The Latest

Fire Near Hope Gardens – Our Urgent Needs

The Angeles National Park Fire is close to Hope Gardens and helicopters and firefighters are battling it. Our Hope Gardens facility has been evacuated and all of the residents have been temporarily relocated to Union Rescue Mission – as a result the squeeze is on.

We are in dire need of:

– Diapers of all sizes
– Formula
– Canned Food
– Financial donations

Please call Scott Johnson at 213-494-0591 or Scott Chamberlain at 626-808-8214

Pray for our neighbors in Kagel Canyon and Hope Gardens itself. Pray for the firefighters.

Homeless man dies after being set ablaze in LA – AP

Raquel Maria Dillon of the Associated Press reports on the sad death of a homeless man in Los Angeles.

 Andy Bales, chief executive of the Union Rescue Mission on downtown’s Skid Row, said the incident was “part of a long history of people attacking vulnerable homeless individuals in Los Angeles.”

“They think the person is less than human because they happen to be homeless. I don’t know how you could do that to another human being,” Bales said.

Click Here to read the rest of the article.

Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt of MTV’s hit Reality show “The Hills” at Union Rescue Mission

In an effort to raise funds and awareness of global hunger, Taco Bell teamed up Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt of MTV’s hit Reality show “The Hills” to bring a World Hunger “Reality Check” that’s happening right here in the United States at the Union Rescue Mission. URM is one of the largest rescue missions in the U.S. and the oldest in Los Angeles. The number of people living with hunger every day is approaching 1 billion. The Union Rescue Mission serves about 2,500 meals a day, 7 days a week 365 day of the year to hungry people on Skid Row. Thank you Heidi & Spencer for being part of the solution!

Non-Profits Fret About Their Benefactors – LA Business Journal

Howard Fine of the Los Angeles Business Journal writes about how the economic slowdown is effecting charities like Union Rescue Mission.

Union Rescue Mission on L.A.’s Skid Row provides food, clothing and shelter to more than 1,000 people a day. But thanks to this month’s Wall Street meltdown, some of those people may have to make do with less help.

“We were already off 17 percent in our donations before the latest Wall Street crisis hit two weeks ago and since then, the drop has been even more pronounced,” said Chief Executive Andy Bales. “Everyone is a bit panicked and concerned and holding on to their money. We’re looking at where we can cut, where we can make savings.”

Click here to read the full article.

“Finding L.A.’s hidden homeless” – LA Times

Check out this great article written by Jessica Garrison of the Los Angeles Times.

“To most people, it’s just trash: A scrap of dirty blanket visible under some stairs. A glimpse of blue tarp peeking out of a bush. A bag of recyclables parked discreetly behind a concrete column.

But Courtney Kanagi, an outreach worker, has learned how to decode bits of urban detritus that most people ignore. She knows what these signs mean: the crawl space beneath the stairs was someone’s home.”

The article will give you good information on how many of our homeless friends live each day of their life. Click here to read the article.