By DIANA GARUNO

El Nuevo Sol

“The disciples woke him up and he just placed his hand and said please be still and the storm stopped, now we all have storms in our lives amen? – Amen,” this is John Raskin from the board of directors for the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission, preaching the word to a group of homeless people. Raskin is right, for these people everyday is a storm.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau the official poverty rate in 2009 was 14.3 percent up from 13.2 percent in 2008, this was the second statistically significant annual increase in poverty rate since 2004. In 2009, 43.6 million people were in poverty, up from 39.8 million in 2008, making it the third consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty. In fact, the poverty rate last year was the highest poverty rate since 1994.

Family is the country’s heart and the foundation of this nation. Today, bad economy is putting these families on the streets. “In the County of Los Angeles we have about 80 thousand that are homeless. And in the 80 thousand in LA County we have about 8 thousand that are homeless, where in the San Fernando Valley half of them are women and children and the fastest number of homeless within the United States,” said Frank Mastrolonardo, Vice President of Ministries for the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission.

On any given night in Los Angeles County there’s approximately 80 thousand homeless individuals, but only 17 thousand homeless beds available. Over the course of the year around 152 thousand individuals find themselves without shelter.

The San Fernando Valley, once the middle class bedroom community of Los Angeles has grown up to have the same problems that once only plagued downtown. That problem is homelessness. While there are four strong Rescue Missions serving the 10 thousand homeless people downtown, there is only one Rescue Mission headquartered in the San Fernando Valley located in North Hollywood.

Established in 1998, the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission began as the Rescue S.O.S. (Survival Outreach Services) meals outreach program to the Valley’s homeless. In 2002, the mission launched the Family Shelter program in a collaborative effort with San Fernando Valley area churches in response to the significant need for year round emergency shelter. Annually the Mission provides nearly 73 thousand hot meals, 22 thousand night of shelter, and 18 thousand hot showers.

Since the start of the Great Recession, which according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, began in December 2007, we clearly see in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics an increase in unemployment by 2008. After 2008 we see a significant rise, but by the end of this past summer a slightly decrease is seen.

Shawn Lee, his wife, and their 14-year-old daughter Kamren have been living at the Mission for six months. They ended up in the streets after their house went to foreclosure and Lee got laid off from his job. “Hopefully they’ll be more shelters opening up to families and through the economic crunch you know, that its hit actually the whole nation. You know there’s a lot of women and children and families out on the streets right now sleeping I cars and just really going through it and I don’t believe there’s enough resources for us out there right now,” said Lee.

Things become even more difficult when there’s only one parent in the family, which means only one income, and that parent having to play both roles, the Mother and the Father. This is the case of Kristy Peach who has been living in the shelter for a month with her two daughters after living in her truck for a week. “Trying to keep the girls calm, get them focused. Trying to get them to not worry about what’s going to happen in the future and that they know that I’m there for them no matter what, and that I’m going to take care of them.” These are some of the difficulties when dealing with children; homelessness can be an emotional struggle for them.

The San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission is currently providing shelter to 20 families. These families get to have a warm bed to sleep in, a kitchen to warm up food, a bathroom and washing machines to wash their clothes. They also get two hot meals per day. Different churches around the area provide dinner. This is where the parents get to sit down with their children at the end of the day, and thank the Lord they have a hot meal and a place to spend the night.

Shelter manager explains that the Rescue Mission gives these families a place to stay while they look for a job, save money, get permanent housing and get back on their feet. There’s definitely help out there for the homeless, but the problem is not enough resources for the people in need. Jay Thompson, Shelter Manager says, “It has increased, but we do turn away up to 30 to 50 applicants a day that are unable to be accommodated here do to the great need in this area.”

When it comes to the poverty rate, it represents an average over the entire population and does not really show who in particular is well off or worse off. For that reason it is essential to study poverty levels for specific groups. For example, black and Hispanics have poverty rates that greatly exceed the average.

According to the Institute for Research on Poverty, the poverty rate for all blacks and Hispanics remained near 30 percent during the 1980’s and mid-1990’s. Subsequently, the percentage began to fall. In 2000, the rate for blacks dropped to 22.1 percent and for Hispanics to 21.2 percent. This was the lowest for both groups since the United States began measuring poverty. Since 2009 the poverty rate for both of these groups has risen to 25 percent or more.

But what exactly is living in poverty? According to the poverty guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services for a family of two the poverty threshold is $14,570, for a family of 3 its $18,310 and more than that is as shown on the graph.

Poverty is everywhere, and shelters in Los Angeles try to help those in need. The interesting thing about the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission is their program, Rescue S.O.S. The program helps specific populations in the community who are in need by providing the basic essentials, such as a hot meal and hot shower.

The interesting thing about the program is that they have a mobile shower unit where they take it daily to areas of the San Fernando Valley. The showers are on a trailer and it can go wherever a simple shower can make a huge difference. The mobile shower unit began in March 2008. Today, the rescue mission takes these showers to different areas around the community 6 days a week. In times like these a simple shower and hot meal mean a lot.

Rob Baskerville, Outreach Coordinator for the SFV Rescue Mission drives the showers to different churches around the area, “Naturally there’s a lot of people now do to the economy that they’re out in the streets and they’re really trying to find ways to survive so when they heard about our program of feeding and showering sometimes they first started off coming to the feeding and they were able to get a hot meal but as they saw that the shower program was also available to them, we are seeing the numbers increasing.”

After they’re done with the shower they are provided with items such as a toothbrush, a towel, hygiene kits. Homeless people are not always willing to share their feelings, but a shy and thankful glow can be seen in their eyes. “Not just a shower, they help you. You know that somebody cares you know, that’s the most important thing that somebody cares,” said Juan Cordova, homeless in Van Nuys.

For these people, everyday is a storm. Many of them live in the streets or in cars.
These individuals struggle everyday looking for a place to sleep, for food and something to wear. Many of the volunteers who help feed the homeless among other things, were or are still without a home or a job and decide to stay with the Rescue Mission to help others in need, like John Stein, “It has helped me out a lot to open up my heart to other people and to give you know. To take my mind off of thing, even though I’m looking for a job right now and things may not look the best situation it helps me to help others and look it, it can be worse you know. You could be on the streets.”

The rescue mission lives by one rule and that is to appreciate the small thing in life, like a hot shower and a hot meal. The San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission operates the only emergency shelter for homeless families in the Valley. It annually provides thousands of hot meals, nights of shelter, and hot showers. The mission is open seven days a week and their goal is to help the homeless population that dwell in the Valley.

For More Information: San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission

Daily Meals and Hot Showers Schedule:

Monday – Chatsworth
Chatstworth Foursquare Church
10210 Canoga Ave.
Showers: 9:30am-11:15am Meal: Noon-1pm

Tuesday – N. Hollywood
1st Babptists Church of N. Hollywood
11210 Otsego St
Showers: 9am-10:15am Meal: 10:30-11:30am

Tuesday – Sun Valley
Iglesia Aposento Alto
11039 Cantara St
Showers: 10:30-11:45am Meal: Noon-1pm

Wednesday – Reseda
Zoe Christian Fellowship
7143 Baird Ave.
Showers: 9:30-11:15am Meal: Noon-1pm

Thursday – Van Nuys
Central Lutheran Church
6425 Tyrone Ave
Showers: 9:30-11:15am Meal: Noon-1pm

Friday – Winnetka
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
8520 Winnetka Ave
Showers: 9:30-11:15am Meal: Noon-1pm

Saturday – Van Nuys
Van Nuys Civic Center
(Sylvan St between Van Nuys Blvd and Sylmar Ave)
Showers: (not available) Meal: 4pm

Shelters in Los Angeles:

Communidad Cesar Chavez
207 N Breed St, Los Angeles, CA

People Helping People
9719 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Mission
303 East 5th St, Los Angeles, CA

Jovenes Inc
1320 Pleasant Ave, Los Angeles, CA

Missionaries-Charity Brother
1316 S Westlake Ave, Los Angeles, CA

Homeless Outreach Program
5715 1/4 S Broadway Ste 1, Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Youth Network
1754 Taft Ave, Los Angeles, CA

Other ENS stories related to homeless and economic crisis:

Despite Removal of Tent City, Many Homeless Still Sleep Outdoors in Sacramento by KAROLINE STEVENSON

Tags:  Diana Garduno Homeless Poverty US Census