Richard Rozman, 62, is a wealth-management advisor and manager in Manhattan Beach, California, and host of the radio program “The Rozman Experience,” which addresses volunteerism and philanthropy. He is a frequent donor and volunteer at Union Rescue Mission.

Richard Rozman loves to talk about Mother Teresa. “People would often ask her,” he says, “‘How do you keep serving the poor, the sick, and the dying with such vigor?’ She would always answer, ‘Whenever I meet someone in need, it’s really Jesus in His most distressing disguise.’”

Richard understands her answer. As a volunteer, he often rubs shoulders with men, women, and children experiencing homelessness at Union Rescue Mission. “You have to believe in God when you come to Union Rescue Mission,” he says. “He’s in the faces of those whose lives are transformed here.”

For more than 10 years, Richard has volunteered his time to work in URM’s kitchen, cooked turkeys at Thanksgiving, sponsored fundraising golf tournaments, taken guests to basketball games, organized hundreds of volunteers from companies he’s worked for, and he’s even looked for ways to connect URM graduates with jobs.

But it’s been a lifelong passion for Richard. He grew up with a special place in his heart for people experiencing homelessness. His father was homeless and used to ride the rails during the Great Depression. And later, when he owned his own service station in Los Angeles, he would employ local men who were homeless and needed change.

“It was quite interesting to watch that,” Richard recalls. “So now when I see someone experiencing homelessness, I remember my dad. That was Dad’s legacy. And that’s why I chose to volunteer my time at Union Rescue Mission.”

As much as Richard appreciates the opportunities he has to give back as a volunteer at Union Rescue Mission, he knows that the men and women he meets here give him so much more. “They have something to teach me about courage, strength, perseverance, and hope,” he says. “They’re not here because they want to be here. They’re here because of circumstances that would have caused most of us to fold our tents before we got here. When I see what these people overcome, I know there is hope for everyone — including me!”

As a result, Richard is deeply grateful for the chance to volunteer at URM.

“Life is short,” says Richard. “Most people act like they’ll be here forever. But we have an end. And what will people say at our funeral? What legacy will we leave? When I leave, I just hope someone benefited in some way because I was here. I am so blessed to have the chance to do this.”

Someone Cared and I Changed

When you’re an addict and your life is in ruins, you think no one cares. That’s how I felt anyway.

I was a drug addict for much of my life. So was almost everyone around me, including my dad. I started smoking weed in elementary school and by age 15, I was smoking crystal meth. Soon it was all I cared about — and I couldn’t quit.

It cost me jobs, cars, relationships, apartments, and by the age of 27, I was living on the streets. I believed I had to get high just so I didn’t have to face how bad my life had become.

At the same time, my father was getting clean and sober at Union Rescue Mission. When he graduated, he asked me to come. I didn’t go. In fact, none of his family attended his graduation. He felt no one cared — and I believe that disappointment killed him. Four days later, he died of a heroin overdose.

I ended up going to jail three times that year. I was tired and ready to change. Like my father, I came to Union Rescue Mission. But would anyone care?

At the Mission, I worked in the kitchen, in the maintenance department, and I participated in vocational classes taught by caring volunteers. Step by step, they talked to me, shared their lives with me, and encouraged me. They told how much they admired and respected me, and I started to feel like a new person.

I can’t tell you how much they meant to me. I knew they had successful lives outside the Mission, and they didn’t have to spend time with someone like me. But they did — and their compassion and encouragement gave me something to live up to. I guess it worked, because today I’m not only clean and sober, I’m the Volunteer Manager at Union Rescue Mission.

The whole experience taught me something. I changed because people cared enough to write checks to support Union Rescue Mission or volunteer their time to help women and men like me. I changed because they believed in me. But I’m not alone. Everyone who leaves this place transformed says the same thing. Our lives changed because of people like you. Thank you.

 Your Gift Doubles to Help Souls in Need

Growing numbers of people on Skid Row desperately need hope and a helping hand. They need YOU. And now, a generous friend of Union Rescue Mission has offered to match every gift we receive before June 30 — up to $200,000!

Your gift today will be doubled to help hurting men and women, and remind them someone
cares. You can provide TWICE the help — and receive twice the blessing!

Notes from Andy

There are many excuses to avoid helping people experiencing homelessness. But I think the real reasons are fear and a belief that people on Skid Row can’t change. So why try?

Rick Rozman, whose story is featured above, knows that’s not true. He has seen that with care and encouragement, people change every day at Union Rescue Mission.

Changing lives isn’t easy. Sometimes it’s messy. But every caring gift you send — every minute you invest as a volunteer or mentor — helps change a life.

This year, I hope hundreds more people like you make the commitment to stop making excuses and start caring. Together,we can end homelessness in Los Angeles forever.

Blessings,

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO

When you’re a kid, riding a merry-go-round, going round and round in circles, is fun. But when your whole life becomes one long ride on that merry-go-round, it’s not so fun.

One year ago, I was 29 years old, with three children, and I had never had a permanent, full-time job or lived on my own. I had my first child when I was just 14, then two more in my early 20s. Despite my young age, I was a good mother. I don’t do drugs, I don’t drink, and I don’t party. But outside of raising my kids, I never learned how to live life outside of the control of my family.

Over the past 16 years, I lived with my mom, my auntie, my sister, my boyfriend, my biological father — round and round, living with whoever would take me and my kids, whoever would take responsibility for my life so I didn’t have to.

But last year, I took a hard look at my life. Me and my kids were sleeping on my sister’s floor. Worse, the constant moving took a toll on my kids — they’re behind in their education and reading skills. It was clear that nothing would ever change unless I changed. But if I left, I’d be homeless. I was scared. Yet I had no choice. I had to get off the merry-go-round.

So I found myself a temporary position as an office assistant, to start earning some money, then I moved to Union Rescue Mission’s Hope Gardens Family Center. Not only did Hope Gardens provide us with shelter and safety, they provided tutors for my kids. They offered me classes that taught me about relationships, gave me better financial skills, and even skills to make me a better mother. They’ve given me everything I needed to live life on my own.

A couple of months ago, my temporary job turned into a permanent one. My next goal is to find us a new place to live. And after that, I plan to attend college to earn my business degree!

Thanks to Hope Gardens, and caring people like you who support Union Rscue Mission, I’m escaping the merry-go-round. Thank you!

No One Deserves to Be Thrown Away

Notes from Andy

The face of homelessness is changing. It’s no longer just the single male, struggling with addiction. Today it includes mothers with kids.

Nationwide, family homelessness is up 13% since 2007 — and is still climbing. More than 3 million parents and children are on the verge of homelessness.

Every week, more families run out of options. They fall all the way to Skid Row. Now, so many are coming to Union Rescue Mission, we’re struggling to find room for them all.

Why are we a society that seems willing to throw our families and children away so easily? We must learn to care again, to make sure no precious human being is thrown away to the streets.

Blessings

Rev. Andy Bales

Bone Cold and Less Than a Man

All my life, I wanted to design and construct buildings. Growing up, my heroes were men like Frank Lloyd Wright. But that dream never seemed very realistic for a kid raised in a gang bangin’ neighborhood like mine.

So, I pursued boxing instead — and at one time, I was one of the best amateur boxers in the country. But even that dream got derailed, thanks to drugs, gangs, and violence. After both my closest friends were murdered in the early 90s, my life fell apart. In fact, I later ended up going to prison for manslaughter myself.

After I was released in 2005, I got married and tried to turn my life around. But I still had issues I didn’t want to deal with. I ended up going back to prison, my wife divorced me, and after I left prison in 2010, I ended up living on the streets, eating out of dumpsters.

After a year, I knew I couldn’t survive another winter outside. In the fall of 2011, I went to the library, logged on to the internet, and I typed in “homelessness.” The first site I opened was for Union Rescue Mission. I studied the site and saw all the services they offered to help men like me. But I was skeptical.

A couple of months later, I was talking to an uncle about wanting to change my life. He said, “You have to go to Union Rescue Mission.” My mouth fell open. He explained that years before, URM had transformed his life and they could do the same for me. Three days later, he brought me here.

I’ve been here over a year now, and from the first moment, I knew the people here cared about me. There’s so much love in the air, and it never stops. That love, along with counseling, medical treatment, and spiritual mentoring, changed my life — the way I dress, talk, think, everything. All my life, I’d mimicked guys on the street to survive. Now, I learned to mimic Jesus Christ.

Today, I’m enrolled at Los Angeles Community College and the Pepperdine Business Entrepreneur Program. I’m going to fulfill my lifelong dream. I’m going to be an architect.

I will never be able to repay what Union Rescue Mission and people like you have done for me. I’ve never experienced this kind of love. I know Union Rescue Mission isn’t “home” — but it’s going to get me there.

Remember Our Hope

This Lenten and Easter season, we invite you to join us for a few moments each day to reflect on our real hope for healing and new life.

Receive Rev. Andy’s devotional emails by signing up here.

Todd’s story, which I hope you read in this issue of The Mission, is extraordinary in so many ways. His life was never easy, but then he spent more than a heartbreaking year trying to survive the streets.

I’ve seen these streets break hard, tough men like him. And many times, no matter how much healing they experience, the cruelty of the streets scars them for life. I’m sure Todd feels those scars — but you’d never know it. Every time I see him, his face lights up with joy and hope. There’s a bounce in his step, a lightness in his soul, and a determination to make his second chance at life mean something special.

And it’s all because of the love and care he experienced at Union Rescue Mission. It’s because he learned a new way of living, modeled after Jesus Christ. And it’s because of the dignity he rediscovered here.

Love, care, dignity, and Jesus. These make up the foundation that changes the lives of hurting and broken men and women. And, this foundation is only possible thanks to you and your support. Thank you.

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO

 

The Tragic Consequences of a Life Invisible

Steven’s ankles are swollen, his abdomen bulges grotesquely, and weariness consumes him. Forty years of heavy drinking earned him cirrhosis of the liver. Thanks to Union Rescue Mission, he’s sober now and on a waiting list for a liver transplant. But it’s a long list with no guarantees. Without the transplant, he has just months to live.

But he’s not worried. “God never gave up on me,” he says. “Over the past 40 years, he’s carried me past a lot of graveyards, and I believe he can do it again.”

Steven grew up the son of an uneducated, but hard-working father, who sacrificed a lot for his family. “My father wasn’t a selfish man. But I was. I didn’t want a slow nickel, I wanted a fast dime — and I wanted it now,” Steven says.
He got married in his early 20s and started working in the record industry. But before long, he was also a “full-blown” alcoholic.

“I became a black-out drinker and couldn’t remember what I did when I was under the influence,” he says. What he did was forge checks and rob banks, landing in prisons all over the country. He lost everything and ended up living on the streets.

“Most people saw me as a homeless drunk living behind dumpsters. But when I drank, I didn’t have to see me. I was Casper the Ghost,” he says.

In February 2011, his health was failing and his face was a “bloody mess” from a beating he received on the streets. He hadn’t bathed or eaten much in three months and his entire family had long ago given up on him.

He’d had enough and came to Union Rescue Mission. “I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and I signed up for my man card. I was 57 years old and I had to grow up and take responsibility for my life. I did everything He asked of me,” he says. And he did much more than the basics. He learned about responsibility and even reconnected with his siblings and renewed his wedding vows with his wife.

Everything in his life improved — except his health. That’s when doctors informed him he had cirrhosis.

“What’s my New Year’s wish?” he asks. “Sure, I want another chance at life. But what I really want is just to love on my family for as long as God gives me. I want to give back and love on people. I want to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them, because I’m so grateful for what God and Union Rescue Mission have done for me.”

New Years Wishes from the Street

For people experiencing homelessness, ringing in the New Year is not a celebration — it’s a painful reminder of their personal misery and the hopelessness they feel at not being able to do anything about it.

At Union Rescue Mission, however, we give these men and women the chance to hope and dream again. Your generosity gives hurting people the foundation they need to take their first steps toward a whole new life.

In this issue of The Mission, we celebrate and honor the hopes and dreams — and the courage — of the men and women at URM who choose to transform their lives in 2013.

Todd

Last year, I was living on the streets. But Union Rescue Mission completely changed my life. My dream for 2013 is to attend Pepperdine University’s Business Entrepreneur Program, and to attend Los Angeles Community College to study architecture. I want to be an architect —that’s been my life-long goal.

Todd, 46
Union Rescue Mission Christian Life Discipleship Program

 

 

 

I was a stay-at-home mom raising five kids when my husband decided to leave us. I didn’t have anywhere to live. I thank God He led us to Union Rescue Mission. Now I’m at Hope Gardens, and I know my kids and I have a future. My goal for 2013 is, first, to make sure my kids are stable. Then I want to go to college to study anesthesiology.

Raven, 34
Union Rescue Mission Hope Gardens Family Center

 

 

 

I was a drug addict for 43 years, but thanks to God I’m clean and sober today. I’ve lived a crazy life and I’ve written a book about it. In 2013, I hope my book is a blessing to people and I get the chance to travel the country promoting it. I also want to attend Hope International University so I can study the Bible and learn His Word.

Stanley, 58
Union Rescue Mission Apprenticeship Program

Things to Do Before Year End!

1. Make a Year-End Gift to Union Rescue Mission before Dec. 31

2. Visit our Gift Catalog at urm.org/giftcatalog to give a gift to a guest at URM this holiday season

3. Get some info about volunteering by visiting urm.org/get-involved or emailing volunteer@urm.org

Wishing for Work

As 2012 comes to end, I can’t help but joyfully look back at all the transformed lives who’ve come through Union Rescue Mission, thanks to people who care — people like you. I think of all the men who overcame addictions, others who found new jobs, and mothers with new-found hope.

Yet plenty of challenges remain. Last summer, we were home to a record number of families, including an average of 165 children per night. I think of all the parents who need jobs. I think of all the men escaping the streets, but who now face the daunting task of finding work that offers a livable wage.

My New Year’s wish? Jobs. If people are going to escape homelessness, they must have jobs. In 2013, I’m looking forward to working with investors who will help us create new job opportunities for our men and women. Union Rescue Mission is in the business of saving lives. Heading into 2013, I pray that with the help of increasing numbers of generous people like you, we can make a real dent in the numbers of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.

Blessings,

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO

Sometimes it’s tragic what too much freedom can do to a child.

Growing up in Louisiana, my father was a mean, abusive man. My mother sheltered me from him — and the world — as best she could. When she finally couldn’t take his abuse anymore, she left him and moved us to San Diego.

I was 13 and tasted freedom for the first time. I saw all the big, bright lights and got a taste for the party life — marijuana, barbiturates, acid, speed, and PCP. I loved it all. Then, in 1987, I tried crack. My life spiraled out of control.

I finally moved to Los Angeles in 2006, where I had relatives who dealt crack. Within a month, I smoked away every last penny I had. My girlfriend and I ended up sleeping on the sidewalks of Skid Row outside Union Rescue Mission — we fell . . . all the way to the bottom of the world.

Every day we hustled for a few dollars and more drugs. Every night, we lay down on filthy sidewalks that reeked of human waste and slept in a drug-induced coma with giant rats that crawled over us in the darkness. In winter, we shivered in the rain, in summer — never bothering to eat or drink much — we withered, dehydrated from the heat. Summers on these streets sapped my body down to 150 pounds of skin and bones.

And I didn’t care. Because all that mattered was that next hit. By 2008, however, it seemed like the world was closing in on us. We were surrounded by the constant presence of police, drug dealers, and thieves, and I knew we couldn’t survive much longer. I told my girlfriend, “We can’t fight this anymore. We need help.” And I promised her, if she came into Union Rescue Mission with me, I’d take care of her for the rest of her life. So that’s what we did.

It was a challenge at first. So I prayed, “Lord, take this disease from me. Give me the strength to complete this program so I can live a Christ-like life.” I read my Bible every day, went to the classes, worked the 12 steps, and stayed close to God. Slowly I recovered my life.

In time, I even found a job for the first time in more than 20 years. And with that foundation, I kept my promise to my girlfriend. On June 19, 2010, we married.

That’s the power of restoration that Union Rescue Mission — and you — offers men like me.

It’s nearly impossible to describe the disaster we call Skid Row. It’s a filthy, violent inferno populated by people who are drug addicts, alcoholics, gangsters, predators, ex-cons, prostitutes, and those struggling with mental illness.

But is that all they are? It’s easy to apply those ugly labels to them. But these unfortunate men and women are more than that. They’re someone’s mom or dad . . . brother or sister . . . son or daughter. They are precious human beings who are suffering in immeasurable ways — and I’m so grateful they have people like you who care.

Thank you for investing in people trying to escape these streets. You’re helping them climb out of an underworld of disease and evil, and enabling them to rejoin a world of health and hope. Your gift is changing lives.

Blessings,

Andy Bales