Maria does not remember ever celebrating Christmas as a child. No presents. No tree with ornaments. No decorations or special holiday meals. What she does remember is the nonstop physical and mental abuse. The molestation. The abandonment, hunger, and homelessness on the streets. Her young life was so chaotic, she never learned how to read or write. “Every night I went to bed, I prayed that I would wake up with a different family,” Maria says. “I did not want the mom God gave me. Then, every morning I would wake up disappointed because God did not answer my prayer.” But God has His hand on her life…
Thanks to You, Maria
and Her Family
Know True Christmas Joy!
Maria’s Christmas Hope and Healing— Thanks to You!
Maria finally escaped her family at 14. Two years later, she gave birth to her first daughter. That Christmas was the first time she ever celebrated. “I bought her little presents, wrapped them up, and put them under the tree,” Maria recalls. “It was so special. The excitement, the lights, the food … to this day, Christmas and Thanksgiving are my favorite holidays.” Eventually, Maria married and raised five children. Four years ago, however, trauma devastated Maria again when her husband and the father of her two youngest children died. Maria started to struggle until last March when she, along with her two daughters and two grandchildren, were forced to leave their home. With nowhere else to go, they came to Hope Gardens to find healing and a fresh start. “When we got here, they treated us with so much love,” Maria says. “I felt like God had me in his arms, telling me this was my chance to heal from everything I’ve been through in life.” Through classes, counseling, and Bible studies, Maria is beginning to see God work in her life. “I’m learning to love myself for the first time,” she says. “I still have a long way to go, but I have a lot of faith. I believe I can do anything through God, who strengthens me. I know we’re all here for a reason. I’m especially happy, because now I know my grandkids will never have to go through what I did. Thanks to Hope Gardens, they have a chance to grow up healthy and strong.” Maria understands that this Christmas will be different. “I’m just grateful to God that I have my daughters and grandchildren with me. That’s the biggest gift God could give us. “I remember when I was a little girl, praying every night for a different home. I’ve been through a lot of pain all these years, but I realize now that God finally answered my prayers when he brought me to Hope Gardens. This Christmas, I’m so grateful to the donors for giving me a place I can call home.”
You provide gifts & hope for our kids!
URM’s 32nd Annual Christmas Store
For families devastated by homelessness, the holiday season is often a particularly painful time of year. For 32 years, however, Union Rescue Mission’s Christmas Store has brought joy into their lives when they needed it most. This year, 150 children at Union Rescue Mission, Hope Gardens, and Angeles House will receive brand-new gifts because of the 32nd annual Christmas Store. During the second week of December, more than 400 families with little or no income will enjoy the dignity of personally shopping for gifts—free of charge—that they will give to their children on Christmas morning. Thanks to the Christmas Store—and generous friends like you—hundreds of local families will find new hope and a way home this holiday season. Union Rescue Mission is accepting unwrapped toy donations for the Christmas Store through December 5, 2022.
Come be a Part of the URM Family this Thanksgiving
This holiday season, as many people continue to struggle to pay for food, fuel, and housing, hundreds of people are now turning to Union Rescue Mission for help. Many are families just like Maria’s—and just like the baby Jesus on that first Christmas, these families have no home. This Christmas, we expect more than 400 families, including almost 150 children, will spend the holidays at URM, Hope Gardens, and our new Angeles House. Right now, generous friends of Union Rescue Mission have offered to match every gift we receive before December 31, up to $500,000! You can give people a Christmas they’ll never forget! That means any gift you send will be doubled— automatically—to provide twice as much help for hurting men, women, children, and families this Christmas—but you must send your gift before December 31!
$2,700,000 Needed by Christmas To meet essential needs for food, shelter, and life-changing care, $2,700,000 is needed by December 25. This holiday season, your generous gift of $25, $35, or more will DOUBLE to provide special holiday meals, clothing, warm beds—and, yes, hope to hurting children and their parents. Please send the most generous gift you can today. Thank you!
Rush your gift to provide meals, shelter, and a way home for the holidays.
Sign Up for Rev. Andy’s Advent Email Devotionals
The season of Advent and days leading up to Christmas is a wonderful time for thoughtful reflection and joyful anticipation as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.
This holiday season, please sign up to receive Rev. Andy’s Advent series of daily devotional emails!
Each day from now until December 25, you’ll receive scripture and messages focused on the Joy of the Season.
Stories from Skid Row
A journey from escaping domestic violence to safety and life restoration.
NOTES FROM ANDY
Christmas Means There’s Always Hope
As rising food, fuel, and housing costs continue to devastate vulnerable individuals and families in Los Angeles County, more people are turning to Union Rescue Mission for help than ever before. All three of our buildings—Union Rescue Mission, Hope Gardens, and Angeles House—are now at full capacity. We’re once again forced to open our gym and chapel as additional overflow areas. We’re even beginning to rent hotel rooms for guests as we refuse to leave women, children, and families on the streets. The need is so great, we’re already talking about our next big project to provide more shelter and hope for families. Worse, there’s no end in sight. Some are predicting that nearly 100,000 people could be experiencing homelessness on our streets by the end of the year. This Thanksgiving season will be one of our most challenging ever. Special friends like you, however, have always risen to the challenge— and this year we will need your help more than ever. Together, we can turn this season of challenge into a season of real gratitude for precious men, women, children, and families devastated by homelessness.
Thank you for partnering with us in this lifesaving,
life-changing work.
Blessings,Rev. Andy Bales, President and CEO