Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Understanding Love on Valentine’s Day
I was resisting the urge to blog today as I was focused on clearing my desk and rushing home to celebrate Valentine’s Day with my wife. But, reading Elizabeth Sandoval’s LA Daily News article of today caused me to respond.
Ms. Sandoval’s story tells about being confronted with the dark side of homelessness that few of us think about. Most of us see a homeless person and think about that person’s need for shelter and a meal. We at the Los Angeles Mission serve that need. We treat everyone with dignity and an offer of hope.
What can be unseen or overlooked by most of us is the impact of hopelessness and the despair of the homeless person’s family and friends who have been there so many times before. What is one casual and sometimes emotional encounter for most of us is contrasted to a sad history of broken hearts, lost hopes and dreams for someone family and friends once loved.
The Los Angeles Mission serves immediate needs with the hope that a homeless person will enter our program and eventually experience not only a personal healing but also a healing for the family ties that have been broken. We look for sparks of potential that with God’s help will bring new life.
Jesus once said “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. On this day of Eros focused love, I commend to you that Agape focused love can and will yield permanent changes in the life of another person.
In Sandoval’s column her friend Karen needs to have her brother restored to a healthy relationship with her, and her niece needs a father who can come to terms with his past and redeem those lost years with healthy new ones. It may not happen soon, and there may be many disappointments. But one thing we have learned and teach at the Los Angeles Mission -- giving up is simply not an option.
--Herb Smith, President
Ms. Sandoval’s story tells about being confronted with the dark side of homelessness that few of us think about. Most of us see a homeless person and think about that person’s need for shelter and a meal. We at the Los Angeles Mission serve that need. We treat everyone with dignity and an offer of hope.
What can be unseen or overlooked by most of us is the impact of hopelessness and the despair of the homeless person’s family and friends who have been there so many times before. What is one casual and sometimes emotional encounter for most of us is contrasted to a sad history of broken hearts, lost hopes and dreams for someone family and friends once loved.
The Los Angeles Mission serves immediate needs with the hope that a homeless person will enter our program and eventually experience not only a personal healing but also a healing for the family ties that have been broken. We look for sparks of potential that with God’s help will bring new life.
Jesus once said “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. On this day of Eros focused love, I commend to you that Agape focused love can and will yield permanent changes in the life of another person.
In Sandoval’s column her friend Karen needs to have her brother restored to a healthy relationship with her, and her niece needs a father who can come to terms with his past and redeem those lost years with healthy new ones. It may not happen soon, and there may be many disappointments. But one thing we have learned and teach at the Los Angeles Mission -- giving up is simply not an option.
--Herb Smith, President
Friday, February 09, 2007
What Part of NO DUMPING Don’t You Understand?
I am outraged and appalled that once again a homeless person is dumped into skid row with no attempt of placement with any of the providers in this area!
The Los Angeles Mission does not have any formal agreement with any person or hospital to receive discharged patients. But, who needs one? We are ill equipped to handle these cases but we will do whatever it takes rather than see someone dumped into the gutter. Our address is 303 E. 5th Street and there is a security person on duty 24/7/365! At 10:45 in the morning there are more than enough staff and residents to assist this gentleman with dignity and respect! We could provide a shower, clean clothes, something to eat and a place to rest while we determined where he might be referred for more permanent care. There is absolutely no reason to dump somebody onto the street. We at the mission attempt to model the servant lifestyle of Jesus and the Good Samaritan. We can do nothing less than serve those who come to us in the greatest need.
As a Presbyterian and hopefully just a decent human being I really hope that Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital was not involved. We are attempting to contact the hospital for more details on why, if they were coming to the Los Angeles Mission, they missed us by a couple blocks and dumped someone on one of the worst streets in Los Angeles’s skid row. Shame on whoever did this!!
No, we don’t need an agreement to reach out and help the hurting. We need an agreement with the reputable hospitals, clinics and city government that makes sure this doesn’t happen again and that throws the book at those who perpetrate this outrage.
--Herb Smith, President
The Los Angeles Mission does not have any formal agreement with any person or hospital to receive discharged patients. But, who needs one? We are ill equipped to handle these cases but we will do whatever it takes rather than see someone dumped into the gutter. Our address is 303 E. 5th Street and there is a security person on duty 24/7/365! At 10:45 in the morning there are more than enough staff and residents to assist this gentleman with dignity and respect! We could provide a shower, clean clothes, something to eat and a place to rest while we determined where he might be referred for more permanent care. There is absolutely no reason to dump somebody onto the street. We at the mission attempt to model the servant lifestyle of Jesus and the Good Samaritan. We can do nothing less than serve those who come to us in the greatest need.
As a Presbyterian and hopefully just a decent human being I really hope that Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital was not involved. We are attempting to contact the hospital for more details on why, if they were coming to the Los Angeles Mission, they missed us by a couple blocks and dumped someone on one of the worst streets in Los Angeles’s skid row. Shame on whoever did this!!
No, we don’t need an agreement to reach out and help the hurting. We need an agreement with the reputable hospitals, clinics and city government that makes sure this doesn’t happen again and that throws the book at those who perpetrate this outrage.
--Herb Smith, President
