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PATH PartnersAndrew J. Bales, M.A.T.
Andy Bales is the CEO of Union Rescue Mission and a strong advocate for people who experiencing homelessness or poverty.
Posts by Andrew J. Bales, M.A.T.
Rescue Missions Versus the World: Why Housing First is not the Single Answer to Homelessness
Editor’s note: This is the second post by Reverend Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles, questioning the wisdom of rallying around Housing First as the single answer to homelessness. You can view his first post on the subject here. Despite the fact that Housing First seems to be the way the [...]
Housing First: A Costly Solution
Editor’s note: In this guest post, Reverend Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles, questions the wisdom of rallying around Housing First as the single answer to homelessness. Maybe you’ve heard this recently: “We’d like to fund your program, but we are moving all of our resources to permanent supportive housing.” Or you’ve [...]
Contributing to Their Own Recovery (Part Two)
Editor’s note: On Tuesday, August 24th, Andy Bales, the CEO of Union Rescue Mission (URM) in Los Angeles, CA wrote a piece describing the rationale behind URM’s decision to charge some shelter residents a fee. In this post he describes the implementation of URM’s new policy. When I wrote about the idea of charging some [...]
Contributing to Their Own Recovery (Part One)
Editor’s note: On Monday, August 23 we ran a piece about homeless shelters charging their guests fees to stay in their shelters. Andy Bales, the CEO of Union Rescue Mission (URM) in Los Angeles, CA recently announced URM would charge some shelter residents a fee. Andy has written a two-part series for Poverty Insights explaining [...]
Gang and Drug Dealer Injunctions Make Skid Row Safer
On April 7th I had the honor of representing my organization, Union Rescue Mission, and the Los Angeles Central Providers Collaborative perspective at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s press conference announcing the Skid Row/Recovery Zone’s gang injunctions. At the press conference, it was announced that eighty top drug dealers, gang leaders who live outside of [...]
Don’t Let Skid Row Return to Lawlessness
I received the letter sent to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and declined the offer to sign it. I believe it is yet another attempt by some to remove the helpful police presence from Skid Row, which would return this downtown neighborhood to the tragic scenes featured in The Soloist.
Statements were made in the letter that stated “crime has been reduced by 33% on Skid Row, therefore it is time to move police away from Skid Row and to more dangerous parts of our city.” The fact is, the police presence is the reason for this crime reduction and an absence of police would be followed by a return to lawlessness. As it is, there is still far too much crime and violence on Skid Row, especially against women.
And some of the crime..
Tsunami of Homeless Families Overlooked By Los Angeles Homeless Count
I was astounded by the results of the 2009 Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Homeless Count, especially by the reported 70 percent reduction in homeless families with children. Our experience for the last two years, particularly during the last 13 months, at the Union Rescue Mission in downtown Los Angeles has been the greatest Tsunami of families we have ever faced in our 118 year history, including during the Great Depression.
Of the more than 224 families who came to our doors during the last eight months, 53 percent reported they were homeless for the first time. We had to open an entire wing for families, and expanded into existing spaces. Our facility, programs, and staff have been overwhelmed. And we know we are….
