Graduating from Skid Row to a Better Life at the Los Angeles Mission

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) June 13, 2011 -- Contact: Steve Ruppe
949-584-9086

For Immediate Release

Los Angeles, California --- June 10, 2011 --- June is graduation season all over Los Angeles. Thousands of high school and college students moving to a new phase of life were joined Friday by 30 men and women at the Los Angeles Mission. But there is a significant difference, the Los Angeles Mission graduates have often struggled with more than final papers and tests – they have restored lives lost to substance abuse and more.

1

Graduating from Skid Row to a Better Life at the Los Angeles Mission

Welcome visit Our WebSite:

http://www.losangelesmission.org

“I wasn’t a very nice person when I did drugs,” said Melinda Chavez as she prepared to don her cap and gown for the Mission’s graduation ceremony. “I had burned out all my relationships with family and friends. No one wanted to put up with me. Finally a frustrated friend brought me to the Anne Douglas Center at the Los Angeles Mission and helped me get into the program. This last year has turned my life around.”

Chavez, 38, was joined at the dinner and ceremony by her children, her mother and her grandmother. “This ceremony is important because it tells my family that I can change and be a better person,” Chavez said. “But more than that, I have regained confidence.” Chavez is planning to continue with her schooling and get into an accounting program.

“There are so many stories of lives being changed at our graduation ceremony,” said Herb Smith, president of the Los Angeles Mission. “It is truly inspiring to have some of our students tell what they have overcome to get to this point. Graduation ceremonies are held three times a year, and it is always a highlight.”

The term “3 hots and a cot” has been used to describe the emergency services the Los Angeles Mission provides to the homeless on Skid Row, but it is the long-term rehabilitation program that makes up the majority of the work of the Mission. The Mission will provide more than half a million free meals this year, and more than 100,000 nights of safe lodging. But all of that exists to give those on the streets an opportunity to hear about the programs to help homeless men and women turn their lives around. More than 350 men and women are working through the demanding program at any given time. When they complete their education, job training and other courses, they officially graduate from the program.

“The no-cost aspect of our emergency services is vital,” says Smith. “We don’t want any roadblock to access. When people come through our doors, we want them to have hope that their condition can change and their life restored. That’s the same as it has been for the past 75 years.”

“We have been the doorway of Hope to the community for many decades,” said Smith. “Our 75th anniversary theme is ‘Doorways of Hope,’ signifying that the Mission is the entryway for many to a recovered live.”

The Los Angeles Mission has a proud history of helping. It began in the depths of the depression in 1936 as a Skid Row soup kitchen and Christian outreach to homeless men. Today it offers more than meals to the thousands who come for healing and hope. The Mission provides long-term rehabilitation, education, job training and more to those who need assistance.

The men and women in the long-term rehabilitation program are identified as students at the Los Angeles Mission. That shows to them and to others that they are learning important skills for a successful life off of the streets.

27 men and 3 women graduated Friday. Six received their GED certificates and medallions from Los Angeles Unified School District. Speaker for the evening was Rev. James Lewis, former director of the Men’s program at the Mission and currently Executive Director of the Old Savannah City Mission in Savannah, Georgia.

Before the graduation ceremony the candidates had a formal sit-down dinner with their families and friends, then put on their caps and gowns for the ceremony. Many had never graduated from anything before, and the experience was unique for them.

Students graduated with honors for taking classes in parenting, domestic violence, anger management, smoking cessation, systematic theology, the Book of Acts, Harmony of the Gospels and other classes above and beyond the required curriculum. Jonathan Fowler, Jr. graduated with Highest Honors and was class Valedictorian. Marco Anaya graduated with High Honors as Salutatorian.

The ceremony isn’t the end of the road for these graduates. Most are now looking for work, and jobs are difficult to come by these days. The Mission offers another year of supportive housing for its graduates, with full use of services including classes, the career center, counseling and opportunities to continue training in various professions. The goal is independent living, restoration of family ties, and for most, an effort to give back so others can enjoy the opportunity they had at the Mission.

For 75 years, the Los Angeles Mission has served the people of Skid Row, providing emergency services such as shelter, food, clothing, as well as professional medical and dental services. In addition, the Los Angeles Mission also offers long-term residential rehabilitation programs including education, job training/placement, transitional housing and counseling.
###

More information can be found online at http://www.losangelesmission.org

cap and gown     graduation     homeless     Los Angeles Mission     skid row