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In This Newsletter

  • Can One Man Make a Difference?Can One Man Make a Difference?
  • Homelessness in Los AngelesHomelessness in Los Angeles
  • Stories from Skid RowStories From Skid Row
  • Notes from AndyNotes From Andy
The Mission - December 2016

CAN ONE MAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
GREG DID.

The Power of One — By Greg

Can one man make a difference? When Greg stopped making excuses, miracles happened.

The city of Los Angeles is suffering under the weight of an unprecedented crisis of homelessness. Almost 58,000 men, women, and children have no place to call home, and the vast majority of them are now living in cars, abandoned buildings, tents on sidewalks in parks, and worse.

Many people in Los Angeles think the problem is bad, that there’s nothing they can do. Greg’s life proves them wrong. But he had to stop making excuses before he saw the miracles.

To the Streets and Back Again

“I used to laugh and tell people that ministers have the baddest kids. I know, because I was one of them,” Greg says. “My dad was a pastor. But when I was 12, I went in another direction. I chose to run with the wrong crowd, chasing after alcohol, drugs, and the streets.”

By the age of 36, Greg lost everything — his faith, job, savings, family, and self-respect. He needed help. So in 1987 he came to Union Rescue Mission, where he refound his faith in God, and God gave him his life back.

“When I graduated, they asked me to work here and help other guys. I had all kinds of excuses for why I didn’t want to do that. I just wanted a normal life, to get a real job, and settle down. But God had other plans. I finally ran out of excuses and started working here. I’ve been a case manager, a counselor, a mentor — I’ve been encouraging guys to get in the program, and stay in the program, for almost 30 years. I suppose I’ve probably helped over a thousand guys get clean and sober here. All because I stopped making excuses and let God use me.”

One Miracle Leads to Many

When Greg looks out at the streets today, he sees a much bigger tragedy than he recalls when he was out there. It’s not just men anymore — it’s mostly women and kids who are suffering. It’s so bad, I know folks think change isn’t possible.

“But I just tell people, ‘Don’t look at the number. Just look at me, I got my life back because someone else gave me that chance. And because I got that chance, there are thousands of other guys getting sober, getting jobs, getting their families back.

“I’m so grateful to those Union Rescue Mission donors who saved my life. They could have made excuses and not got involved. But they didn’t. Now there are thousands of little miracles, just like me, walking all around this city.”

HELP TODAY

Help more people, like Greg, get a chance to start a new life today.

The Mission — May 2018 3

75%

The increase in homelessness in Los Angeles over the past six years.

— Los Angeles Times

58,000

The number of people who lack a “fixed, regular or adequate place to sleep” on any given night in Los Angeles County.

— Los Angeles Housing Services Authority

800

The number of people who have died on the streets in the last year.

— Los Angeles Times

47 years

The average life expectancy for people living on Skid Row.

— Susan Partovi, Skid Row doctor

5,000 & 4,000

The number of children and elderly people currently experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.

— Los Angeles Housing Services Authority

“It is imperative that we act now so that we don’t wake up in five, 10 or 20 years wondering where we were or what we could possibly have been thinking or why we kept quiet and did nothing as this unconscionable catastrophe took hold.”

— Los Angeles Times

The Mission — May 2018 6
The Mission — May 2018 7
The Mission — May 2018 9
The Mission — May 2018 8
HELP TODAY

Your compassionate gift will help more people experiencing homelessness get off the streets for good.

STORIES FROM SKID ROW

As you watch Shwonna’s story, you’ll be heartbroken at what Shwonna and her kids had to go through to survive. But her kids meant everything to her, and she refused to give up.

WATCH MORE STORIES
The Mission — May 2018 4

YOUR GIFT WILL DOUBLE TO HELP MORE PEOPLE

The Los Angeles Times calls it a “national disgrace.” Tens of thousands of struggling men, women, and children living in garages, cars, tents, parks, cardboard boxes, and on sidewalks. Many parts of Los Angeles resemble a third world country in one of the wealthiest cities in the world.

These precious souls desperately need hope and a helping hand — in fact, they need YOU. And now, a generous friend of Union Rescue Mission has offered to match every gift we receive — up to $500,000!

That means any gift you send will be DOUBLED — automatically — to provide twice as much help for hurting men, women, and children at Union Rescue Mission, and to remind them that someone really does care. This extraordinary opportunity is only available for a short time — the deadline is June 30!

HELP TODAY

Please send a generous gift today and provide TWICE as much help — and in return, receive twice the blessing!

The Mission — April 2018 8

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Join CEO Andy Bales and Union Rescue Mission for our inaugural 5K walk to provide a safe haven and life transformation for those experiencing homelessness on Skid Row. The walk begins at LA Live and travels through the streets of Downtown Los Angeles.

SIGN UP NOW

NOTES FROM ANDY

You Give Me Hope

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
— Galatians 6:9

Los Angeles has a heart problem.

Our own Los Angeles Times has called homelessness in this city a “national disgrace,” comparing it to tragedies more commonly seen in places like São Paulo or Calcutta. Worse, many people no longer seem shocked or ashamed or even uncomfortable with it. Instead, they resign themselves to it and make excuses.

Excuses like: It’s too expensive a problem to solve. Or, yes, we should do something — just not in my backyard. Or “the poor you will always have with you,” so why try? But the 58,000 men, women, and children who call the streets “home” don’t need excuses. They need help.

My help. Your help. They need all of us to stand up and make a difference. And that’s why I have hope. Because I know there are thousands of caring, generous people like you who refuse to make excuses. Your support — large and small — for Union Rescue Mission is transforming the lives of people experiencing homelessness every single day. And I know you will never give up. God bless you.

Blessings,

The Mission – May 2017 5
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