Biola University’s Torrey Honors Institute visited Union Rescue Mission on Saturday as part of their Urban Plunge experience weekend. Students and professors took part in this Los Angeles city experience, making Skid Row and Union Rescue Mission part of their focus.
Urban Plunge is a weekend event organized to show students Los Angeles as a greater urban city and how they can become a part of its culture. The group of 16 began their day at URM listening to testimonials of five graduates of the Discipleship Program. Listening to the stories of these life transformations opened the eyes of students.
After a day of walking in LA, they returned to URM to set up EDARs, our mobile shelter beds, to sleep in for the night. Experiencing the cold and some rainfall during the night, they were able to feel what it may be like to experience homelessness in Los Angeles.
They woke up at 4:45 the next morning to serve breakfast in the kitchen.
Kelly Roberts, an Urban Plunge coordinator, says that spending time at the mission was a huge part of their weekend. “Skid Row can be a heavy experience for some people for the first time,” she said. But she was thankful to have seen and been part of how URM operates and serves LA on a daily basis.
