Just a few weeks ago, a team of volunteer staff were out on a hot afternoon delivering very cold water to the folks suffering out on the streets of Skid Row. We have made it a practice to take cold water out when it is 85 degrees or hotter downtown and, for a few days that week, temperatures were approaching 100.
As we were just about to complete the water run, as we call it, I saw a young man who could have been a gang member, attacking a young woman across the street at 5th and San Julian. I had a hunch I knew what was coming, but it came too quickly for me to intervene early enough. I tried to gather up some bottles of cold water and get there to cool things down, but, as I crossed the street, I saw long lead pipes and a tripod came out of people’s hands, swung wildly by men and women. A young gang member was hit in the back of the head and as he turned, he mistakenly knocked out and down the closest man near him, even though it was a young woman who had struck him.
When I finally got there, the young man was trying to stomp the unconscious man’s head into the pavement, so I put my feet on each side of the unconscious man’s head to protect him from further blows. As I juked a kick from the young gang member, I told him that this man was done and out cold and that he had done enough.
The police pulled up just as the confrontation ended and I poured cold water on the injured man’s bloody wound. The injured man seemed reluctant to be rescued and we soon found out why. 30 ounces of marijuana and two very large, menacing knives were found in his backpack. His life was saved, but he went straight to jail.
I share this story because this kind of event is now not common on Skid Row, whereas it used to be the norm before the Safer Cities Initiative and 50 new police officers were added to do community policing on Skid Row. In my first days at Union Rescue Mission, just 2 and ½ years ago, I would run into these situations each time that I left the building.
I attended a press conference last week with the Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, and the Chief of Police, William Bratton. I attended with a young, handsome man named Steve, who is now enrolled in our Men’s Christian Life Discipleship Program and serving as a program security guard. Steve’s story was shared by the Chief with the press.
During the recent Safer City Initiative, a young, beautiful and kind Officer Yeager of the Los Angeles Police Department found Steve using drugs and misbehaving on the streets of Skid Row. As she arrested him and treated him with great dignity, she said some words that encouraged him to choose a program of help over spending time in jail. He decided to choose a program at Union Rescue Mission. Steve claims that the Safer Cities initiative and Officer Yeager saved his life. He plans to graduate from our program and vows to become a new man.
It was also shared at the press conference that violent crime has been cut down by one half and that death by drug overdose on Skid Row is down 53% from the 98 deaths from Sept. the year before to 58 deaths in the same period this year. From this information, the Safer City Initiative program has actually saved lives. It was noted and I agree that there has been some disbursement of people from Skid Row to outlying areas. I wish there would have been appropriate permanent supportive housing to move folks into instead of out, but even the disbursement has brought the community small benefits from less population density – as high population density causes problems in any population.
I had to run early from the press conference to attend a planned luncheon honoring our own Richard Sykes as one of the top CFO’s in Los Angeles. As I left the press conference, I was attacked by protesters from a local group who do not appreciate my support of the Safer Cities Initiative. They stood inches from my face yelling “Phony Preacher” and other names while foisting their signs in my face. I asked them to back off, questioned their manners, and proceeded to receive 10 minutes of taunting. I was grateful the URM van arrived as previously scheduled to take me to the next event, though it felt more like a rescue!
Later that day when I was in a meeting, I looked out on the street from our conference room window and saw a man being pulled out of the public restroom in front of the Mission by paramedics. As the paramedics from Fire Station 9 attempted to resuscitate him back to life, we learned he had 33 little bags of heroin in his possession, so we ran downstairs to stand on the sidewalk and pray that God would intervene and spare his life. These courageous guys from the busiest fire station in our country worked relentlessly to save the man, but he did not respond.
This loss of life and the devastating effect of the drug trade cause me to continue to support the Safer City Initiative and the caring officers who carry out their work.
On Friday a homeless man reported an increase in crack cocaine traffic on San Julian Street, behind the Mission, and the danger and temptation that it was bringing to him. I called and alerted the police to the activity. We have a lot of work ahead to help create a safer city for our friends who are homeless.
~Andy B.