Anaheim 07

As I stepped out of the Los Angeles County school bus, my senses were immediately overwhelmed by the unmistakable odor of urine. “So,” I thought, surveying the numerous people hanging out on the streets, “this is Skid Row.”

The night before my youth group discussed the site of the next day’s Tourformation ministry. I was extremely excited to learn that we were going to Skid Row. Although I knew little about Skid Row, I did know that it was in the heart of inner city LA. As we prayed together for whatever we might see the next day and for God’s guidance and protection, I prayed with an expectation of what lay ahead of us. But I could not have imagined the mass poverty and pain we would encounter the next day.

Monday morning all 1,100 of us Anaheim ‘07 participants boarded school buses for various ministry experiences. Around 300 of us went to Skid Row where we immediately went into the Union Rescue Mission. I was instantly struck and impressed by the security of the place. A guard behind a glass partition had to electronically unlock the door before a person could get in. As I learned more about the Union Rescue Mission and became even more impressed.

Tim Peters, a native of Hillsboro and our host for the day, explained the goals of the rescue mission. I was shocked to learn that the LA Union Rescue Mission is the largest of its kind in the U.S. Tim explained that the mission helps homeless people with both long term and short term needs. The mission offers food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, recovery programs, transitional housing, legal assistance, education, counseling and job training. We heard testimonies from two people who described the impact the mission had had on each of their lives.

Next we split up and went to see various different places along Skid Row. The group that I was with went just down the block to Central City Community Church. This church was started in the late 1980s and was the first church on Skid Row. In addition to Sunday morning worship services, the church currently has two major outreach programs.

The first is an after-school program. Kids can work on homework and have a safe place to be. The director said that he is very proud of the fact that the teenagers who come to the after-school program are afforded the same opportunities that his own children are.

The second outreach program is a weekly Wednesday karaoke night held in the building. The participants are homeless people in the area. The director acknowledged that the idea seems a bit funny, but that something as simple as a karaoke night can give people who have nothing and nothing to be proud of a chance to be a star and the center of attention.

One thing the people at the church emphasized was why people end up homeless and what keeps them from getting out of this desperate situation. The percentage of people that are homeless and have mental illnesses or are addicted to drugs is incredibly high. I was surprised to learn that many of the single homeless mothers were domestically abused, wanted to escape the abuse and just have nowhere to go.

My favorite part of the day, and possibly the whole Anaheim event, was getting lunch. This seemingly simple and ordinary task was very extraordinary on this day since we had to purchase our food from at a Skid Row store or vendor. Tim urged us to talk to people on the street and to ask them what they thought of LA.

As I walked the streets with a small group of four from my youth group, I was struck by a few things. The first was all the high-end cars and SUVs that were all over streets of Skid Row. Mercedes, Bentleys and Cadillacs were commonplace. I found it very ironic that the same types of cars that were on the streets of Anaheim, a very touristy and crime-free area, were on the streets of Skid Row where violent crime is part of everyday life.

The second thing I noticed was the very large and imposing police station that sat just east of the Union Rescue Mission. I find it interesting that while there is an obvious police presence, there is also a lot of crime.

The third thing that was apparent to me was that I, a Caucasian, was in the minority. Most of the people that I saw on the street were African American or Hispanic. It was funny to walk down the street and see another small group that was just so obviously part of the Anaheim convention.

I am generally not an outgoing person, so it felt very adventuresome for the group I was with to talk to two police officers that were standing by the police station. They said that the gangs had declared Skid Row a “marketplace” where drugs can be sold between gangs and that not much gang fighting goes on. So gangs are not as much of a problem in Skid Row as in other places in LA. However, during our conversation the policemen urged us at least three times not to walk around Skid Row after dark because of all the drugs and violence.

We met back at Union Rescue Mission and groups were given an opportunity to share what they had learned from the people we talked to. Several things that were shared have stuck in my mind. Nearly everyone on the street didn’t like Skid Row. They all thought it was dirty and just not a good place to be.

I am very thankful for the opportunity I had to visit Skid Row. The experience opened my eyes and my heart to the hurt and need that is so prevalent in the inner city. I was continually amazed by the optimism and trust in God of the people at the Union Rescue Mission.

As I reflect on the image of Skid Row in the shadow of the downtown skyscrapers, I am reminded that God is a God of everything and everyone. He is God of the bustle and business of downtown, God of the rich and famous in Hollywood and God of the diseased and poor in Skid Row.