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The Mission Newsletter – August 2012

Sometimes it’s tragic what too much freedom can do to a child.

Growing up in Louisiana, my father was a mean, abusive man. My mother sheltered me from him — and the world — as best she could. When she finally couldn’t take his abuse anymore, she left him and moved us to San Diego.

I was 13 and tasted freedom for the first time. I saw all the big, bright lights and got a taste for the party life — marijuana, barbiturates, acid, speed, and PCP. I loved it all. Then, in 1987, I tried crack. My life spiraled out of control.

I finally moved to Los Angeles in 2006, where I had relatives who dealt crack. Within a month, I smoked away every last penny I had. My girlfriend and I ended up sleeping on the sidewalks of Skid Row outside Union Rescue Mission — we fell . . . all the way to the bottom of the world.

Every day we hustled for a few dollars and more drugs. Every night, we lay down on filthy sidewalks that reeked of human waste and slept in a drug-induced coma with giant rats that crawled over us in the darkness. In winter, we shivered in the rain, in summer — never bothering to eat or drink much — we withered, dehydrated from the heat. Summers on these streets sapped my body down to 150 pounds of skin and bones.

And I didn’t care. Because all that mattered was that next hit. By 2008, however, it seemed like the world was closing in on us. We were surrounded by the constant presence of police, drug dealers, and thieves, and I knew we couldn’t survive much longer. I told my girlfriend, “We can’t fight this anymore. We need help.” And I promised her, if she came into Union Rescue Mission with me, I’d take care of her for the rest of her life. So that’s what we did.

It was a challenge at first. So I prayed, “Lord, take this disease from me. Give me the strength to complete this program so I can live a Christ-like life.” I read my Bible every day, went to the classes, worked the 12 steps, and stayed close to God. Slowly I recovered my life.

In time, I even found a job for the first time in more than 20 years. And with that foundation, I kept my promise to my girlfriend. On June 19, 2010, we married.

That’s the power of restoration that Union Rescue Mission — and you — offers men like me.

It’s nearly impossible to describe the disaster we call Skid Row. It’s a filthy, violent inferno populated by people who are drug addicts, alcoholics, gangsters, predators, ex-cons, prostitutes, and those struggling with mental illness.

But is that all they are? It’s easy to apply those ugly labels to them. But these unfortunate men and women are more than that. They’re someone’s mom or dad . . . brother or sister . . . son or daughter. They are precious human beings who are suffering in immeasurable ways — and I’m so grateful they have people like you who care.

Thank you for investing in people trying to escape these streets. You’re helping them climb out of an underworld of disease and evil, and enabling them to rejoin a world of health and hope. Your gift is changing lives.

Blessings,

Andy Bales

Through My Father’s Eyes – From Depression to Recession

During my dear father’s last days on the earth, he shared the most painful period of his life – his difficult days as a child experiencing homelessness in Southern California during the Great Depression.

Tears welled in his eyes as he described holding onto his father’s neck so tight that he choked him as his family jumped on the moving freight car of a train. It was terrifying! He told me of the embarrassment of living in tents, sheds, even a garage in Compton.  The mere fact of knowing he was homeless, an outcast, as he attended school, was a blow to his self-esteem and overwhelming to my Daddy, Carl Lee Bales.

I see their faces every day. Children, just like my father, overwhelmed with homelessness, walking into URM with their devastated parents. Real unemployment at nearly 25%, a housing crisis, and a flawed approach to solving the crisis of homelessness has left 20,000 precious kids experiencing  homelessness in Southern California – and the numbers of children, families, and individuals continues to increase.

This is not the 1930’s Great Depression, this is the Great Recession of 2007 and beyond.

On Skid Row in LA, someone’s precious son digs through garbage cans for recyclables during the night and sleeps only sparingly during the day in order to be safe. Somebody’s precious daughter pairs up with someone, even an ex-convict, in a tent on the filthy sidewalk, to avoid being prey to any other vicious predator on the streets.

It is a terrifying, overwhelming scene happening each day and night for my friends experiencing homelessness. Because of my Dad, I know the impact this is having on their souls. We need to continue working to make their plight known, until we’ve ended homelessness as we know it on the streets of Skid Row.

Rev. Andy Bales


The Mission Newsletter – July 2012

A few months ago, I stepped into my worst nightmare. Skid Row in broad daylight is a frightening place — but at night, these streets descend into something right out of the Twilight Zone. Yet that’s where I decided to spend the night, along with my good friend Sugar Bear, who wanted to make sure I stayed safe.

I did it because I want to experience what the precious people I serve experience out there. Sometimes it’s easy to close your eyes to the reality of these streets, to block out the abuse, the inhumanity, and the horror. But I want to see it — really see it.

Almost 2,000 people call these streets home each night. The night I stayed out, we shared a section of sidewalk crammed with at least 45 men and women, not including the gangsters, drug dealers, and predators who watched us carefully farther down the street.

All night we were surrounded by drug use, violence and fights, chaos, crippling stench, and fear. One woman moaned and screamed throughout the night. The ever-present rats boldly looked us in the eye and scurried right over sleeping bodies. At one point, we witnessed someone beating a man over the head with a lead pipe. If we hadn’t broken the fight up, I don’t think the man would have survived.

Soon a scantily clad woman rapped how she was the bride of Satan and Charlie Manson, while another woman offered her body to everyone on the sidewalk for $2. When she reached me, however, she changed for a moment. She simply asked, “How are you doing, sir?”

My heart broke. I wanted to say, “Don’t you know how valuable you really are as a human being?” But she soon resumed her trade down the sidewalk.

In the wee morning hours, a street-cleaning truck nearly crushed someone sleeping in the gutter.

I only spent one night on that sidewalk. I was so exhausted I couldn’t have endured another. It’s impossible to imagine what these streets do to a soul night after night after night.

Nevertheless, I’m glad I did it. I’m glad I opened my eyes to see the painful reality. I’m glad because I’m now more determined than ever to do everything I can to help more men and women escape this Skid Row nightmare and rediscover real hope and new life at Union Rescue Mission.

Thank you for Helping to Save People on Skid Row

This summer, nearly 2,000 men and women call the streets of Skid Row home. Below, please read how some of our guests at Union Rescue Mission describe the reality of these streets.

“ The streets are dangerous. You can get someone hurt for $5.”

— Tom

“ Summers on Skid Row, it’s crazy hot. It’s miserable. But I was so focused on getting high, I didn’t care about anything else.”

— Jack

“ Skid Row in summer is hell on earth. The heat, the body odor, the stench on the sidewalks — everything is more miserable than italready is.”

— Anthony

Let’s Restore Lives on Skid Row Together

Born in Guyana, South America, I’m familiar with poverty and despair. But today, as captain in the Los Angeles Police Department overseeing Skid Row, I can say I’ve never seen anything approaching the misery and hopelessness that people living on these dangerous streets experience.

Trash is piled on the sidewalks, filth and grime cover everything, stench fills the air, gangs rule the streets, and almost 2,000 men and women live in an environment that facilitates disease and crime.

Cleanup Efforts on Skid Row

It is no secret that Skid Row is not the most pleasant of places.  There is a distinct smell about the area, sidewalks and streets are significantly dirtier, and the smell of marijuana is never far away.

But when you dig even deeper, it gets much worse.  Hypodermic needles, vermin nests, and human feces are a few of things you might find.

At the end of May the County Department of Public Health issued a 32-page report declaring Skid Row a public health hazard.

In June 2011 a ruling was made that banned city workers from collecting and destroying belongings that had been abandoned on the street.  This ruling was made on the basis that it would protect the personal property of those experiencing homelessness while they were not near their belongings.

However, large encampments began to spring up and personal property that was to be protected by this ruling has now become a host to many health hazards.

Yesterday, a 3-week cleaning effort began to remove such hazards.  Personal belongings that are removed will be held for 90 days in a secure location for individuals to collect.  Lockers are also available for people to safely store their personal belongings.

Currently city lawyers are hoping to clarify what kind of property this ruling intended to protect and hope to make an amendment to the ruling to avoid a continued health hazard.

(Source: Ryan Vaillancourt, LA Downtown News)

(Photographs by Mark Boster – Los Angles Times)

Yesterday, the Union Rescue Mission chapel was a gathering place for organizations in the area to coordinate an outreach effort to people potentially displaced by the cleaning.  This effort hopes to inform and encourage those on the street to use some of the many services available in the area.

Cleaning the streets is a good thing.  But it does run the risk of displacing people who are already vulnerable.  That is why it is crucial that people feel welcomed to places like URM.  People need to be encouraged to make a choice to come in and receive necessary services, or better yet enter a holistic life-transforming program that will put an end to their life on the street.

The Mission Newsletter – June 2012

On The Street – Anything Goes

It’s hard to describe what it feels like to be 56 years old and have nothing to show for it. I’m ashamed, depressed, and mad at myself. But I don’t have anyone else to blame but me.

I was raised by churchgoing parents, who taught me about the value of school and hard work, about right from wrong, and respecting others. But when I was 13, I started hanging around the wrong kids. One day, we started drinking on a street corner, and before long we’d graduated to marijuana, PCP, and finally crack cocaine — and everything my parents taught me went out the window.

By 1994, drugs stole everything I owned, so I rode a bus to Skid Row, where I ended up living in a cardboard box on the sidewalk.

I can tell you, sleeping on these streets is dangerous. There are some sick people out there.

Once they find out you’re weak, they’ll jump you first chance they get. I’ve seen women beat and raped. I’ve seen people get killed. Anything goes. That’s just the way it is when you’re an addict on these streets.

But the thing is, once you’re out there, you don’t care about anything anymore — not even your own life. All that matters is the drugs. You’ll do anything for drugs. I’ve seen women, and even men, selling their bodies for $2, $3, $4. I never did that, but I can’t say I never would. That’s where the drugs take you.

For 17 years, I lived on Skid Row. There was a time I thought it was all cool. But I can admit it now, I was a fool. Over the years, I saw God save a lot of guys like me at Union Rescue Mission. Finally, in December 2010, I heard God tell me to come here, too.

I’ve stayed away from drugs ever since. Now I’m learning the tools I need to stay clean and sober when I leave. I’m learning that I have to choose my friends carefully, to hang with positive people. It’s the only way I’m going to make it.

I’m 56, and it’s time to live life and be responsible, to step up to the plate and be the man God made me to be. To do that, I know I’ll need a job. Some people say, because I’m older, no one is going to hire me. But I’m not going to use that as an excuse. I’m going to do my best. I am not going to give up on life. After all, God saved me and I know He’ll help me get it right this time.

Make a Difference Today – Help Someone on Skid Row.

For the past 120 years, thanks to thousands of caring people just like you, Union Rescue Mission has transformed the lives of countless hurting souls on these streets, leading them back to health and wholeness — and home.

Often it doesn’t take a lot to help a hurting man or woman escape Skid Row and get back on their feet. But today, thanks to an extraordinary matching grant, your generous gift of $25, $35, or more will help provide TWICE the food and shelter and a fresh start at life for people experiencing homelessness.

So please send the most generous gift you can today. Thank you!

I recently hosted a Los Angeles Times reporter on a walk through Skid Row. It was a cold, damp day, and we met a woman living on top of a pile of garbage on the sidewalk. She had no shoes or socks, struggled with mental illness, and she shivered from cold and terror.

She’s not alone here. The number of people “living” on these streets has grown to nearly 2,000. Some are victims of the economy. Former prison inmates are dumped here. Many folks have landed here due to a lifetime of bad choices. But one thing is for sure — all of them are struggling to survive in a living hell you wouldn’t want your own dog living in.

Trash heaps are piling up, giant rats are running rampant, crime is up, violence is increasing, and we find more dead bodies every week. These are precious human beings made in the image of God. I am more determined than ever to transform lives here on Skid Row through Union Rescue Mission. It’s what God has called us to do — and it’s what we do best.

Thank you for caring with us

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO.

The Mission Newsletter – May 2012

Two years ago, Will Nicklas and John Kennelly were living the American Dream. As executives at Toyota Motor Sales, USA, they earned substantial incomes that afforded their families the protection of upper-middle-class lifestyles and affluent neighborhoods far from the grit and hopeless despair of Skid Row.

“People on Skid Row weren’t even an afterthought to me. I was too busy working on getting my own slice of the pie,” John admits. “I never cared until Will and I went down there one afternoon.”

Will, who wanted to “do something meaningful in the community,” had already secured a cargo van for Union Rescue Mission, and was also involved with securing special shirts for an upcoming fundraiser for the Mission. When it came time to deliver the shirts, he invited his boss, John, to accompany him.

“Honestly, I only went because I wanted to play hooky from the office for an afternoon,” John says.

“But when I took a tour of the Mission, met some of the guys in the program, heard their stories — well, I was moved. Unless your heart is made of stone, you want to help those guys.”

Before long, Will and John were brainstorming ways they could make a bigger difference.

“Ultimately, the way home is a job. Without a job, the cycle of homelessness will never end for these guys,” Will says.

So Will and John agreed to spend time mentoring URM’s men, coaching them as they developed resumes and teaching them how to interview. More important, they persuaded UGL Services, Toyota’s facility-maintenance vendor, to come down and interview several of the men — with no obligation to hire anyone. “The problem is, most guys at the Mission believe no one cares about people like them,” Will says. But the day UGL came to interview the guys at URM, hope filled the hallways. The men who interviewed for jobs were articulate, energetic, poised, and prepared.

In the end, four men were hired that day — men who are truly grateful for the second chance they’ve been given. And UGL has four new valuable employees. Today, John and Will are already inviting more Toyota vendors to join them at URM.

“The Bible calls us to bear one another’s burdens,” Will says. “I think it’s time for us to live that out. Skid Row is the epicenter of homelessness. It’s dark and depressing. But you know what? I keep coming back because of the hope I experience there. If you want to tap into a sense of purpose and meaning, reach out to these people. Be involved in this situation. You’ll be forever surprised at what happens.”

A growing number of people on Skid Row desperately need hope and a helping hand — they need YOU. Right now, generous friends of Union Rescue Mission have offered to match every gift we receive — up to $150,000!

That means any gift you send will be doubled to provide twice as much help for hurting men and women — and remind them that someone really does care.

This extraordinary opportunity is only available until June 30. So please make a generous gift today to provide twice as much help — and receive twice the blessing!

Over the years, I’ve heard many excuses for not helping people experiencing homelessness. Some people insist Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you, so why try?” Still others think we’re only enabling addicts and alcoholics if we offer them food and shelter.

But I think it’s time to stop making excuses and truly help our brothers and sisters experiencing homelessness.

Probably the most significant — and most difficult — way to help is to offer real friendship to struggling men and women, just like Will and John have done (see our cover story in this newsletter). They’ve eaten with them, mentored them, shared skills with them, and encouraged them. That’s what people really need.

But there are other ways to get involved. Help someone read in our learning center. Play with our kids in the gym. Serve a meal. Help raise money for Union Rescue Mission — and, of course, write a check of your own! Everyone can do something!

I know it isn’t easy. Sometimes it’s even heartbreaking and a little risky. But Jesus took a lot of risk and experienced much heartbreak to rescue humanity. I believe it’s time to follow in His footsteps.

Blessings,

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO

Over the years, I’ve heard many excuses for not helping people experiencing homelessness. Some people insist Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you, so why try?” Still others think we’re only enabling addicts and alcoholics if we offer them food and shelter.

But I think it’s time to stop making excuses and truly help our brothers and sisters experiencing homelessness.

Probably the most significant — and most difficult — way to help is to offer real friendship to struggling men and women, just like Will and John have done (see our cover story in this newsletter). They’ve eaten with them, mentored them, shared skills with them, and encouraged them. That’s what people really need.

But there are other ways to get involved. Help someone read in our learning center. Play with our kids in the gym. Serve a meal. Help raise money for Union Rescue Mission — and, of course, write a check of your own! Everyone can do something!

I know it isn’t easy. Sometimes it’s even heartbreaking and a little risky. But Jesus took a lot of risk and experienced much heartbreak to rescue humanity. I believe it’s time to follow in His footsteps.

Blessings,

The Mission Newsletter – April 2012

Kat Comes In From the Cold

I had an ideal childhood. With two loving parents, I grew up in a beautiful Simi Valley Leave it to Beaver home. I was a good athlete, a model student, and high school president.

And I hated myself.

Much of my self-loathing grew out of the fact that I was adopted. No matter how ideal my life, I always knew my own birth mother didn’t want me. No matter how much my adoptive parents loved me, someone who should have loved me abandoned me. Nothing could ever take that feeling away.

So in high school, I found solace among the troubled kids and drugs — drugs that gave me energy, masked my sadness, and made me believe they were my friends.

I got married right out of high school and had my first child, and when that marriage failed a couple of years later, I married another man, had another child, and soon left that physically abusive marriage.

But the pattern of my life was set. A constant, vicious cycle of drugs, drug dealing, wrong men, jail, and more kids. By 2004, I was an addict with six kids by six different men. I had never lived anywhere for more than six months. I was hopelessly in debt — and I was sitting in prison.

My one constant was my adoptive mom. She was always there for me, no matter what. She loved me and she was my best friend. And while I was sitting in prison, the one person who truly loved me died.

Her death shook me. I’m a tough survivor, and I always thought I could take care of my own problems. But in prison, I realized I was helpless. And that’s the moment I decided to get the help I needed to change.

In August 2007, I came to Union Rescue Mission’s Hope Gardens Family Center with my new-born daughter, Zoe. God led me there to build a new foundation for my life. They give me a room, offered me classes to manage my money better, taught me better ways of relating to people, helped me pay off my bills, and gave me love and friendship I desperately needed.

I still think about my birth mother. I would do anything to see what she looks like. But I’ve found a new purpose in my life. Hope Gardens has taught me how to be a better parent — the kind of parent my adoptive mother was for me. My 17-year-old daughter, Jasmine, and Zoe still live with me, and I’m determined to raise them right.

God has my life under control. And thanks to Hope Gardens, I’m a better mom and a productive member of society again. Hope Gardens is my safe community.

Mothers By the Numbers

Making Life Possible For More Moms

A couple weeks ago, eight mothers experiencing homelessness — along with all their kids — showed up at Union Rescue Mission with nowhere else to go. Despite news reports of economic recovery, more mothers and kids are falling into homelessness than ever before. In fact, I just read that 1.6 million children, along with their mothers, are now living in cars, hotels, or doubling up with friends — left on their own to try to make it in our increasingly complex society.

So many mothers are seeking Union Rescue Mission’s help, we’ve run out of rooms for them all. We’re forced to “house” increasing numbers of them in special tents in one of our community rooms.

But the good news is, we believe that — with your help — we can help these hurting moms overcome the barriers that cause poverty and live successful lives. Your gifts are providing the safety, financial-management skills, parenting skills, education, and career training single moms need to succeed. Thank you for providing a ladder out of homelessness and poverty for precious moms and their children.

Blessings,

Andy Bales, CEO, Union Rescue Mission

Why I am Weary of Giving Money to People Panhandling

Should we give to anyone who asks?

Clearly scripture tells us to keep an open hand to our brothers and sisters in need.

Deuteronomy 15:11 (ESV)

For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

However, experience has taught me that almost all of the folks standing on corners, sitting at the exit or entrance of freeway ramps, panhandling in public, or even coming to churches to connect with the person in charge of benevolence are not truly homeless or impoverished. My Dad, Carl Bales was part of a news expose on panhandlers in Des Moines, Iowa. The news feature showed that many panhandlers were making as much as $300 per day, which they used to purchase alcohol and drugs. I know more than 400 people experiencing homelessness in Pasadena by name, and over 1000 people by name on the streets of Skid Row, and I can tell you I have never ever seen one of these people, who truly are experiencing homelessness, standing on a corner panhandling.

I do know folks who panhandle all day, earn about $300 per day, then walk to their car and drive to their apartment or home.

As the person in charge of the benevolent fund at a number of churches over the years, I realized no matter how many safe guards I put up in making sure the funds were dispensed to people truly in need, I could have spent $1,000,000 dollars and not even made a dent in addressing the whole need.
People experiencing homelessness and poverty need a caring community and a relationship much more than they need the few bucks you or I can give on a street corner. The scriptural basis I use for this is Acts 3:1-8 (ESV)

1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.
3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.
4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.”
5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

From this I learn people need permanent help in becoming strong, and a connection with Jesus Christ and a faith community.

I advise that giving cash to someone in need is the least helpful, most temporary, and should be given only as a last resort. When someone asks me for cash so they can get something to eat, I invite them into a restaurant with me, buy them something to eat, and if possible, sit with them and hear their story. When someone approaches me and asks for funds to get a place to stay, I connect them with resources, often hand them my card, and ask them to come to our Mission to enroll in a program that will provide not only a roof over their head but possibly a life-transforming experience.

At rare times, giving funds is the last resort and maybe the only option. When an elderly lady on the streets of Shanghai, China asked me for help, I was unaware of services available, and also aware that there is no Social Security for elderly folks without family in China, and I gave her all of the cash I had with me. Now I’ve been asked to come back and help Shanghai establish a Rescue Mission, and I’d say that will be real help!

Blessings,

Andy Bales, CEO,  Union Rescue Mission