Stories From Skid Row

Sista Mary, founder of "Worthy of Love", throws birthdays parties for the children at the Mission every month! Ever since she was in high school she has been performing as a mascot - and now she does it for our kids!

Plainly speaking, without Scott Johnson the Mission would not operate at all. He oversees the kitchen, custodial, maintenance, gift-in-kind, and transportation services at Union Rescue Mission. Listen to his story on what its like to work at the Mission!

Marley has been serving people on Skid Row her entire life, and her passion to help people experiencing homelessness led her to work at URM full-time as our Volunteer Service Coordinator! 

Darren, chef extraordinaire at Union Rescue Mission, is a man of faith first and cook second! His heart for the folks who come through the Mission is readily apparent from the way he interacts with them - always with love and respect! 

Jessica Sutherland, one of the mentors from our Mondays at the Mission teen lifeskills program, gives her story of homelessness and why that pushed her to help those in similar situations! 

Norris was a professional Greyhound driver for 10 years - until his problem with drugs and alcohol derailed his marriage. Now one of the major drivers of the Mission, he recounts his story on how he got a second chance at URM! 

Drinking from an early age, Steve was sent on a destructive spiral after the death of his grandfather. After his passing, Steve lost a lot of who he was - but he was slowly able to rebuild his life here at the Mission!

Peter is one of the Youth Coordinators at the Mission! Not only is he a wonderful father of his two beautiful daughters, but he also fills that role for many of the children who come through the Mission. Listen to his story of redemption and transformation!

James Han entered the Mission needing and wanting hope. Hope for something different, and he found it in relationship - with God, with his Chaplain, and especially his family. Hear his triumphant story of reconciliation and restoration! 

Brandie has been a case manager for the past few years and prior to coming to Union Rescue Mission she felt like she wasn't growing - professionally and spiritually. She came to the Mission where she realized her goal to not just put people into housing as quickly as possible, but to set them up to succeed in the long run! 

Union Rescue Mission is able to do its life-saving work because of all of our faithful donors - and Christine is one of our point people who builds and maintains those relationships! In this episode, she shares her story on why she decided to work for the Mission! 

Next Step Ministries has been involved with the work here at Union Rescue Mission for the past few years - and they are passionate about creating long-term partnerships with every mission field they are involved in. Ashley has been their representative here at the Mission and she shares her testimony and her experiences on Skid Row!

A mainstay in the Mission's kitchen, Ruthie has been faithfully serving URM for the past few years. After losing her family - save her newborn - in a fire, she turned to a life of drugs and the streets. As she entered our doors, she saw our tagline "The Way Home", and she knew this was a place where she would rebuild her life.  

Chef Darren Evans is known to be a man of prayer. At every moment, he praises the Lord for the little things in life as well as the big things - and when he was offered the position at URM to be a cook he couldn't believe that he could minister and cook at the same time! 

After years of planning, the URM Thrift Store is finally open in Covina! Listen to Troy and Jeri, who among others have both worked tirelessly to get this store up and running.  URM Thrift Store 280 E. Arrow Highway Covina, CA 

Angel's first experience with Union Rescue Mission was when he dropped off some money for his father who had been in our program. He never came in, but would view the building from the outside. While he was working as a Bail Bondsman, he was also living a double life selling drugs. In 2013 he would finally enter into the doors of the Mission, not knowing what God would have in store for him...

James Ward and his family struggled with homelessness for years before landing at Union Rescue Mission in downtown Los Angeles, where he met Jessica Sutherland in 2012, and asked her for mentorship. Through this partnership, James kept his grades up and was admitted to Howard University, where he just completed his freshman year as a physics major!

Aaron Valencia, custom car builder,  founded Lost Angels Children's Project in response to the rise of child poverty in Los Angles. No stranger to homelessness himself, he wanted to help in his own special way - by rebuilding a 1931 Ford Roadster and raffling it off on August 30th, 2014!   All proceeds will be donated to support homeless children at Union Rescue Mission and Grace Resource Center!

Sherrell and her children came to the Mission after a series of unfortunate and stressful events. With her son James being 17 years old, URM was the only place in Los Angeles where they could've come without breaking up the family.

Christopher Kai started our teen lifeskills class "Mondays at the Mission" over 3 years ago! Every Monday he and a group of dedicated volunteers offer up their time to inspire our kids to dream big dreams!

Part 2 of URM CEO Andy Bales' interview with Jeff Lilley, the president of Seattle's Union Gospel Mission. 

On this week's podcast URM CEO Andy Bales gets a chance to interview Jeff Lilley, the president of Seattle's Union Gospel Mission. Check out part 2 next week!

Here's Part 2 of Emmethia's story! Emmethia grew up in foster care - abused, beaten, and broken hearted. She tried running away, sleeping on the streets, until they finally moved her into a family that truly loved her. She tells her story on how she came to LA to help her daughter reach her dreams of entering into the entertainment industry. 

Emmethia grew up in foster care - abused, beaten, and broken hearted. She tried running away, sleeping on the streets, until they finally moved her into a family that truly loved her. She tells her story on how she came to LA to help her daughter reach her dreams of entering into the entertainment industry. 

Part 2 of our interview with John Ashmen, the President of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions!