

On Monday a graduate of our program that had been working/learning as an apprentice in our Development Department for a number of months walked into my office. He’d been hired full-time, and it was his first day. With tears in his eyes and a broad smile, he walked in with a bottle of Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider (non-alcoholic), and asked a co-worker and me to join him in a toast celebrating his first day as a URM staff member.  How often do you get that reaction when you hire someone?

Another young man, a graduate of our program, and currently in our post graduate transition stage at URM, who is a straight A student, was hired as a part-time graphic artist.  In addition to receiving a badge with his name, photo and the word STAFF on it (standard issue for all URM employees) he was provided with a cubicle in the Development Department to do his work in.  Based on the huge smile, his sincere gratitude and genuine excitement over having a work space to make his own, you’d have thought he been given an executive office with an ocean view.

In chapel this week we received a double dose of Joy, Gratitude and Life Transformation!  First of all we named one of our EVS guys, a custodian, as the employee of the month at URM.  With that, Al received a standing ovation, his picture posted by the HR office, a free parking space next to our elevators, two $20 gift certificates to Subway, his name thrown into a raffle for a 1 week vacation at a nearby resort hotel, and lunch with me the CEO (which according to Al’s boss, is the punishment part of the awardJ). But what touched Al the most was the cheers he received from the men in our program, and the certificate that he received as the Employee of the Month.  He carried it around as if it was an Academy Award proudly sharing it with his friends and colleagues.

After celebrating Al, we were blessed by hearing the testimonies of three men preparing for graduation from our Life Transformation Program.  Each man shared a bit about what their life was like before coming to Union Rescue Mission, the journey they’ve been on for the last 12-18 months as a resident here at URM and most importantly what their life is like today.  It was a solid hour of cheers, tears and inspiration!

It is the thankfulness, gratitude for the little things that we experience every day that makes this such a fulfilling place to work and be involved.  And the best part is…you don’t actually have to be on staff to receive these benefits! Please join us for a graduation (we have one this Sunday, November 6^th at 3 p.m.) schedule a tour or become a volunteer, to experience the joy that comes from seeing lives transformed every day.

Blessings,

Andy B.

November 2010 - Skid Row Clean & Quiet

Something dreadful is happening on Skid Row in Los Angeles, and it seems no one is taking notice or talking about it. I guess I will be one of the first. Most of the incredible work done from 2005-2010 by the community to restore hope, bring order, and reduce the numbers of precious people living on the streets has been reversed over the last 12 months.  After Steve Lopez and the LA Times published Life on The Streets, much needed overdue attention came to LA’s Skid Row, and the number of people on the street was reduced from 2000 to 600.

In the last 12 months the number of people on the streets of LA’s Skid Row has grown from 888 one year ago, to 1662 on the street last week according to the Central Division of LAPD, and crime has risen.

I attribute this to 3 major factors: the worsening economy bringing high unemployment and a lack of services to people in need, the one size fits all move to Housing First which has caused the limited resources available to move away from emergency services and to permanent supportive housing only, and the recent federal court ruling in favor of LACAN which protects the property of people experiencing homelessness to the extreme point that any type of clean up of Skid Row by anyone is not allowed.

Current Condition of Skid Row

Click on this link to take a quick poll and let us know if you think it should be illegal to remove abandoned property from Skid Row

http://client.mobilecause.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTExMzYxODkwNjY

We’ve seen no reprieve since the Great Recession hit hard in October of 2008, as the tsunami of families and individuals continues to pour into Skid Row and into Union Rescue Mission.  Each hot day that we take cold bottles of water out on the streets, we can see newbies, brand new arrivals to Skid Row walking along in a state of shock, as they’ve either lost their  home, their temporary bed, or have been recently released from prison without any substantial support system or any hope of employment.  I believe the only solution for this is a jobs program similar to the WPA and CCC of the Great Depression era that kept families like my own father’s working and alive as they lived in a tent in Azusa Canyon while my granddad helped build the Azusa Canyon Dam.

The move to Housing 1^st is a key to ending homelessness among chronically homeless individuals and veterans, and added to other strategies could be a very good thing for the 10 to 20% of people experiencing homelessness who are indeed chronically suffering on the streets. But instead of adding this strategy to others, proponents of Housing 1^st have made it a singular focus, one size fits all approach, and garnered the support of government officials, foundations, and corporations, causing a shift of resources away from the services that support 80% of the people experiencing homelessness.  This has caused many service providers to shrink services or disappear completely, leaving more people than ever out on the mean streets while the limited few who can be served by Housing 1^st are saved from the streets.   I believe this has greatly added to the number of people on Skid Row, and while the few are served by Housing 1^st, many within the other 80% who drop into homelessness, including children, are left unserved, and will become the chronically homeless of tomorrow, in effect adding to the homeless numbers rather than ending homelessness, as Housing 1^st advocates intended.  We needed a both/and approach, continuing emergency services while adding permanent supportive housing to the continuum of care, http://youarethemission.org, not a dropping of emergency services and shifting of all resources to Housing 1^st!  Permanent supportive is one of the many steps needed to end homelessness, not the one solution to ending homelessness.  Many may disagree, but the numbers speak for themselves.  The number of people on Skid Row has doubled since the shift of resources to Housing 1^st.

Finally, LACAN activists, who seem determined to keep Skid Row, Skid Row, played a key role in shaping a Federal Court ruling that now bars anyone from picking up left behind items from Skid Row.  Believing the pendulum had swung too far in police and street crew clean-ups of abandoned property belonging to people experiencing homelessness, the Federal Court, according to police, did not even consider both sides of the argument and ruled that no one can clean up the streets of Skid Row lest they wrongfully remove the property of persons experiencing homelessness.  This has left piles of debris on the sidewalks, human waste now intermingled in the piles of debris creating a health hazard, and according to Captain Chamberlain of the LAPD, “has taken Skid Row back 10 years!”  LACAN activists are even reportedly dropping off old computers and garbage at the debris piles to make a point!  It seems that a compromise for the sake of all is needed.  Perhaps the CCEA could store left behind property and a 3 day notice could be left at the site of the abandoned goods letting people know where they might find their property?

We’ve definitely suffered a setback in ending homelessness as we know it on Skid Row in Los Angeles, but we will not be deterred.  Union Rescue Mission has pledged to do all that we can to see less than 100 precious souls on the streets of Skid Row by June 2016.

Let your voice be heard on this.  Skid Row is in Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard’s district.  Go to https://roybal-allard.house.gov/Contact/ContactForm.htm to contact her.

Then please go to http://youarethemission.org to see how you can become involved.

Blessings, Andy B.

"Kat"

The Union Rescue Mission EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH program has been going strong for over a year and continues to be a wonderful time for our staff to nominate come and celebrate a member of our team that has gone above and beyond.  It’s especially fun for me because I get to introduce all the nominees during our Tuesday Morning Chapel Service and announce the winner as the entire room erupts into cheering as they give their peer a standing ovation!

On Many occasions, including our most recent recipient, the winner is someone who graduated from one of our Life Transformation Programs before joining our staff.  I thought you might like to read the nomination we received for our August 2011 Employee of the Month: KATHLEEN  PITT

“Kathleen (Kat) Pitt works in Maintenance at Hope Gardens Family Center.  Kat, as we know her, has gone way above and beyond so many times it is difficult to pin one thing down.  She started in the Program at HGFC with her daughter Zoe and graduated almost 3 years ago.  Kat is always willing to stay and help when help is needed.  Even if that means she is by herself on a project.  Kat comes in at all hours of the night to assist with emergencies and never complains about the time.  Kat has recently come to URM downtown to assist with the kitchen shutdown and worked several days, and one day over 13 hours to try and get us up and going.

Over the years she has been a mentor to the ladies at Hope Gardens, but beyond that she regularly attends AA meetings and continues to have a sponsor.  Kat has also been asked on several occasions to speak at Pepperdine University along with Dr. Paulette about her experience with domestic violence and I have heard that many times she has made a huge impact on the audience.  I am sure some of you saw her as one of the models last year at our Hearts for Hope Fashion Show Fundraiser.

She regularly leads groups of volunteers at HGFC and the common thing I hear as they leave is “WE LOVE KAT”.  I always respond with – “what isn’t there to love about Kat!”

Last year Kat was working her regular shift at HGFC and saw a lady outside the gate stumbling down the road.  She immediately went over to check on her and realized the lady had no clothing on and had been shot in the head.  Putting her own safety in jeopardy since she didn’t know where the shooter was, she rescued her and saved her life.

Kat was also a huge help in the untimely death of our Chef at HGFC by calling for help and administering CPR until help arrived.  She is selfless and believes in our Mission and what we do.  Kat continues to impress me with how far she has come.

I often think not only of the example she sets for the women at Hope Gardens, but also the example she sets for me.  I could go on for 10 more pages, but I think you get the idea of what kind of person I am nominating here.  Kat exudes our Mission Statement – Exceeds the need all the way home – and beyond by showing the love and compassion that we all strive for.  Kat never asks for recognition for herself or wants any thanks.  She just keeps on moving forward and loves what she does.”

Kat’s story is wonderful example of the miracles that take place everyday at Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens Family Center…miracles we all share in as work together to end homelessness in the City of Angels.

Blessings,

Rev. Andy Bales

The number of children coming to URM for shelter and services has increased 55% over last year.  This alarming trend makes the battle we are fighting to remain sustainable in these incredibly challenging times all the more difficult and…all the more important.

Weekly occupancy reports do not do justice to needs we are seeing every day.  For example, I made dinner for all of the moms and kids at Hope Gardens last week.  The campus is bursting with 70 moms and senior ladies and 100 children.  I was so thankful for the provision of Hope Gardens Family Center as we served these precious families in two shifts!  The next day, I greeted yet 1 more mom with her 12 year old son at URM bringing the total number of children downtown to 88.  That’s a total of 188 precious children currently depending on us for help!

Please stand with us, pray with us and support us during this

challenging time of great need by families and children!

Giving for July and August is almost 50% less than we budgeted.  This combined with, as of today, not being reimbursed by FEMA, $308,000, for providing last year’s Winter Shelters, has put us in a tenuous position for the next 45 days, when normal Fall giving should hopefully provide some much needed relief!

Could you find it in your heart,  despite these trying times, to give an early, generous gift to URM, to bridge the summer gap and keep this life-saving work going?

Thank you and God bless you.

Sincerely,

Rev. Andy Bales

Please Donate Now

On line► www.urm.org/donate

Via Smart Phone ► http://m.give.mobi/urm

Right now is one of those bewildering times.  I am doing my best, working too hard, and I am facing one challenge after another, poor health, a wicked economy, lots of criticism.  One problem after another.  I don’t even know whether I will weather next week!!

Surprisingly, I am thankful.  I’m counting on the Scripture verse found in Hebrews: 12:5-6:

Hebrews 12:5-6 (ESV)
⁵ And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

The tough times make me certain that God loves me as a son.  I am also certain that it all will add up for my good, and draw me closer to the Lord.

Job 5:17-18 (ESV)
¹⁷ “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.
¹⁸ For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.

A favorite song of mine is the new one, Blessings, by Laura Story.  I want this song performed at my funeral;

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It’s not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

I believe these words with my whole heart, and I am thankful for the severe discipline that I am currently receiving from above.  I know that the only correct response is to do what I did in Little League baseball, get a good attitude, and strengthen whatever area is weak in my life. 

Hebrews 12:12-13 (ESV)
¹² Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,
¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

Blessings,

Thursday, August 4, 2011 will always be remembered as a very special day in the recent history of Union Rescue Mission.

On that day, four gentlemen from UGL Limited, an international Fortune 500 company, came to URM for the sole purpose of meeting and interviewing ten men who had graduated from our CLDP Life Transformation program. The  interview process was set-up and arranged through John Kennelly and Will Nicklas of Toyota Motor Sales, USA who took time from their own very busy corporate schedules to mentor the ten Alumnus over the course of eight weeks. It was a day that changed lives forever.

Brantley Wheeler – Senior Director of Operations, Rodney McSheridan – Director of Operations, Robert Pugh – Regional Facility Manager and Jason Rawls – Operations Manager from UGL Services along with our two friends from Toyota Motor Sales, USA met in the board room where they heard from Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission, Chaplain Steve Borja, our Chief Programs Officer and Chaplain Rodney Tanaka, chaplain of our men’s graduate groups -  Apprentice and Nikkos.  Also present were the ten men interviewees.  During the presentation, Andy Bales shared, “…the best part of my job is watching living miracles like the men sitting with us today who have reached past the level of responsibility and accountability of their lives and job functions…they have taken ownership and remained teachable in the process.”

After a tour of our downtown facility, the men from UGL Services got a first-hand glimpse at what is involved in true Life Transformation, coming away from the tour with admiration for the participants as well as the manner in which URM utilized every available space to its maximum, “…far more,” they said, “…than so many other facilities they worked with”.

At the culmination of over 8 weeks of mentoring and job preparation, the ‘hour of decision’ arrived. Two offices were used for the interviewing with the URM alumni receiving last minute coaching from their mentors, John and Will.

The process took several hours with heightened tension and anticipation; “…like expectant fathers waiting for the delivery…” according to John Kennelly. Nobody knew the outcome, nobody really knew what to expect – least of all those ten courageous men going through the interview process, men who only a little over a year before, had come to URM tired of the mean streets, tired of their way of life and looking – needing – to be transformed.

By 4:30 Thursday evening the interviews were completed, and the UGL representatives met to systematically compare notes and began requesting specific men return to meet with them. We would have been delighted had even one of our alumni been offered a job; ecstatic with two. But that Thursday was a very special day indeed…THREE of our alumni were offered immediate employment and a further four were offered jobs in the immediate future! Seven out of ten! Had this been baseball it would have been a Hall-of-Fame day! And perhaps as important were the first words from Senior Director of Operations, Brantley Wheeler and Director of Operations Rodney McSheridan who chorused, “When can we do this again?”

Our hope, as time goes on, is to share even more about community involvement in Union Rescue Mission’s Life Transformation programs as we continue to build upon our Job Development Program.  Lives were changed on that very special day; the lives of 10 courageous and hardworking men, the lives of 4 unique executives from UGL Services, the lives of 2 very special friends from Toyota Motor Sales, USA…and our own.