Downtown

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

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.

Saved By Grace

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June 25, 2010 |  2:40 pm

Officials at Union Rescue Mission said Friday that they had raised sufficient funds to keep open Hope Gardens, a transitional housing center for women and children in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley.

“I’m feeling great relief,” said Andy Bales, chief executive of Union Rescue Mission. “We’re planning a celebration next month at Hope Gardens.”

Like many nonprofits, Union Rescue Mission has been hard-hit by the recession. Demand for the organization’s services, which include a downtown shelter, has increased 45% in the last two years, Bales said. But by late May, donations were down 21% from last year.

Unless the organization could raise $2.8 million by June 30, the end of the fiscal year, officials feared they would have to close Hope Gardens, which offers homeless women and children a tranquil atmosphere in which to rebuild their lives.

On May 24, Bales issued an emergency appeal for donations through his blog, Twitter, Facebook, text messages and snail mail.

He said key support came from individuals such as Scott Minerd, a managing partner at Guggenheim Partners, who provided $1 million in matching contributions.

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and he’s really stepped up,” Bales said. “But it’s not just been the big gifts. It’s been other people stepping forward with what they can that has helped get the matching funds.”

The target was reached Friday morning with a $250,000 gift from the Louis & Gladyce Foster Family Foundation, he said.

Bales sent out a celebratory Tweet: “Thanks 2 you http://urm.org has received $2.9 Million towards $2.8 Million goal 2 Save Hope Gardens!”

The next step is to develop a plan to ensure the center remains financially viable, Bales said. All employees have already accepted two 5% pay cuts, and eight people were laid off, Bales said. The organization is also appealing for long-term support from Los Angeles County, which pays for security, counseling and other services at the site.

— Alexandra Zavis

This was the news story last week as you, our donors put us over the top in our fundraising efforts to save Hope Gardens Family Center and keep precious moms and children from returning to the mean streets of Skid Row.  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!!

 31 days ago I feared for the worst as I drove home late one night after a Board of Directors meeting at Union Rescue Mission downtown.  I contemplated the fate of not finishing well, retiring in disappointment and disgrace, believing that I might be viewed as a fellow who tried hard, but failed.  It was not a new feeling to me.  6 years after I handed off the reins of Good Samaritan Urban Ministries in Des Moines, Iowa to a capable new leader and committed Board of Directors, this coalition of 120 churches that I had helped form from ground up and nourished for 10 years  closed the ministry and sold the property that we had not only renovated for over 140 previously homeless families, but also battled gangs and crime to provide a peaceful helpful setting for those families.  When I left, I underestimated the continued need for building relationships and the heavy weight of debt that eventually did the ministry in.  That decision that was made to close haunts me to this day, and during our battle to win Hope Gardens, opponents of Hope Gardens brought it up and stuck it in my face and it felt like a knife in the back.

So here I was again.  Our services at URM were up 45% over the last 2 years, and giving had fallen off by over 21%. We were looking at a $4.4 Million shortfall for the budget year that ends June 30th, and there was talk of selling this beautiful place that we had fought so hard for in a 21 month, $1.9 Million dollar legal battle, including 34 neighborhood meetings (beatings), that culminated in a remarkable 6 hour Planning and Zoning Hearing victory!

The worst part of all, I knew that if we closed Hope Gardens, before I could retire in disgrace I would have to have to be the one to tell the moms and children now living in peace and safety, that they would have to find other housing or return to URM surrounded by Skid Row and some of the meanest streets in our country. I was not sure my heart could take it, but I knew that I would have to carry it out.

We reached out to the County Board of Supervisors for help and shared that without their help, not only would we be unable to move 24 more single moms and their children to Hope Gardens, but we would indeed have to vacate the 34 families now residing at Hope Gardens.  We are still waiting and hoping for continued support.

I wrote a plea letter that I promised would be a once in a lifetime request, and based on my health, I truly meant that.  We sent the letter to our donors, posted it on my blog and shared our need through texts, emails, twitter and Facebook.

A kind donor and KKLA Radio Hosts Frank Pastore and Reba Toney provided a powerful radio thon that helped us passionately get out the word and we raised close to $70,000.

I drove to Santa Monica on May 24th a tired, broken, fearful yet hopeful man and met with our friend Scott Minerd.  He had called and asked me what we needed to save Hope Gardens, and I shocked him by saying that we needed $2.8 Million by June 30th to have any hope of saving Hope Gardens.  He told me a sweet story of how he wanted to bring his friends dog for a walk around Hope Gardens, but the dog had died of cancer. Tears welled up in his eyes as he told me that his friend had gone to the pound to find another dog, but the dog he picked out was mean, and he left the dog at the pound. Later that day the pound called his friend and said that the mean dog would be disposed of in a few hours since he was not adopted. Before he finished I knew what this huge hearted man was going to tell me.  Scott was now owner of that once hurt and aggressive dog, and he had named her grace, because she was saved by grace!

I asked Scott, no I begged Scott to allow us to honor him as our 2010 Hero 4 Hope. He was not keen on the idea, but said he would consider being the Hero 4 Hope if it would help.  Before I left, this giant of a man with an even  bigger heart told me that he would provide a gift of $250,000 that would be a challenge gift asking for others to match. He gave me a hug, and assured me that we had to do everything possible because, “we cannot let Hope Gardens close!”  I began to feel hopeful that a miracle was coming!

When we honored Scott as the Hero 4 Hope, we surprised him by having a partner of his who had flown in from Chicago say a few words. Scott was surprised, but he had a bigger surprise for me. He said, “I had a dream last night. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and in the dream I matched up to $500,000 of whatever was given at this event today!” I was amazed, but Scott was not done.  “Beyond that, I dreamed I would match any single gift of $250,000!”  I really began to have hope!  When that gift was matched by wonderful friends of the Mission, Scott said, “I did not tell you the rest of the dream. I dreamed the 1st $250,000 was matched and I offered a second match of $250,000.”  Not only did my faith grow at that moment, but I knew that indeed we were experiencing a miracle of love and that there was great hope for the moms and kids at Hope Gardens Family Center.

Like Scott, thousands have responded in their own special way.  A formerly homeless friend named Don who now has a home and has completely rebuilt his life became a monthly donor; a colorful builder of amps and guitars for premiere artists around the country, Myles, reached out to his network of friends, and you all gave what you could. Pastor Steve Faubion of Calvary Church Pacific Palisades presented us with a check for $25,000 from the church and shared that when the mission was hurting, they were hurting.  In addition the children at Calvary Christian school raised over $5000 when they were told they could wear jeans to school for a $10 donation! Early last week we were getting close when Pauley Perette, star of the top show on TV, NCIS, and a volunteer at Hope Gardens contacted me and said she wanted to help save Hope Gardens!  She joined twitter, something she had opposed for a long time, and with the help of a friend she posted a Youtube video asking her friends to join her in saving the most beautiful place on earth, a place where previously homeless moms and kids live a life of peace and hope.  We gained a huge amount of momentum from Pauley. It was remarkable.  Friday morning, June 25th, just 31 days after launching what seemed like an impossible attempt to raise $2.8 Million, a check for $250,000 came in from the Louis and Gladyce Foster Foundation, 1 week after the Foster family lost their wonderful matriarch, Gladyce at the age of 90.  She and her husband had given the cornerstone gift for our URM downtown building, the largest Mission in the US. Amidst their sorrow, they took the time and shared what they had putting us over the top, to $2.9 plus and counting!

Instead of having the dreadful task of relocating families, we are planning a celebration in the near future to praise God and thank each and every one of you who took part in this miracle!

I am trying, but I can not possibly put into words how thankful I am for this miracle that has transpired through you and friends like Scott who had faith, and more than that, had love for precious moms and kids. I broke into tears as I shared my joy with the Chairman of our Board of Directors that I don’t have to finish my career of ministry as a failure, and much more than that, hopeful moms like Angel, one of my Facebook friends, and her children do not have to leave the peace, safety and hope of Hope Gardens Family Center. Here’s what she wrote to me last night on Facebook:

 

“Thank you guys and thank our Heavenly Father – i will be giving prayers of thanks until the day i have to leave hope gardens! God bless and keep you all that created, support, and run these programs for us and our kids!”

Struggling To Keep Up With Need

We had quite a time over the last weekend when we received two big storm fronts and 5.8 inches of rain downtown. Not only was Union Rescue Mission fully occupied with precious souls, but this year we also took part in providing Winter Shelter in Burbank, Culver City, and West LA. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority contracted with our EIMAGO, public benefits entity, to provide winter shelter to an additional 570 individuals from Dec. 1 to March 15th, through the colder, rainy season.

“Storms Pound Skid Row Shelters” – Downtown News

We did a quick count of the numbers we had been getting at each of our Winter Shelters when we saw the weather forecast and stepped into action. We readied 150 cots in the Burbank armory, 150 each at the Culver City and West LA’s armories, along with 198 added cots to our downtown shelter facility. When the first storm hit we were overwhelmed with folks trying to get in from the cold, so we added an additional 100 cots in our Downtown facility’s gym! All told, when the second drencher came we had, if we included the women and children at Hope Gardens Family Center, 1,600 of our homeless friends out of the rain. We even received permission from the State Office of Emergency Services and the County of Los Angeles, to keep the Armories open 24 hours per day throughout the weekend. We added bus runs, more security guards, more cots, and 3 meals per day. This was great news to my friend Henry at the Burbank Shelter. “Could you see if you could keep it open for a few more days? It is too cold to go out there!”

I know this is just a drop in the bucket, so to speak, compared to the many homeless in our County, but I also know that I rested a bit better knowing that our team had done all that it could to get as many people out of the cold and the rain as possible. I have never been more proud of our hard working team!

I was pretty pleased with our work, ready to take a ‘breather’, and then I received an email from a friend in Ontario, California, just 30 miles away:

I’m trying to get a message to your president and CEO, Pastor Andy Bales. I remember reading about him when he was associate pastor of a church in Pasadena, where I used to work. The Lord moved me to Ontario a little more than two years ago and we need your help out here!

Here’s the situation: I’ve been preaching to the homeless in Pomona the past three years. Before that, we used to go out once a month to Skid Row and once a month to Pomona to take people food and pray with them. I remember leading a gentleman to The Lord right outside URM in the summer of ’04 just before he had to go in for the night. But The Lord moved me in Pomona, where I’ve been ministering weekly for about three years now.

But after He moved my work to Ontario, He also began moving me here. I started feeding and preaching Saturday mornings from a little spot near a train station and a small museum here (Ontario). About 25-30 homeless would gather there. Before long, the city moved people there, and about 25-30 people were living in tents by the railroad tracks.

Then the first week of July last year, the city came on a Thursday and said, “You have to leave by tomorrow. Here’s where you have to go.” So they led them to empty lots in the middle of nowhere – land that Ontario Airport’s owner actually owns (the company, which also owns LAX, was none too happy as the city did it without their knowledge!). Long story short: Now more than 200 people live in that area, aka “Tent City.” The people who’ve ministered to the homeless for many years in Ontario can’t support all the people who’ve moved in from out of town. In Pomona, the National Guard Armory opens up from December-March, so the people with whom I work over there can at least spend the night out of the elements. In Ontario, however, they just get wet, cold, and put upon.

As The Lord leads you, I would ask that you consider helping! Please! I’ll be out there this Saturday morning taking water and whatever blankets, coats, etc., that people donate. Whereas I used to bring coffee, doughnuts and water to attract people so they would hear The Word (either I or a friend would preach), now it is just about loving them and letting them know God loves them.

I’ve been to Skid Row. I’ve volunteered at URM (though that was >5 years ago). I’ve dragged people from the Fred Jordan Mission down here to help in the past. The situation has grown beyond the ability of one or two churches or parachurch ministries to handle it. We need to pull together The Body of Christ and allow Him to lead us. The fields here are ripe for the harvest. We need some laborers! Would you please help???

The next day another gentleman stopped by my office seeking assistance. He is opening up a Rescue Mission in the High Desert, as the existing shelter there, doing its best, is beyond full capacity and turning away an estimated 50 people each night.

Pray for us as we struggle to keep up with the needs of precious people around us. Thank you, Andy B.

Questions:

If you were in our position, what would you do?

Are things going to get better in our society, or are the numbers of people living without a permanent home going to increase?

What can you do in your own area to help meet the need?