I spent the evening on Skid Row

Last night I spent the evening on the streets of Skid Row in Los Angeles California.  Los Angeles is home to the highest homeless population in the nation.

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Super Bowl Sunday and Super Bowl Parties

Andy Bales, the CEO of Union Rescue Mission just posted a few photos on Facebook.  His caption read:  

Starting on a batch of chili for 1000 for the big game today-should I say Souper Bowl? I'll post finished product!

Union Rescue Mission.  What a great organization.  Andy Bales.  Their CEO and one heck of an amazing man.

Superbowl Sunday will not see as many homeless folks go hungry, or miss the game if that is of interest.  You want to impress folks with your Superbowl party where you feed ten ... twenty .... fifty?  It won't impress me much.  Andy and is crew will feed over 1,000.

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Homelessness in Los Angeles Increases

Recently the Los Angeles Times printed a story showing that in spite of the economy improving for some, perhaps the wealthy more so than the general population, the number of homeless on the streets of Los Angeles has increased.

I applaud the story from the Times.

This is the first story I have seen that agrees to what I personally see on the streets each week.  My counts of the homeless which have been documented and which I have posted in real time on social media are also in agreement with this Los Angeles Times story.

Click on "Read more" to continue

Skid Row Los Angeles, a URM story

A short video from the folks at www.urm.org

Los Angeles - Highest Homeless Population in the U.S.

This is the April 2013 update from Union Rescue Mission.

I have written about URM and Andy Bales their CEO since 2009.  Some of my other pieces can be found here:

http://la-economy.blogspot.com/search/label/urm and here http://la-economy.blogspot.com/search/label/homeless




You can help.

Update today 5/8/13.  I posted this on facebook:

Congratulations to the folks at Union Rescue Mission and their CEO Andy Bales and their VP Jacqui Groseth. The latest facts and figures are in from Charity Navigator, the folks that investigate and rate all the charities. URM received 4 stars out of 4 for Accountability & Transparency. A score of 67 out of 70. 

Back in 2009 I wanted to align myself with one of the homeless support organizations in Los Angeles. I spent a lot of time visiting facilities and asking questions. In the end I picked URM. Looks like I made a good call.

In the end there are many great organizations in Los Angeles but it makes me smile when I look at these independent reports and find that URM came out ahead of the two other Los Angeles missions that I also feel do great work.

It is time to think about Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving is upon us once again and there are many folks that don't have much to be thankful for but you can make this more than just another holiday season and do more than just "phone it in", stuff your face with a nice meal, at a nice table, in a nice house .... with a roof .... and heat ... and walls ... and a bathroom ... and running water ...

Please feel free to share this link with as many folks as you can.

The number of homeless on the streets has increased  once again regardless of what the reports of the economy tell the masses.  I have watched the street population rise every year since I started counting folks in 2009.

The economy and increase in homelessness has impacted URM again this year, regardless of what the media reports.  When my involvement started with URM in 2009 the price per meal was $1.84.   You can check out some of the photos from 2011 and 2012 and see how much URM provides for less than half of what one pays for a you pay for a burger and fries at your local fast food place at the links just below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myles111us/sets/72157628055910983/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/myles111us/sets/72157632036286632/

I think you would be amazed at the meal they provide.

Many of you have seen the post asking you to help the folks at Union Rescue Mission over the last years.  My original post can be seen at http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2010/11/help-me-provide-thanksgiving-meals-at.html  The people who provided meals in 2010 and 2011 are listed in that piece.

Below is a bit of past information.  In 2014 I stopped counting meals as things became more depressing as I watched the media report on how things were improving .... as the situation became worse.  Bottom line ... by any count, the situation has not improved.  Feel free to contact URM directly if you want to know the figures on meals provided for past Thanksgiving meals.

In 2010 our dinner count was 1,465 dinners!

In 2011 the count from our group was over 1,700 of the approximately 7,000 meals served

2012 the best year yet! - 1,861 meals donated this year!

2013 - Over 4,000 meals were served.

(not counting those who asked to remain anonymous and some cell phone donations) 

Los Angeles continues to hold the title of the homeless capitol of the United States.  Take a look at the two links below for some recent information.

Homeless is not a label which is reserved for people who have mental problems, drug or alcohol problems or have personality disorders.  There are people on the streets like you and me.  People who were a productive part of society who have lost their jobs due to the economy.  People who have lost their homes.

http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2012/08/skid-row-july-2012.html
http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2012/06/homelessness-there-are-individuals.html

Union Rescue Mission is the oldest and largest of the Los Angeles missions.  They are highly organized, very efficient and have a track record of long term recovery that goes back over 100 years.

Sponsor a table at Union Rescue Mission or 

provide a meal for a family or individual

I am asking my friends for help.  There are a number of ways you can help.  The bullet points below hit the high points.  Further down in this piece there are additional details.

• Go to the URM website at http://www.urm.org/ and click on the donate tab
• You may contribute in ANY amount.  Even a few dollars helps
• All contributions are 100% tax deductible
• All credit cards are accepted on a secure site
• You may also donate via paypal from the main donation page
• In a hurry? Donate $10 (feed a family of four people) via a text message from your cell phone

The cost of a meal is only $2.41. No credit card? No pay-pal? Do you have a cell phone? To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction. This will supply five Thanksgiving dinners

For $48.20 you can sponsor a table at Thanksgiving.  The table is for 20 people.   You can also sponsor partial tables.  You can donate in any amount.  

Click on either image for a larger presentation.

2011 dinner plate

Pie for dessert.  Not seen in this shot was the four different choices of
ice cream to accompany your pie.

This is a collective effort.  By passing along the link to this piece you help spread awareness.  

If you donate to Union Rescue Mission using any method, please feel free to send me your name or company.  Your supplied information will be included in this piece. How you are listed is optional.  It does not have to be your own name.  The donation can be in the name of a loved one, family member, organization, company, your dog, a cause of some type or just about anything you wish.  Those who have helped in the last two years are listed in the 2010/2011 piece.

Optionally, it helps me if you send me a note or message with a donation amount or meal count.  The amount will not be published.  I use the data to get an idea of the meal count we have raised.

Any contribution goes a long way.  A few dollars helps.  Many of you have spare change sitting in your paypal account.  That "$8.43" that may not enough to buy a book off Amazon or a cool effects pedal off  Ebay may be just the ticket for a better holiday for some folks. The salt alone for the stuffing could be paid for by one small donation.  Here is Chef Larry's recipe for stuffing; for 4,500 people :)

250 pounds crusty bread

32 pounds butter

500 onions, diced

500 celery stalks, diced

63 cups minced fresh parsley leaves

62 table spoons salt

125 table spoons ground black pepper

500 cups chicken broth

500 large eggs

Below, a slide show of the 2011 and 2012 event. Thank you all again.   2011 Event 2012 event

Myles Rose is the founder of Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting which provides support services and training for touring bands and individuals as well as blueprinting services.   You may contact me from the link.  My direct contact information is provided as well as links to two of the Internet forums where I answer technical questions.  You may also ask questions in any post in this blog by using the comment application on each post.

When I am not doing something related to music I do what I can to support the homeless of Los Angeles either directly on the streets at night or through my good friends at Union Rescue Mission.

Skid Row, July 2012

July begins the new fiscal year for Union Rescue Mission.

The homeless situation is not getting better but many of you reading this helped more than words can express.  Here is a bit of a snapshot of last year:

July 2012 was the hottest month on record in the history of the United States and in Downtown Los Angeles.  When the temperature climbs above 85 degrees downtown the folks at URM pass out cold water bottles to those on the street.  These bottles cost money.  Feel free to help the folks at URM with a donation.

July is also the first month in the fiscal year for the folks at Union Rescue Mission so I will keep some of the figures from the last month of last fiscal year in this piece as information.

The number of families on the street increased.

The number of "permanent" dwellings on the street increased.  My definition of "permanent" is tents, shopping carts, cardboard on the street used for bedding, etc.  These items that one can find in the same place night after night.  

All I can do is count the people I see in a specific geographic area.  I don't have any "hard" facts and figures although some folks downtown in some government offices seem to listen to me.

I can however, give you a bit of a snapshot from June from the folks over at Union Rescue Mission, the largest mission in the USA which sits at ground zero in the middle of what is the highest homeless population in the nation.

By the way, if after you read some of the below figures feel free to visit www.urm.org and look at the many ways you can help.  Even $10 will feed a family of five.  The folks at URM accept any credit card on their donation page and even accept paypal.  In a hurry?  You can feed five people in less than a minute from your cell phone.  To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction. 

A few pieces of data for the month of June and (July 2012.  increases in red font)

• 123 people were seen by the mental health clinic at URM (124)
• 436 people were seen by the doctors on site at URM from UCLA (508)
• 570 people were seen by the dentists on site at URM from USC (605)
• 55 people were seen by the legal staff at URM for legal assistance (43)
• 4,293 hours were spent by volunteers (4137) Volunteer hours were down as were donations
• 20,931 nights of shelter were provided by individual (24,095)
• 2,501 night of shelter were provided to families (2,700)
• 70,185 meals were served.  In one month. In June. (73,580)

Services provided continue to increase.  Donations continue to decrease.  Please think about what you might be able to do to help and please pass along the link to this piece.

In the past I have posted Andy Bales status updates in another post which has gotten quite large.  I also have commented on Andy Bales as an individual.  In the future, Andy's latest video update will be seen in a new post such as this post with figures of interest in the post.

For those who want a bit of insight on Andy Bales from some of my past writing see the two links below:

http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2011/02/perhaps-most-impressive-person-i-have.html
http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2011/06/real-deal-directly-from-andy-bales.html


Here is the latest for August status update video from Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission.

Skid Row in June. An inside view.

June was a busy month on skid row in downtown Los Angeles.  The number of people living on the streets increased.  The number of violent crime incidents increased.

The number of families on the street increased.

The number of "permanent" dwellings on the street increased.  

All I can do is count the people I see in a specific geographic area.  I don't have any "hard" facts and figures although some folks downtown in some government offices seem to listen to me.

I can however, give you a bit of a snapshot from June from the folks over at Union Rescue Mission, the largest mission in the USA which sits at ground zero in the middle of what is the highest homeless population in the nation.

By the way, if after you read some of the below figures feel free to visit www.urm.org and look at the many ways you can help.  Even $10 will feed a family of five.  The folks at URM accept any credit card on their donation page and even accept paypal.  In a hurry?  You can feed five people in less than a minute from your cell phone.  To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction. 

A few pieces of data for the month of June:

• 123 people were seen by the mental health clinic at URM
• 436 people were seen by the doctors on site at URM from UCLA
• 570 people were seen by the dentists on site at URM from USC
• 55 people were seen by the legal staff at URM for legal assistance
• 4,293 hours were spent by volunteers
• 20,931 nights of shelter were provided by individual
• 2,501 night of shelter were provided to families
• 70,185 meals were served.  In one month. In June.

In reference to that meal count.  At the end of last month URM was half way through the calendar year.  At that point 920,867 meals had been served.  Looks like by the end of this month (July) they will pass 1,000,000.

Services provided continue to increase.  Donations continue to decrease.  Please think about what you might be able to do to help and please pass along the link to this piece.

A night on the streets of Skid Row in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has the highest population of homeless people living on the streets in the nation.

This is one night on the streets of skid row with Andy Bales, the CEO of Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles.  You can learn more at www.urm.org if you wish.

What does the Daily Grill have to do with the homeless?

I generally don't post my Yelp reviews here.  In this case I am making an exception.

Last night I went out with a few friends for dinner and drinks.  I published my review on Yelp.

If I were to base my rating on the food, selection, service or organization of the location in Burbank it would rate a solid four stars based on value for the dollar and the usual criteria.  But .....  the elusive "but" ....

The complete story can be seen in my Yelp review at

http://www.yelp.com/biz/daily-grill-burbank-2#hrid:gpEzTdwpa3XLzScnourzeQ

Homelessness. There are individuals within the statistics.

Each day most of us are subjected to news.  News on the radio, television, newspapers, on the Internet.

The news supplies statistics.  Fires in Colorado which have consumed tens of thousands of acres.  Unless your house or a house belonging to somebody important to you was lost in one of those acres that burned we tend to turn a blind eye to the news.

How many people were killed or injured in Afghanistan this week?  Unless one of them was somebody you loved you probably did not have your life changed much if at all.

How many people lost their homes to foreclosure?  I am sure you understand my point.

When the word Homeless is heard by many individuals their thought process may create mental images of people who are mentally ill, who may be  alcoholics, people who have substance abuse problems or are just people that do not want to work and expect a handout.

There is much more to this story.  Click "read more" below for the more complete story.

Label failure a success! The homeless of Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the city with the distinction of having the highest homeless population in the nation.  

Recently there was a story in the Los Angeles Times.  I first heard about the story last week as a group of us were driving to a birthday dinner party.  I did not know the details of the story but I went off on a bit of a rant as soon as I heard the title and the basics of the story from a passenger in the car.

Housing project for hard-core homeless pays off

A study of homeless adults housed by L.A. County's Project 50 suggests providing permanent housing to vulnerable populations saves local governments money.


There is more to this story.  Click on "read more" below for the more complete picture.

Help the Homeless of Los Angeles on June 14, 2012

Los Angeles - Homeless capitol of our nation.

Click on the link below to learn more or purchase a ticket for this event.
I hope to see some of my friends there.

Many of you folks know that I spend time on the streets of Los Angeles, the homeless capitol of our nation, doing what I can to help the homeless.

Union Rescue Mission, the largest mission in the United States, is putting on their annual Heroes for Hope lunch event in Los Angeles on June 14th.  If you are in the area and wish to attend it would be great to see you there.

For the more complete story click on "read more".

Thanksgiving 2011 at Union Rescue Mission

The photos in this album were taken on November 19, 2011 at Union Rescue Mission in Downtown Los Angeles. This was the 120th Thanksgiving event by Union Rescue Mission.

Hundreds of volunteers served in excess of 3,000 meals.  It took a lot of help to feed thousands on this special day.  Many of my friends helped directly and I mentioned all of you that I knew about on my blog post which has been active since 2010 at http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2010/11/help-me-provide-thanksgiving-meals-at.htmlOnce again, thank you all very much.

The even was more than just a great meal. There were hot showers, free hygiene supplies, fresh socks, live entertainment and more.

More below.

The Streets of Los Angeles

IMG_1076a, originally uploaded by myles111us.

Two years ago. September 2009.

Things have not gotten any better and in fact the number of homeless seeking help at http://www.urm.org/ increased 50% in the last year alone. The donations to Union Rescue Mission have decreased 50% over the last year.

Consider giving the folks at URM a hand. Follow the link - http://www.urm.org/ where you can help.

Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles is the largest in Los Angeles. Los Angeles has the highest homeless population in the nation.

Piles of money - heaps of need

This is one of my shots that I have in my collection which I took downtown in Los Angeles.  This is the Gas Company Building. 

This is the area of Los Angeles where there is so much financial wealth in the companies, buildings and many of the individuals in the buildings mere minutes away from areas with the highest number of highest need individuals in any single city in the United States of America.

The Southern California Gas Company provides good service from my own experience.  They make a lot of money but in my mind it might not be out of line as some banks and other corporations.

Everytime I look at this building my eyes move to the top of the building which reminds me of a classic hull form or wing cross section.  If it were a boat the points are east and west in direction.

If one stands on 5th Street in Downtown Los Angeles and follows the direction of the right point in this photo as a reference you will be walking east.

Walk for about ten minutes.  It is an easy walk.  It is even slightly down hill.

Glance back over your shoulder at the building as you walk.  The taller building you see next to this one?  That is the U.S. Bank Building.  Those folks have a lot of money as well, perhaps even more than the Gas Company.

As you walk do you notice a change?  Look at the cars, the people, the buildings.  You are walking from one of the most wealthy areas in Los Angeles to one of the most poor areas of Los Angeles, Skid Row.

In ten minutes the landscape will change and the mood will change. 

A minute can make a difference.  In celestial navigation being off one minute in your calculations will put you off your destination by one mile at the equator.  In a fraction of a minute a tragic accident can occur ... or be avoided.  In less than a minute a life can change.

In less than a minute to can feed a family of five people by helping the folks at Union Rescue Mission where $10 will feed five people.  It takes seconds to donate from your cell phone.  To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction.

If you want to learn more about Union Rescue Mission, the largest establishment helping the homeless in Los Angeles, which is the city with the largest homeless population in the nation you can read more at http://www.urm.org/ and learn many other ways you can help and learn other methods in which to donate.

http://www.urm.org/



Tea Party Experiment

I thought I would combine two of my activities into a little study.  Maybe I would learn something substantial or maybe the results or data would not tell me much in a scientific way.  Either way I would probably learn something.

I have written about my thoughts toward our ineffective government.  I have written about the homeless situation.

I had been taking notice of how vocal members of the Tea Party seemed to be.   Was this true compassion for the people of our nation or was this just talk?  Perhaps little more than climbing on a band wagon of some sort?  Perhaps a desire to be a part of something ... anything?

I decided to reach out to a number of them directly.  I would use twitter and look at #teaparty and #tcot.

I asked each of them to take a few moments and help the homeless in our country.  They could pass along the word, pass along a link, feed five folks for $10 via a quick cell phone text or go to places like http://www.urm.org/ where they could learn more or help in many ways.

I have not seen a single re-tweet.  I have not seen a single mention.  I have not had a single reply. 

Perhaps as time passes this will change.

 I can only look at this in one way.  Not a single #teaparty member that I contacted lifted a finger to help the homeless.  Ineffective?  Only tuned into their own agenda whatever that might be?  Perhaps I am drawing an improper conclusion?

I will let others draw their own conclusion but I will continue to send out requests for help to these folks and continue my study.  If there is anything to report or mention I will update this post.

If you are one of the people who have received a post from me on twitter which sent you to this link and if you have helped in some way, please let me know.  I would love to post your twitter ID here or website, name, or whatever you wish.  Prove me wrong.  You can pass the URM link, donate to URM via the above link or the homeless shelter in your own area or if you are in a real hurry but wish to help you can do this: 

To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction.  Takes less than 30 seconds and will feed a family of five.  Feel free to leave a comment on this post telling me I was wrong .... at least in your case.

To be fair it has only been a few days since I reached out to Tea Party folks.  Perhaps I will have to eat my words as they prove me wrong.  I would not mind at all if I had to eat my words as that would mean that some homeless people would also have something to eat as well, perhaps even have a place to sleep for a few nights rather than on the street.

Side note?  When I sent the same request to Democrats and Republicans there were responses, re-tweets, mentions, questions, donations, friend contact adds and information was passed along.

Thanks to the folks below that are proving me wrong by passing the word.  Hopefully the list will continue to grow.

8/10/11

@hughhewitt - thank you for the RT.  You are the first,  @Jackson902, @marinemajor, @mahilena, @foundersweb, @dansden, @TheRiverWanders, @seriousfun830

8/18/11

@GrowlGirl

Last night I slept with a roof over my head

IMG_0678, originally uploaded by myles111us.

Be thankful today if last night you had a roof over your head as you slept.

Check out http://urm.org/ to learn how you can help or if you want to learn more and be informed with real facts.

Photographs or Original Art?

What do you have hung on your walls at home?

Do you prefer photographs, original art, bare walls or?

We have all heard phrases such as "you are what you eat", "dress for success" and many similar phrases.  Some say some of us are defined by the car we drive.

What can be learned by what we hang on our walls?

There are some surprising pieces of information that can be discovered by observing what somebody wears, what they eat, what they drive or what they hang on their walls.  Especially if one reads between the lines.

Helping the Homeless on Twitter

I would just like to take a moment to thank the folks below.  There are many more that I cannot begin to count to list or mention for their support in helping the homeless, thank you.

There is no quick fix.  We can continue to pass the word with facts rather than just try to present the problem in a flattering light or hide the issue with smoke and mirrors.  http://vimeo.com/25203421 

These are some of the people who have passed along some of my more recent writing commentary on the subject of the homeless.

Some of the various pieces I have written on the homeless can be viewed from following this link:
http://la-economy.blogspot.com/search/label/homeless

I will be adding to this list and from time to time have links to stories that one can pass along via social media tools.

Ex-Homeless Speak Out To Change Perceptions - http://t.co/wDJ0D4s

Please click on "read more" to continue....