Rev Andy’s Blog

We Still Need Shelters

As you may know, I’ve been speaking up for Rescue Missions and shelters, while much of the country has been discrediting our work.  In some recent blogs I have said:

“Resources are moving and moving quickly, away from shelters and transitional housing beds, towards housing first initiatives, which is believed to be the new way to end homelessness.  See my earlier blogs for notes on this.  As the resources move, shelters, transitional housing, and the beds therein are being removed from the scene, and the number of precious people on the streets, in tents, and in cars continues to increase.  However as the next count rolls out, the easier more accurate part of the count-those in shelter and transitional housing beds-will have dwindled, and the more difficult, nearly impossible part of the count, going out on the streets looking for people, will continue to be difficult, and it will appear, or be made to appear, that homelessness has decreased, when in fact, homelessness has increased”. Continue reading »

Trutanich Fighting the Good Fight on Skid Row

One week ago, I sent the below article to the LA Times in hopes they would publish it.  Unfortunately they declined.  However, I hope you will take the time to read this article and stay informed on the situation of Skid Row.

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich has a strong record of supporting solutions to Skid Row’s problems so it was disappointing to read a recent Los Angeles Times editorial that implied otherwise.

Trutanich first distinguished himself through an innovative lawsuit to protect the many Skid Row residents trying to stay drug-free. From lessons he personally learned during his monthly Skid Row walks, Trutanich filed a pioneering injunction in 2010 against 80 persons known to sell drugs to people experiencing homelessness. This injunction bars these 80 predators (and other individuals as they are identified) from setting foot on Skid Row. The injunction was crafted after Trutanich consulted with social service providers who know that easy access to drugs is a curse for Skid Row residents fighting addiction, mental illness and drug abuse.

Continue reading »

Bouncing Back

I am no Job from Bible fame, but I’ve recently gone through some difficult times and learned a couple of valuable lessons I would like to share with our URM friends.  The last 40 days of our fiscal year which ended June 30th were both challenging and exciting.  We were at risk of not meeting our budget which meant many of the plans we had in place for the summer and fall would be postponed or even canceled.  I spent many sleepless nights praying, our team spent time praying, we shared our needs with our faithful friends and supporters and ultimately raised a record $5.8 Million.  There was much to celebrate.  Then on June 29th, I experienced a heart attack.  I spent the next few days in the hospital as the doctors determined the extent of the damage and for the first time since coming to Union Rescue Mission, I was unable to attend the ceremony celebrating the most recent graduates of or Men’s Life Transformation Program that took place on July 1st.

On July 5th I had a quadruple bypass surgery.  My heart had failed, and I had filled up with 32 lbs of fluid, mostly in my lungs.  So, when they wheeled me into surgery, and I said good-bye to my family, I truly believed I would not see them again on this earth.  I even texted a good-bye/thank you note to my wife, because I couldn’t speak it or I would have crumbled.  She did the same.  I was in tough shape!

I was pleasantly surprised to wake up from the six hour surgery!  I was so surprised that I tried to rip the ventilator out of my mouth and four people had to restrain me.  I went home within a week, my wife taking time off to care for me, and I was back at URM in 16 days, half-time at least, and I’ve bounced back so far that I am now working full-time and setting some records on the cardiac rehab machines three times a week.  I can’t help myself, I try to set a new record each morning!

I’ve also been studying the book of Job, one of my favorite sections of Scripture, and though I don’t understand our suffering on this earth, or specifically my own struggles, I’ve realized that suffering brings about such a dependence and turning to the Lord that causes character to be built in me that would not come about without that suffering, so in the end, I am thankful for even the toughest, deepest, darkest struggles.  Hopefully I am a better man, Dad, husband, friend, Grandpa, and CEO because of it.

I’ve also learned what Job’s friends should have done, rather than lecture or blame him.  As I returned to work at Union Rescue Mission, some of my co-workers walked in my office, told me it was good to see me, and gave me a hug.  As I walk through the halls, guests of URM, perhaps going through the most difficult time in their lives, experiencing homelessness, greet me and tell me how good it is to see me.  The same happens as I go out on the streets and hand out bottles of cold water.  People that I don’t even know or recognize, struggling on the streets, stop me, and hug me, and tell me how good it is to see me alive and well.  That has caused an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and joy within my soul.  That is what Job’s friends should have done-simply told him how good it was to see him, and given him a hug.  I hope that you’ll remember that the next time a friend is suffering.

Thank you, for all of the prayers.

Rev. Andy Bales

Through My Father’s Eyes – From Depression to Recession

During my dear father’s last days on the earth, he shared the most painful period of his life – his difficult days as a child experiencing homelessness in Southern California during the Great Depression.

Tears welled in his eyes as he described holding onto his father’s neck so tight that he choked him as his family jumped on the moving freight car of a train. It was terrifying! He told me of the embarrassment of living in tents, sheds, even a garage in Compton.  The mere fact of knowing he was homeless, an outcast, as he attended school, was a blow to his self-esteem and overwhelming to my Daddy, Carl Lee Bales.

I see their faces every day. Children, just like my father, overwhelmed with homelessness, walking into URM with their devastated parents. Real unemployment at nearly 25%, a housing crisis, and a flawed approach to solving the crisis of homelessness has left 20,000 precious kids experiencing  homelessness in Southern California – and the numbers of children, families, and individuals continues to increase.

This is not the 1930’s Great Depression, this is the Great Recession of 2007 and beyond.

On Skid Row in LA, someone’s precious son digs through garbage cans for recyclables during the night and sleeps only sparingly during the day in order to be safe. Somebody’s precious daughter pairs up with someone, even an ex-convict, in a tent on the filthy sidewalk, to avoid being prey to any other vicious predator on the streets.

It is a terrifying, overwhelming scene happening each day and night for my friends experiencing homelessness. Because of my Dad, I know the impact this is having on their souls. We need to continue working to make their plight known, until we’ve ended homelessness as we know it on the streets of Skid Row.

Rev. Andy Bales


Keep Hope Alive

Dear Friends,

It’s been two years since we alerted you and our many contributors that Hope Gardens Family Center was in jeopardy of closing. In response to our plea, more than 5000 friends responded with financial gifts to keep it open and thriving. It didn’t matter what size the gift was, what made the difference was the number of caring people who responded generously. We raised $3.8 Million in 37 days and kept Hope alive. Thank you!

We are in a similar position today.  We need to receive an outpouring of generous gifts from as many of our faithful friends as possible.  Here’s why:

  • We plan on moving 12 more moms and their children to the safety of Hope Gardens, bringing Hope Gardens to capacity.
  • We plan on strengthening our downtown recovery program for women, making it on par with our excellent men’s recovery program.
  • We plan on strengthening our job readiness program to the point where we can place our program graduates into careers that will absolutely end their homelessness.
  • We plan on bringing some much needed relief and encouragement to our hard working staff.

The first step towards accomplishing all this and much more, is to finish this fiscal year strong by hitting our budgeted income goal.  To ensure our success, we need to raise $4.8 Million between now and June 30th.  If we do not, our plans for the coming year will be put on hold. I can’t begin to express how devastating it would be to our team and to me personally if we do not raise these funds by June 30th.

For the last 3 years our dedicated staff has worked hard, sacrificed, and welcomed our guests with love.  They’ve taken two 5% pay cuts, accepted increased work loads and had their wages frozen.  And as disappointing as it would be to postpone the plans we have to improve our programs, what’s even more troubling to me, actually, heart-wrenching, is the thought that we will not be able to carryout our plans to restore a small portion of the benefits our dedicated team has given up for the sake of those we serve.

We simply must hit our budget goal for FY2012 by June 30th!

There are some who’d like to see Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens fade into the sunset and disappear. They don’t believe in recovery or life transformation.  However, the 2700 guests who count on us each day for a good meal, and our 700 resident guests who are diligently involved in recovering their lives in our transformation programs believe strongly in the life saving work of Union Rescue Mission.  I know that you do as well.  Thank you!

I too believe strongly in the work of Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens.  I’ve poured my life into it! As you know, I’ve stayed on, battling kidney failure, in hopes of helping URM & Hope Gardens move into the future in a strong position. It would be tough on me to not see us succeed.

As you consider giving an extra gift at this time,  please consider the powerful life-transforming work of Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens, remember our miracle from 2 years ago that kept Hope Gardens going strong in the midst of the Great Recession, and give what you can to help URM and Hope Gardens move into 2012-2013 with great strength.

The size of the gift you send is not as important as simply responding.  Your generous gift, joined with others will Keep Hope Alive in the hearts of our dedicated staff and make a huge impact in the lives of our precious guests.

Your co-worker in Christ,

Andy Bales

Ps. Your generous giving makes life transformation possible for the men, women and precious children living at Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens Family Center.  Thank you!

To make your gift on-line go to urm.org/KeepHopeAlive

Why I’ll Be Weary of the Next Homeless Count

There have been some interesting statements put out by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the Los Angeles Services Authority, and others, that homelessness throughout the nation is down—- by 1%.  Please do not believe everything you read or hear concerning this.  At our ground level on the streets of Skid Row, and in talking to people on the ground around the country, this is not the case.  Even as these reports have come out, 55 new tent cities have sprung up around our country.  In Camden, New Jersey alone, a challenging place to live even if you are housed, four brand new tent cities have sprung up.

Homelessness has gone off the charts – nearly out of control – as many Americans have found it hard to keep a place of their own.  I recently read of a church in Arroyo Grande, California, opening up their parking lot so that people living in cars could have a place to rest for the night, and the church is asking for partner churches around their area to join them.  People are living in tents, cars, and doubling and tripling up with friends and family.  Thousands of school children in LA and around the country are battling homelessness while the Federal Government, local governments, and foundations have decided to focus only on the chronically homeless and veterans, while leaving many, literally, out in the cold.

However, when the next homeless count comes out again, I expect the numbers to be down, and here is why:

The most simple part of this count (and this count can really only be described as an attempt at an educated guess) has always been a pretty accurate count of how many people are living in shelters and transitional housing.  That number has been steady, pretty accurate, and with the help of shelter leaders and staff has been a reliable number.  This number is much easier to track than the hidden people who are homeless in their tents, in the woods, in cars, or even the uncounted who are doubling and tripling up.  However, this easier to track number is going away.

Resources are moving and moving quickly, away from shelters and transitional housing beds, towards housing first initiatives, which is believed to be the new way to end homelessness.  See my earlier blogs for notes on this.  As the resources move, shelters, transitional housing, and the beds therein are being removed from the scene, and the numbers of precious people on the streets, in tents, and in cars continues to increase, however as the next count rolls out, the easier more accurate part of the count-those in shelter and transitional housing beds-will have dwindled, and the more difficult, nearly impossible part of the count, going out on the streets looking for people, will continue to be difficult, and it will appear, or be made to appear, that homelessness has decreased, when in fact, homelessness has increased.

Whether this future inaccuracy in counts will be determined by an ideology that is bent against shelter, transitional housing, recovery or even if it is done with the best of intentions, I want to assure you now, that I will wearily watch the results of the next count of people experiencing homelessness, and I will compare that to what I see and experience with my own eyes, and I’d advise you to do the same.

Why I am Weary of Giving Money to People Panhandling

Should we give to anyone who asks?

Clearly scripture tells us to keep an open hand to our brothers and sisters in need.

Deuteronomy 15:11 (ESV)

For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

However, experience has taught me that almost all of the folks standing on corners, sitting at the exit or entrance of freeway ramps, panhandling in public, or even coming to churches to connect with the person in charge of benevolence are not truly homeless or impoverished. My Dad, Carl Bales was part of a news expose on panhandlers in Des Moines, Iowa. The news feature showed that many panhandlers were making as much as $300 per day, which they used to purchase alcohol and drugs. I know more than 400 people experiencing homelessness in Pasadena by name, and over 1000 people by name on the streets of Skid Row, and I can tell you I have never ever seen one of these people, who truly are experiencing homelessness, standing on a corner panhandling.

I do know folks who panhandle all day, earn about $300 per day, then walk to their car and drive to their apartment or home.

As the person in charge of the benevolent fund at a number of churches over the years, I realized no matter how many safe guards I put up in making sure the funds were dispensed to people truly in need, I could have spent $1,000,000 dollars and not even made a dent in addressing the whole need.
People experiencing homelessness and poverty need a caring community and a relationship much more than they need the few bucks you or I can give on a street corner. The scriptural basis I use for this is Acts 3:1-8 (ESV)

1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.
3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.
4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.”
5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

From this I learn people need permanent help in becoming strong, and a connection with Jesus Christ and a faith community.

I advise that giving cash to someone in need is the least helpful, most temporary, and should be given only as a last resort. When someone asks me for cash so they can get something to eat, I invite them into a restaurant with me, buy them something to eat, and if possible, sit with them and hear their story. When someone approaches me and asks for funds to get a place to stay, I connect them with resources, often hand them my card, and ask them to come to our Mission to enroll in a program that will provide not only a roof over their head but possibly a life-transforming experience.

At rare times, giving funds is the last resort and maybe the only option. When an elderly lady on the streets of Shanghai, China asked me for help, I was unaware of services available, and also aware that there is no Social Security for elderly folks without family in China, and I gave her all of the cash I had with me. Now I’ve been asked to come back and help Shanghai establish a Rescue Mission, and I’d say that will be real help!

Blessings,

Andy Bales, CEO,  Union Rescue Mission

Why I Am Weary Of Home For Good’s Report

Some have expressed surprise that I have been speaking up concerning Home For Good.  As an original signee, I intended to support Home For Good.  I was excited that the business community, long absent from the efforts to end homelessness in LA, was jumping in with both feet in an effort to address homelessness. If Home For Good had done what I hoped, brought in the business community to advance another strategy to add to the continuum of solutions to homelessness, I would have stayed very supportive, but they did not.  Instead of humbly presenting another good strategy to the continuum, Home For Good presented Housing 1st/Permanent supportive housing as the one size fits all solution, or silver bullet to ending homelessness.  In a meeting with the AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals), the speaker for Home For Good stated that not only is Home For Good the solution to homelessness, but that the rest of us; shelters, recovery centers, and transitional housing, had been doing it all wrong.  I scratched my head and thought, “We shouldn’t encourage people to recover?” She said that while we had all managed the problem, Home For Good would solve the problem.  This type of over-confidence from Home For Good was a  cause for concern, but that over-confidence has also led to a big marketing and branding push by the LA United Way, The Chamber of Commerce, with help from the Federal, County, City government, and even some Foundations and it has effectively drawn resources away from shelters, recovery centers and transitional housing programs, closing many and reducing beds in others which in turn has caused more people to fall on the streets, in effect, not ending homelessness but adding to the number of people experiencing homelessness.

If anyone doubts me, come walk the streets with me.  Since the launch of Home For Good, the number of people on the streets of Skid Row has nearly tripled, and I do not believe this is confined to Skid Row.  This Housing First push is nationwide.  The theory is that if you focus on the 10% to 20%, the chronically devastated from homelessness, provide them with a roof over their heads, a place to call home, with supportive services, you will end homelessness.  The problem I have with that theory is that moving all of the resources and services away from the other 80% to 90% who are episodically homeless will leave them homeless and will cause them to become the chronically devastated from homelessness of the near future.  There are studies that show that the chronically homeless of today were the chronically homeless and poor children of yesteryear, and leaving children on the streets today will produce tomorrow’s chronically homeless and devastated adults.  This Housing First Push/Shift is happening throughout the country, and many are reporting a drop in homelessness, however, meanwhile, chronic homelessness is up 6 percent, people doubling up has risen 13 percent, people are turning to storage areas for living units, and 55 tent cities have sprung up outside of cities throughout the country as homelessness actually has increased.

Let’s use Home For Good’s published and much touted results as a model.  Home For Good produced only 211 new units of permanent supportive housing.  That is progress.  However, as Home For Good signed existing agencies on, they began utilizing the statistics of those agencies as their own for an overall effect.  Let’s say the existing agencies, last year, before Home For Good found x number of people housing. This year, they found x number of people housing, plus y, with y =211 new units of housing.  It appears that Home For Good took x plus y, and with this new cooperation  stated that Home For Good provided housing for 3,000 previously homeless individuals.  Producing 211 new units of permanently supportive housing will not keep up with the number of people falling into homelessness, or those already becoming chronically homeless.  Even 3,000 per year, will not end homelessness.  3,000 per year, along with the shelters, recovery centers, and transitional housing has a chance of making progress, but no one strategy has a chance of ending homelessness on its own.

Finally, the astronomical savings of resources that Home For Good advocates advanced initially always had me leery.  Something in the range of $750 Million in savings was touted along with this strategy.  “If people are in their own places, rather than on the streets, we will save $750 Million in shelter and emergency services, was the claim.”  This showed a lack of understanding.  The capital expenses of building the permanent supportive housing was left out of the equation, as well as the high operating costs to truly provide the needed services, security, and strong management.  To build enough permanent supportive housing and provide support services for everyone experiencing homelessness in LA, using Project 50 as a model, would be in the range of $15 Billion for initial capital investment and $5 Billion per year for operating/supportive services.  Those resources are not available, and will never be poured into this one solution.  A much better, more practical approach is a multi-pronged strategy of prevention services, shelter, case management, recovery centers, transitional housing, along with affordable and supportive housing. See http://youarethemission.org

We have a permanent supportive housing unit next door to URM.  A few weeks ago a resident was attempting to jump off of the roof. His actions tied up the LAPD and the Fire Department for the entire day.  Where are the cost savings in that? It is not irregular to see the County Coroner in front of the building responding to an overdose death. Where are the cost savings in that?  Last week, we caught one of their residents burglarizing our loading dock on video. What makes everyone think that a roof over the head of someone solves all problems? Since the launch of Home For Good it is reported by the Central City East Association that police calls to Skid Row are up 500% and fire calls are up 1000%. Where is the cost savings in that?

As the world, it seems, along with the government, some foundations, The LA United Way, the LA Chamber of Commerce have all moved to this housing first/ Home For Good strategy, the Board of Directors and leadership of URM has remained firm in our commitment to do our part in ending homelessness with the strategy of Life Transformation, followed by a job, then a home.  Representatives with Home For Good stopped by one of our last Los Angeles Central Partners Collaborative a few weeks ago.  They asked us to fill out a document, hand over our donor lists, and sign on the dotted line in order to receive the Seal of Approval from Home For Good that we are effective recovery centers and shelters.  Mind you, Midnight Mission has been doing this work for nearly 100 years, LA Mission for 75, and URM for 120.  Yet, Home For Good, in existence for 1 year, wanted to take charge and become the expert judge of our effectiveness.  I responded to this audacity by saying, “You all can do whatever you want, and put the seal of approval on whomever you’d like, but URM will continue to effectively end homelessness through life transformation, then a job, then a home.”

I will again be kind and use the word over confidence.  What causes wealthy powerful business people to believe that because now that they are on the scene, this complex issue of homelessness is somehow solved?  You can say what you’d like, you can market and brand, but no one solution and no amount of marketing and branding, no matter how powerful the marketing machine is,  will be the single solution for this complex issue of homelessness.  Please take some time to have proven results, ask an outside group to audit your long-term results, and then carefully consider the effect before marketing in a way that hurts other efforts by good agencies.

The Reality on Skid Row Since Home For Good Launch

I’ve tried to keep folks up to date on what is happening on Skid Row.  On September 28th, I wrote of a growing desperation on Skid Row in Los Angeles, a doubling in the number of people and an increase in crime and I shared,

”I attribute this to 3 major factors: the worsening economy bringing high unemployment and a lack of services to people in need, the one size fits all move to Housing First which has caused the limited resources available to move away from emergency services and to permanent supportive housing only, and the recent federal court ruling in favor of LACAN which protects the property of people experiencing homelessness to the extreme point that any type of clean up of Skid Row by anyone is not allowed.”

Today, I received an update from a dear friend of URM, Estela Lopez. Estela heads up the local Central City East Association, and her security officers are often 1st responders to difficult situations and have 1st hand information on Skid Row.  Estela wrote, “The downturn in the economy, the release of state prisoners, and the court injunction limiting removal of property is having a cumulative affect on skid row.  Some streets have become tent villages once again as they were prior to the 2006 implementation of the Safer Cities Initiative.  I had my staff do a quick re-cap of key indicators, comparing January 2011 to January 2012:

Abandoned property                  Up    158%

Encampments                           Up      97%

Illegal dumping                         Up    500%

LAFD Assistance                      Up   1000% (persons sick, injured or deceased)

LAPD Assistance                      Up    500%

As you may have gathered already, I would add to Estela’s list of causes the “Home For Good” push as one of the causes.  “Home For Good” backers, The United Way of LA and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, as well as Federal and local government, strongly marketed “Home For Good” as the one size fits all solution to homelessness and even contrasted this new “better” solution to the “archaic” “ineffective” shelters and services that have failed to solve the problem in the past.  I even heard that now, instead of “managing” the problem of homelessness, as in the past, “Home For Good” would solve the problem. I would counter that, now, we are not even coming close to managing the problem.  It is out of control! This unfortunate, inaccurate marketing has funneled resources to “Home For Good” and away from many very effective non-profits around LA County, and has caused the closure of much needed beds and services, producing a lack of services to people in need, and placed an incredible amount of people on the streets, doubling the number of people on the streets of Skid Row since “Home For Good” was launched!

Before “Home For Good” LA was launched, and I do not doubt the good intentions, the cost savings that were projected from this new approach were astronomical…something in the range of $750 Million.  I have to ask, where is the cost savings in this?

LAFD Assistance                      Up   1000% (persons sick, injured or deceased)

LAPD Assistance                      Up    500%

The truth is if “Home For Good” was the most effective strategy for all people experiencing homelessness, there would be a cost increase, not a decrease.  The capital costs alone to permanently house all people experiencing homelessness in LA alone would be $15 Billion and the operating costs to provide supportive services would be around $5 Billion per year.  I’ve based these estimates on the original costs of the Project 50 in LA.

Certainly “Home For Good” was established with an eye on Skid Row and a wish to positively impact Skid Row, next to the business center of Los Angeles?

Those in leadership and authority should not have taken their eye off the ball.  We had worked on a multi-pronged strategy to reduce homelessness on Skid Row from 2000 people to 600 over the course of several years and lots of hard work.

Marketing what should have been simply yet another added strategy to a continuum of strategies as the silver bullet solution to homelessness was a big mistake, and instead of assisting in providing a solution, along with other factors, it has taken us to the tipping point of chaos here on Skid Row.

I hope that before you believe any further marketing presentations from “Home For Good”, you’ll call me and come walk the streets of Skid Row with me to see this first-hand.  Thank you. Andy B.

Surprising Update on Union Rescue Mission’s Gateway Program


April 1st of 2011, Union Rescue Mission, in some eyes, made a controversial decision to ask our guests who were able, to begin paying part of their way.  The decision was made with a lot of thought, planning, and prayer.

There is no question that the economy was a factor in the decision, but it goes much deeper than that.

Let me start by saying that I have long believed in guests paying part of their own way thanks to the influence of the grandfather of Christian Community Development, Dr. John Perkins, and his book, “Let Justice Roll Down.”   John taught me that the dignity of people is affirmed when they can pay their own way, at least in part, instead of having everything handed down to them as charity.  John and I both feel that people are empowered when they can learn to provide for themselves.

I also had the distinct opportunity to begin my Missions career at the Door of Faith Mission in Des Moines.  A Mission, I quickly learned that was ahead of its time.  My prior Missions’ experience was as a teenager accompanying my dad.  He would preach and I would sing.  We’d walk into a Mission he was scheduled to preach at , see the guys lined up, many of them intoxicated, and then watch as they moved to an area where they had to sit and listen to a message (my dad and I) before they could eat.  Routinely we would see a fellow fall out of his chair.  After the message, the men would be served a piece of day old bread and some watery soup, before they were allowed to go to bed for the night.  That was the picture I had of a Mission as I walked in to The Door of Faith Mission to apply for a job as the Associate Director 25 years ago.

However, when I entered the Door of Faith, I noticed that the guys were all sober, neat and clean, and the food portions were substantial.  I was intrigued.  I learned that the Founder of the Door of Faith, George Holloway had experienced homelessness for 37 years.  He had travelled the country and experienced Missions first hand.  He found Christ at either the LA Mission or Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles.  And, when he arrived in Des Moines, he decided to start a Mission that was unique.  George felt that it was hard to get sober when surrounded by people who were drinking or using so he had an expectation of sobriety, and instituted a breath test, and later I added drug testing to assist.  George also felt that men would feel better about themselves if they worked and paid a part of their own way, so he instituted a $6 a day fee, and this produced about 1/3 of the needed income for the Mission each day, while the other 2/3rds came from generous individuals and partner churches.  I later instituted a gradually rising daily fee after 3 months so that around 6 months later, when men began to pay $8 per day, they began to consider relocating to nearby apartments. George also believed that feeding men well helped them battle their addiction and strengthened them to go out and work hard to earn their pay, so he moved from what was known as soup kitchens to serving heaping portions at what we later called “The Faith Café”.

As I arrived at Union Rescue Mission nearly seven years ago, an impressive, historic place with a long tradition, I brought this idea of paying your own way with me.  When I brought up the idea in my interview, I could tell it was met with a look of “We’ve never done it that way!”, so I dropped it until I at least got hired! J

Four years later, when the economy worsened and our finances tightened, I broached the subject again.  It was again met with skepticism, caution, and the idea was put on hold.

Probably 18 months ago, the recession was putting a squeeze on URM and our future was not at all certain.  I was being pressed by the Board of Directors to come up with a strong sustainability plan, and as part of the sustainability plan, I introduced a Pilot Program, the Gateway Program, to implement with only 10%, or 50 of our guest beds,  ½  on the women’s side, and ½ on the men’s side.  To assist in my proposal, I shared with the Board that the idea came not just from me, but from one of our front line staff members, who was frustrated that many of our guests had substantial incomes, even more than $1000 per month, yet they would fritter away and use up all of their funds in a few short days and rely on the charity of URM the rest of the month for their meals and bed. This hurt our not highly paid staff member to see this charity taken advantage of.

I was allowed to implement the Gateway program into 10% of our guest beds.  It worked like this; guests who had an income from Social Security, Social Security Disability, Veteran’s benefits, or General Relief would pay $7 per day, of which $2 would be placed into their personal savings fund.  The extra $5 would pay for more intense case management for the guest, there would be an expectation of sobriety, attendance at some educational and life transforming classes, we would add a foot locker under their bunk so that their belongings would be safe and secure, and they would be allowed to rest in their bunks at any time rather than retreating to the guest area each day.  I blogged about the pilot program, Twittered and Facebooked in hopes of alerting the public of the change and receiving most of the questions and criticism up front during the trial rather than later when I hoped to fully implement this program.  We did make the news and received  good questions and some criticism up front.

We operated the 50 beds this way for a number of months, and then an even greater financial squeeze came on URM and even more pressure for a stronger sustainability plan came from the Board of Directors, and the only additional step that I could think of was to broaden  the Gateway Program from Pilot to full implementation to all 300 guest beds. This would not only implement what I always believed as a philosophy, but would also produce about $40,000 of much needed funds each month; equal to 1 day of our operating budget.  I also strongly believed it would have great benefit to our guests.

I’ve always believed that if you had 1000 beds for people to crash in any condition, you’d have 1000 people crashing in any condition, and if you had 1000 beds with high expectations for people to help themselves, you’d have 1000 people working hard and helping themselves.

We began to alert our guests of the change 90 days out.  Again, I blogged about the success of the pilot and the coming change.  We also invited community activists and bloggers in to discuss the change.  One supported it strongly while others had doubts, but at least we had informed them of the coming change.  Believe it or not, on April 1st, we instituted the change.

Men were grabbing the communications off of the wall and trashing them in disgust, saying, “is this a cruel April 1st joke?”  One man asked me, “What are you trying to do to me?”  I replied, “I’m trying to get you to help yourself and I am trying to keep this place open for all!”  “OK”, was his response.

So, on April 1st, 2011, the worsening economy provided the opportunity to implement this new approach at URM.  We eased it in with good planning and care. The first 5 days are free for all, allowing folks to decide between the Gateway Program, our free long-term Life Transformation programs in which they will not pay fees but they will invest a lot of time and effort, or relocating elsewhere. Immediately, our guest bed count went from 300 to 170, and dropped off especially significantly on our women’s side which surprised me. The women, many of whom had substantial resources, were more reluctant to give part of their resources and chose the cold sidewalk rather than handing over any of their income.  This was and is heartbreaking to me.

However, many of the remaining guests came to me and said, “What you’ve done has transformed the Mission. Everyone who was causing problems and not working on their lives left and only those who care and want to try stayed.” Or “You’ve turned this place from a den of anger and rebellion to a place of peace.”

I was encouraged, but it was not without controversy.  During a drive back through the mountains from vacation I received an alarming call from a big radio station about our “charging rent” to URM guests.  This was followed by news agencies from all around, including the LA Times, NPR, and others inquiring about this new approach and it was difficult, though not impossible to share that it was not just the recession that brought this about, but a firm philosophy that we believe that people feel better about themselves and are empowered when they pay a portion of their own way.

The Results:

Soon, the numbers began to grow and today we have 295 guests.  132 men and 86 women are paying the fee.  Another 58 men and 24 women are in the 5 day free period, and a few without an income of any kind are allowed to stay if they volunteer a few hours a week.

The number of men enrolling in our long-term program has risen 20% and 100 of our Gateway guests have secured permanent housing and moved on since implementation.  Our emergency and police calls have been greatly reduced, and with this change and one other, we’ve been able to lower our security costs.  Our front-line staff thanks me each day for reducing their workload, their stress and their efforts to keep the mission in clean working order.

The other change also goes back to the Door of Faith.  At the Door of Faith, we fed guests staying with us 3 times a day, but the outside public only once, at lunch.  URM had been feeding overnight guests and outside public visitors 3 times per day.  At times it was dangerous and our daily meal count was quickly approaching 5000 due to the recession, a number that might not be sustainable and might take us under.  So, we moved from feeding outside guests 3 times per day to only once, at lunch.  In hindsight, it was wise that we did, because even with that move, our meals are only down 15% from last year.  Can you imagine the numbers we would be feeding if we were still offered 3 meals per day to outside visitors?  This also goes with my philosophy, that simply letting folks be on the street and report for 3 meals a day with no expectations is not helpful to them.  Now we utilize the 3 hour window at lunchtime, 12 to 3, to recruit our outside guests and invite them to become part of URM and enjoy the 3 meals and all that comes with being part of our Gateway Program or Life Transformation Programs.

Despite the positive impact we are seeing, we’ve heard that a radical activist group, LA CAN, is preparing to sue us over our Gateway Program. They’ve even handed out flyers to our guests telling them that LA CAN will assist them in suing us for charging “rent”.  All I can say is that some times when certain people attack you it is affirmation that you are doing the right thing.

Blessings, Andy B.