In The News

Life Transformation is one of the main ideas we focus on here at URM, from men’s programs, to women’s programs, and families. This week, we were honored to celebrate the graduation of 5 women from our 2nd Step Women’s Program.

We were blessed with awesome music thanks to Francisco “Chico” diaz, our special guest singer. And Ms. Carol Picott delivered an encourageing message to our graduatin ladies about what it looks like to be a vessel of Honor for the Lord. At the end, we got to see our graduating ladies dance their way into the next season of their lives.

Congratulations to these 5 new graduates – they have worked hard and we wish them the best as they continue their journeys. Thanks to everyone who made this graduation possible!

This morning, volunteers from Calvary Church – Pacific Palisades came to URM to host a kids carnival!

Pre-K and Elementary kids enjoyed jumpers, facepainting, games and more in the Chapel area, while Jr. High and High School kids had their own games and fun up in the gym!

Thanks so much to everyone who made this event happen. It was a fun morning for everyone, and it brightened the weekend for all the kids here at URM!

This Wednesday, Officer Deon Joseph of the LAPD came to the URM teen room to hold a monthly class to help inform teens about issues affecting their lives. Officer Deon is stationed in the Skid Row area, and has made a great connection in the community. He enjoys giving back, helping the people of Skid Row, and educating youth.

This months topic was racial slurs – Officer Joseph gave a lively lesson on the history of some of the more common racial slurs and how, even when said in casual or seemingly innocent ways, they can have a really negative effect. The kids got into the lesson, asking questions and having some debates.

We are so thankful for Officer Joseph’s presence in our community, and for coming down to help make a positive impact on kids!

It has been nearly a month since the closing of our winter shelters around the Los Angeles area. From December 1 to March 15, Union Rescue Mission’s subsidiary, EIMAGO, along with help from LAHSA and PATH Achieve, oversaw  four extra shelters to house and feed thousands during the cold winter months.

Through these shelters, over 3,400 individuals were given shelter and food through the services of Union Rescue Mission.

Over the four months the shelters were in operation, 186 families came to find a safe place to escape from the cold winter weather. Of those families, 9 found placement into permanent housing options.

URM, one of the four sites, increased the number of beds every night; 1,053 more guests called URM their temporary home.

The Glendale facility saw an increase of 30% more beds provided from numbers last year.

As family numbers increased in our shelters, the numbers of individuals in the shelters saw a decrease by 2% from last year. However, numbers were overwhelming with providing about 55,000 beds over four months to those looking for a place to stay the winter.

Winter Shelter Nightly Average Guest

Downtown Avg: 182

Culver City Avg: 100

Glendale: 155

West LA: 126

All of our provision to those experiencing homeless during the winter months this year would not have been possible without the support of people such as yourself! We want to thank all of our donors and supporters who make our work possible and help us in ending homelessness in LA!

Los Angeles reached 90 degrees yesterday, so we had our first water walk of the year. Every time the temperature is 85 degrees or higher, we go out to hand out cold water bottles to every thirsty person on Skid Row.

After circling the URM neighbourhood, we passed out about 50 cases of cold water bottles and brought a little bit of comfort to every one out in the heat.

To show love to the people of Skid Row, Andy makes sure that  every person we walk past has a cold bottle in their hand.

In these warm weather conditions people were appreciative to recieve water from Andy and our other staff volunteering on this hot day. As summer approaches, we will begin to have water walks more frequently. Follow Andy on Twitter or our Facebook page for updates, and as always, anyone is welcom to join us for a Water Walk to bless the people in our community!



This Friday, from 3:00pm-9:00pm, you can come out to enjoy some delicious food AND benefit URM at the same time! Dish Dash L.A. will be holding it’s 1st Annual Food Truck Wars, and we are one of the lucky beneficiaries (there was a voting contest on their site a few weeks ago, and we got the #1 spot!)

Using both sides of the street, there will be 10 food trucks battling it out to sell their tastiest cuisines to customers. On one side, a portion of the profits will benefit URM to help people experiencing homelessness, and the other side will benefit Paws LA. (So, if you want to help benefit URM be sure to know which side is which!)

A few of the Food Trucks that will be participating include Chunk in Chip, Dim Sum, Frysmith, Papa’s Tapas and White Rabbit.

We are so excited to be a part of this event! Please come out for a fun and tasty evening and to benefit some good causes. Dish Dash is a USC student guide to Downtown. For more information visit http://www.dishdashla.com/foodtruckwars.php.

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.