Rev Andy’s Blog

I appreciate friends and prayer warriors very much. One of those friends and prayer warriors encouraged me greatly last month. Union Rescue Mission was short on funds – it was weighing on me heavily. At 11 in the morning my friend called and said with confidence, “God knows your needs and won’t desert you or the Mission, Andy.” Due to my friend’s track record, I took his encouragement seriously.

I was on my way to a speaking engagement at a luncheon with a great group of friends in their seventies and eighties, one of my favorite groups. On my way back to Union Rescue Mission, I received a call that a $130,000 bequest had come in that met even more than our needs. I called my faithful friend to let him know what had happened. “Andy, that is good news,” he said. “I would like you to consider joining me at the fitness center 3 times a week. It is going to be important for you to stay healthy and strong for God to use you in the days and years ahead.” Again, because of my friend’s track record, I listened and joined him 3 times to work out. Then my wife and I joined the 24 Hour Fitness Center near our home.

I have been lifting weights regularly 3 days a week for 1 month, and am feeling so strong and healthy that I have set a goal to reach my peak bench press weight when I turn 50 this October -315 lbs. This means I will lift the same weight that I lifted at 25 years old!

That weight goal would not be remarkable, except that I have had Type 1 diabetes for 36 years, had a heart attack and surgery 12 years ago, and have been battling kidney (renal) insufficiency (25-30%) function for the last 9 years or so. These are only some of the health challenges I face, but you get the picture.

My body has always responded well to working out, but this time, for my advancing age, I am responding exceedingly well and feeling very good.

It is a good thing I listened to my friend. Last night I tried to get to sleep. A man who is homeless had written me earlier in the week from the library via email, “The nights I was able to use the bed in the Seed of Hope area at URM were nights that I was able to rest. I am hoping I can be placed in this area again.

Mr Bales between you and I, my spirit is shattered in a major way. Not being able to rest only makes it worse. It isn’t broken, but it is shattered.

I hope to hear from you soon.”

This man’s life resembles the life of Job – everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong. He later shared with me that all he has left is his faith. Well, last night he called me at 11 PM to say that he was having difficulty getting a bed at Union Rescue Mission. He was low on patience, and by the time I sorted things out and made sure he had a bed, he had left angrily. I knew that I would not sleep unless I made sure that he was safe and not on the mean streets. So, I tried through a series of phone calls and text messages to track him down, and convince him to let me drive out, pick him up, and return him to the Mission to a bed for some much needed rest. While texting and calling this friend who is homeless, another close good friend, a wealthy friend of mine and a donor to URM, was also texting me very late at night, struggling with his own life, asking for prayer. So, here I am near midnight, pretty tired, texting two friends, worlds apart, but both experiencing shattered spirits.

As I laid there, fretting over both of these friends, feeling my concern and blood pressure rise, I remembered my faithful friend’s words, “It is important for you to stay healthy and strong, so God can use you in the days and years ahead.” I was then reminded, “This is why you need to stay strong, why God put you here, and why you need to keep it together, because shattered friends need help in putting the pieces back together.”

I drug myself out of bed, changed my clothes, and drove out to find my friend who is homeless, all the while praying for my other friend. I found my friend near the UCLA campus, delivered him back to URM, and secured a bed and safety for him so he could get some much needed rest. It is nice to know what my purpose is and to be healthy and strong enough to carry it out. Blessings, Andy B.

I came back about a week ago from a wonderful conference in Dallas, Texas, as people from all over the country and world came together to discuss our work in Rescue Missions. The conference is put on by the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, or AGRM, and is designed to bring folks together to learn best practices from each other in the areas of Rescue Mission operations, fundraising, hospitality, outreach, and more.

This was one of the best conferences that I have attended, of any kind. The general sessions were lively. The new Executive Director, John Ashmen, came from a camping background, and he made the general sessions seem like a dynamic evening camp meeting, with lots of fun and great worship, along with the excellent speakers. We heard from Mike Yankoski, a young man who left college to travel with a friend as a couple of people who were homeless, experiencing the trauma of homelessness in several cities in the US. Mike gave us a young person’s perspective on the practice of hospitality and welcoming people as Jesus would. It was encouraging to get his dose of energy, passion and idealism.

My friend, Dave Raley, and I taught a well received seminar on transforming a website. We reported a 121 % increase in giving through our website and folks staying a bit longer at our website after making some changes to cause it to be more interactive, telling stories through video, and creating this blog.

At the conference, Union Rescue Mission received honors for our website (3rd Place), YouTube videos (2nd place), and this blog (1st place). This was very encouraging, but what encouraged me the most was the direction that the AGRM is moving. I can best describe that by sharing their Mission and Vision statements.

This is their new Mission Statement:

AGRM exists to proclaim the passion of Jesus toward the hungry, homeless, abused and addicted; and to accelerate quality and effectiveness in member missions.

I really like the “…proclaim the passion of Jesus…” part of this statement and the “…accelerate the quality and effectiveness…” emphasis. I don’t like the part that describes people by stating their condition and would prefer that the statement read “toward people who are hungry, homeless, abused, and addicted”, as people are much more than their condition and should not be described only with their condition.

Here is the Vision Statement:

AGRM will foster and feed a movement of diverse, energetic disciples who will see the practice of hospitality to the destitute as both a catalyst for life transformation in Jesus and a fundamental expression of their Christian faith, thus propelling the church into the lead role in society’s quest to alleviate homelessness.

I love this Vision Statement! “Diverse, energetic disciples who will see the practice of hospitality …as both a catalyst of life transformation in Jesus and a fundamental expression of their faith…..in society’s quest to alleviate homelessness.”

This is powerful. At Union Rescue Mission, we have always recognized the power that welcoming and hospitality brings to our preached words of the Gospel. We have had a long practice of caring for people and then inviting them to hear the good news, rather than making them hear the good news before being able to have their needs met. People are much more receptive when they voluntarily attend our worship meetings after having their immediate needs taken care of.

I have also always believed that some of my greatest opportunities of worship, my greatest expression of my faith and love for God, are my opportunities to give someone who is hurting and hungry a meal, a fresh cup of cold water, and my love and attention.

I am proud to be a member of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions! Keep going John and TEAM!

What associations/affiliations are you connected with in your hopes to alleviate challenges in our society?

How is the association changing to keep up with the changing times?

Special thanks to all who have responded to our plea for help as we face tremendous challenges.

As you know, we have taken on the great challenge of opening up Hope Gardens Family Center this past year. Though it has been a tough year to open up a new facility and program, we are thankful that 42 women and their children, representing over 100 individuals, have had their lives positively impacted forever. Since its opening in June last year, 6 families have successfully moved on to permanent supportive housing and, currently, 27 moms, 56 children, and 23 elderly women are living a life of hope at Hope Gardens Family Center. One graduate told me that the smiles have returned to her sons’ faces – making the struggle worth it all!

We have the opportunity now to complete two more buildings, and then we will nearly double the capacity at Hope Gardens Family Center, bringing smiles to the faces of nearly 100 more precious people.

We not only opened up Hope Gardens Family Center, but we also kept Union Rescue Mission home base strong – graduating more men this year from our Christian Life Discipleship Program than we have in recent years. Our women’s program has grown and improved by leaps and bounds, and we graduated our first 14 ladies in caps and gowns in a joy and tear-filled event. We continue to welcome guest men, women, and women with children, feed over 2300 meals per day, and assist folks in transitioning from the streets and prisons to working as productive members of society.

This year we took on the winter shelters when others did not want to take the challenge on. Through, EIMAGO, our own public benefits charity, we were funded by the City/County partnership, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, to open up armories in West LA, Culver City, and Burbank, and assist 570 more Los Angeles folks in getting off the streets and out of the winter weather.

I am amazed that all of this has been accomplished in a year where we have been on a financial mountain climb, to say the least. Gas prices, food prices, and the unfortunate fires in neighborhoods across Los Angeles have all had an impact on our donors and our own expenses here at Union Rescue Mission.

Lately, I have faced many sleepless nights, wondering where our next dollar will come from, concerned about keeping our staff employed and paid, and our God-given guests fed. We are so fortunate to have friends who listen to God’s heart and then respond with gifts just in time to keep this work going. I feel blessed to have friends like former URM CEO Warren Currie, who sends me messages to PERSEVERE, and our own Board Chairman David Dow, who reminds me of how bleak things looked last Spring when we were down to our last dollar and faced with even tougher circumstances while we fought for the right to move our moms and children to a life of hope at Hope Gardens Family Center. I am encouraged to persevere and I hope you are too. Please keep us in your prayers! Andy B.

The Los Angeles City Council voted this morning to make the dropping off of a homeless patient a misdemeanor crime in the City of Los Angeles.

We have had a long history of distressed, confused, and very ill patients dropped off on the streets of Skid Row and at our Mission.

Four years ago, a woman was dropped off by a hospital with an IV in her arm and, 10 minutes later, passed away in our guest area from pneumonia. This caused Union Rescue Mission to place cameras on our front entrance so we could document these hospital drop-offs.

Then, in March of 2006, an elderly woman, Carol Reyes, was dropped off by a cab to wander the streets in front of our Mission, and we rescued her from the great danger that she faced. This was all caught on tape. The video of that ordeal was sent all over the world by the news media and played on CNN, 60 Minutes, Dateline, and in the movie SICKO, to name a few.

Just last week a confused gentleman, struggling with mental health issues, was driven 42 miles from a hospital in Orange County and dropped off around the corner from our Mission, on these mean streets of Skid Row. He was lost for a time but, thankfully, was reunited with his family and is now safe in a Board and Care home.

A State law against “hospital dumping” was proposed and made it through committee and the California Assembly only to be vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, much to my disappointment.

We have worked long and hard in this advocacy for our homeless friends, and I am thankful that this law finally passed in the City of Los Angeles.

Special thanks to Commander Andy Smith of the LAPD, Rocky Delgadillo, Jeff Isaacs, Mike Dundas, Gordon Turner and others from the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office for their diligent work on this issue. I am honored and URM is blessed to be represented by the Honorable Jan Perry, City Councilwoman for this District, who passionately spoke up for this ordinance and who always speaks with courage, passion and wisdom on behalf of her constituents.

We are very happy that the City of Los Angeles lived up to its title – City of Angels – today! Andy B.

What issues are you concerned about in our city?

What can you do to address them?

This last Easter weekend, or Resurrection weekend, as we call it, was a time to focus not only on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also on the “resurrected”, changed lives that we get to witness at Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens Family Center every day.

Our new video just up on our website features a young man who is a walking miracle. Like his father before him, he entered Union Rescue Mission as a hurting, homeless man, entered our one year, intense Christian Life Discipleship program, graduated proudly in cap and gown (as our men do each quarter), and became an apprentice in our Volunteer Office.

Now after some years of working as an employee (30% of our staff are former program graduates), Alex is now the Manager and leader of Union Rescue Mission’s Volunteer Office. Please take some time to view the story of Alex’s life and ministry and see him in action on our new video.

There are other transformations taking place through Union Rescue Mission and those happen in the lives of our donors. As donors give to others through their donations to Union Rescue Mission and other ministries, something happens in their lives. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) As folks give, their heart becomes connected not only with those who are struggling with homelessness, but with Jesus himself. When their heart is touched, they become powerful instruments of the love of Christ. 90 years young URM donor Robert Lucas says it better than I can in a poem that he recently sent me:

What is your reaction to Alex’s story?

Are you interested in getting involved in a place like URM that witnesses these kinds of transformations regularly?

Will you consider joining Robert and putting your treasure and your heart to work at Union Rescue Mission?

My next blog will be from China or at least about my experience studying Christianity in China from April 1-11. Please pray for URM, my wife and I during these next days that I am away. God bless you. -Andy B.

We applaud our County Supervisors and all who have worked hard to make Project 50 a reality. Project 50 is a new, innovative program reaching out to the 50 most vulnerable and desperate people who are homeless on the streets of Skid Row.

As county workers went out to identify these 50 precious souls, they were searching with at-risk medical condition criteria in mind that place folks at higher risk of dying, if they remain on the streets. In fact, if anyone living on the streets has one of the 8 at-risk indicators below, there is a 40% chance they will die, if they remain on the streets just a few more years.

1. Tri-morbid-combination of mental illness, poor health, and addicted to a substance
2. ER or Hospitalized over 3x
3. ER over 3x
4. Age over 60
5. HIV/AIDS
6. Cirrhosis
7. ERSD
8. Frostbite

Many of the 50 most vulnerable selected have 2-3 of the struggles above while other have 4-5. These are also people with substance addictions, people with a chronic health condition, such as HIV, and people struggling with mental illnesses. Over 50% are uninsured and amount for over half of the hospitalizations made by street homeless individuals on Skid Row in the last year.

Project 50 will place each of these folks in permanent supportive housing, and surround them with special support services, health care, counseling, support groups, case management, and whatever is needed to help them live a quality life.

Just yesterday I watched one of the 50, a very troubled, agitated elderly Asian woman who often wears a construction type safety helmet while walking the streets. As I watched her struggle to organize her belongings between two buildings, surrounded by drunken men on one sidewalk and violent drug dealers across the street, I thanked God that this kind of special help is on the way to her.

There is concern about the cost, but what value can we put on saving the life of a human being? There are plans to rescue 50 precious lives, and if even this one little lady is saved, then I believe it is worth the cost.

We applaud the group from New York City, Common Ground, for their part in bringing this idea to Los Angeles and we are committed to assisting Skid Row Housing Trust, the local group involved, in helping Project 50 be such a success that one day Project 50 can expand and provide permanent supportive housing to all 471 identified chronic homeless individuals on the streets of Skid Row.

I shared on Channel 7 KABC that this is a step toward living up to the title of the City of Angels, a day when not one human being will be left sleeping on the streets of Skid Row. Union Rescue Mission is committed to doing our part as we work towards that day.

How do you feel about the $5.6 million dollar cost?

Are we living up to the title of City of Angels?

Do you have some innovative ideas on how to end homelessness?