Authorities estimate that Los Angeles has more homeless people than any other American city. On any given night, somewhere between 38,000 and 69,000 Los Angeles residents will find themselves homeless. Less than 20,000 will be able to find safety in a shelter. Tragically, families with children are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. Women and children now make up nearly 40 percent of the homeless in Los Angeles.

In working with the poorest of Los Angeles' poor, Union Rescue Mission has pioneered a variety of restoration and prevention programs, becoming a nationally recognized leader in the successful treatment and rehabilitation of homeless citizens. Some of their innovative programs include:

Recovery - A 12-month Christian rehabilitation program to restore the lives of drug and alcohol-dependent people

Education - A computerized learning center which offers everything from basic literacy training to awarding fully accredited high school diplomas

Job Training - Job training programs in culinary arts, computer training, safety and security, custodial trades

Youth - A downtown community center which provides alternatives for hundreds of poor youth living on the street

Families - Family Together, an off-site complex providing restoration and transitional housing for families in crisis

Health Center - L.A.'s only free health center open to the homeless on a daily basis in the downtown area

In addition to restoration and prevention programs, Union Rescue Mission continues to be the largest provider of continuous emergency shelter services in the U.S. Between July 1, 1994 and June 31, 1995, Union Rescue Mission served over one million meals, provided 209,785 nights of shelter to homeless people and recorded over 6,555 patient visits to its free health center. 

As a model of success in helping broken people rebuild their lives, Union Rescue Mission has also helped found Door of Hope Family Shelter in Pasadena and the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake City.

From the Summer 1995 issue of City Voices. Used by permission of International Urban Associates