“When Gerald died on April 8 because of the coronavirus, just days before Easter, it hit me like a spear to my soul,” says Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission. “We prayed for an Easter miracle that he would live. Instead, the Easter miracle he experienced was waking up in glory.”

After Gerald found faith and new life at URM, he was so grateful that he devoted his life to serving others. Every week he rallied other men together to attend church. Because he did so well, he was hired as a driver for Union Rescue Mission, repaid his relatives, and reconciled with them.

For five years, Gerald’s light shone bright. In late March, however, he developed symptoms of COVID-19 and went into the ICU. Tragically, he never left. After Gerald died, his cousin called Rev. Andy to thank him for giving Gerald a new life, a new community, and for restoring him to their family.

“When Gerald died, it wasn’t the end,” Andy says. “He woke up in glory, breathed new air, and found it celestial. I pray that his comeback story gives others hope and that it drives us all, together, to serve others like he served and to always be there for everyone who is in need.”

As we all face unprecedented economic and life-threatening challenges this summer, compassionate people like you are more critical than ever before.

Before the pandemic, the Los Angeles Times reported that LA County is home to the largest population of food-insecure people in the nation. Nearly 30% of low-income people don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Since late March, however, hundreds of thousands have either lost jobs, or been furloughed, and record numbers of men and women, mostly families, are applying for diminishing food assistance.

Many of these same people, including families with children, were already just surviving paycheck to paycheck, but now they are on the verge of ending up on the streets for the first time.

Over the past few months, Union Rescue Mission has been one of the remaining facilities still serving meals to people experiencing homelessness, especially on Skid Row. Because of the increased demand for food, URM had to limit portions to ensure there was enough for everyone. The increased cost for food and need to extend our lunch hours have put extra stress and strain on our staff and finances.

Meals are just one of the many lifesaving—and life-transforming—services that Union Rescue Mission offers to people devastated by hunger, homelessness, and addictions. Thanks to you, we also provide shelter, safety, counseling, medical/dental care, the opportunity for someone to change their life, and always, the love and compassion of Jesus Christ.

As the supervising chef at Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens, every day I get to see the power of a simple meal in someone’s life.

It’s never easy serving more than a thousand meals a day to men, women, and children devastated by homelessness. But right now, in the midst of a pandemic, it often feels overwhelming.

We’re facing so many more challenges than we ever did before. Food costs more. Because of social distancing, we can’t serve everyone at one time anymore. We have to serve in shifts. Then, when we serve people out in the community on Skid Row, they can no longer come in to eat; we have to take the food to them outside. At the same time, we have few volunteers now, so there’s much more work to do.

Yet, despite the challenges, I love the work I do here—not just because I love cooking, but because the food we serve here makes a difference. We’re not just serving meals; we’re investing in people’s lives.

I wish you could see for yourself the moment when someone’s eyes light up because of a meal YOU made possible. I wish you could experience for yourself the sense of family you make possible here. That’s why I’m personally so grateful for people like you. In challenging times like these, you really are doing something amazing through your support for Union Rescue Mission. Thank you!