End of Month Update - Union Rescue Mission - January 2022

Like many others, we were really hit by Omicron. This time it wasn't the deadly threat we had before, but it was like a scourge of mosquitoes just harassing us over two hundred cases. This month I was interviewed about the fifty-nine areas where L.A. City Council voted to banish encampments throughout the city, and I know we have to do something. Still, I pleaded for more outreach and more innovative places to go. We don't have nearly enough shelter, and maybe we need to compromise on what shelter means. But we certainly don't need million-dollar units and we don't need to leave thousands on the streets while we develop these units.

I was also interviewed by Inside Edition just recently, and you may have seen that around the country. We've had some tragic events in L.A., and it's happening too often. I emphasize that we need a FEMA-like response to this mental health and homeless crisis! We are far past the tipping point, and it is the worst possible conditions I can think of in my thirty-five years of doing this work; 17 years here on Skid Row, and I've never seen this level of violence.

Lastly, we have all kinds of opportunities here at Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens Family Center and our new Angeles House - opening in March. In South L.A., Angeles House will house eighty-six families eventually. We need your help. If you're a great cook, we need you. If you want to do anything, we might have a place for you at Union Rescue Mission. Being here, I can't recommend it enough. It's been life-changing for me to work at Union Rescue Mission. As my friend John says, step up like a hero and work at Union Rescue Mission!
Apply at urm.org/careers

We also need volunteers. If you love your job and your current job and want to volunteer even a few hours a week, we need your help at our distribution center. Our Union Rescue Mission Distribution Center needs your service a few hours a week.
Visit urm.org/volunteer

We couldn't be doing any of this life-saving, life-changing work without you. You make the difference! We can't thank you enough.