Get in great shape, make new friends, and help our homeless neighbors by joining Team Union Station for the 2nd Annual Pasadena Marathon. On February 21, participate in one of the following races:
You can raise money in support of Union Station’s programs and earn prizes for your fundraising efforts. To learn more, visit http://www.unionstationhs.org/marathon.html or call (626) 240-4557.
As you cleaned out your closets and garage for the New Year, you probably came across great stuff that you just don’t need anymore. Perhaps your next thought was to give these used items to Union Station Homeless Services. And while we are truly grateful that you thought of us, much like you, we have very little storage space.
Union Station will continue to accept donations of new toiletries, underwear, socks, shoes, and t-shirts. To see the complete list of items that we need, see the Wish List on our website.
Your gently used items will be gratefully accepted by many organizations, several of which will pick up your items by appointment. Here is a partial list:
American Cancer Society Discovery Shops
310-458-4490
American Veterans Charities
800-795-8387
Disabled Veterans Charities
800-435-7328
Foothill Unity Center – Rainbow’s End Thrift Store
626-584-7420
Goodwill Southern California
323-223-1211
626-564-0335 (local)
The Salvation Army Thrift Store
626-795-0274
Tomorrow, the day before their football teams do battle in the BCS Championship game, students from The University of Alabama (UA) are joining their counterparts from The University of Texas (UT) to feed homeless men, women and children here at Union Station Homeless Services.
Students from the UA and UT Student Government Associations will cook and serve approximately 300 meals on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010, at our Adult Center on Raymond Avenue.
The UA / UT SGA service project is part of our Community Meals program, which serves 186,000 meals per year to homeless and very-low income men, women and children in Pasadena. More than 150 community groups and 1,100 individuals volunteer at Union Station each year, doing everything from preparing meals to providing professional services such as legal counsel and medical screening.
Learn more about the comprehensive programs we offer at Union Station Homeless Services on our Programs page.
Father and Son
As we near the end of 2009, I’m writing to ask for your immediate support. During this season of celebration and giving, many of our fellow community members are hurting – hungry and homeless.
Will you help Union Station give them the gift of hope this holiday season?
With all of our shelter beds full and a dramatic increased demand for our services, we must raise an additional $60,000 by December 31st to help all the individuals and families coming to us for assistance.
Please make a year-end donation today. No gift is too small – every $5 provides a day of warm, nutritious meals to someone who is hungry and homeless. And all gifts will be put to immediate use helping our fellow community members rebuild their lives.
Thank you for your support and confidence in our work.
Sincerely,
Marvin M. Gross
CEO
PS – Please donate today – we must raise $60,000 in the next three days! Don’t forget to send your donation by 12/31 for 2009 tax benefits.
If you have already made a year end donation, please accept our warm thanks.
There are lots of ways you can help make our Christmas Dinner-in-the-Park a huge success! Here’s how:
For lots more information on our Christmas Dinner-in-the-Park, go to our website at www.unionstationhs.org.
I have some exciting news to share! Union Station Homeless Services will be featured on this evening’s edition of Marketplace, American Public Media’s nationally broadcast program on business and the economy. The segment features interviews with two of Union Station’s clients, Mark and Pauline, who talk about how the current economy has impacted them.
Tune in today, Thursday, December 17, to 89.3 KPCC at 6:30 PM to listen to the program and support Union Station. If you are unable to tune in today, you can visit the Marketplace website to download the program at a later time.
Thank you for your compassion and confidence in our work.
Sincerely,
Marvin M. Gross
CEO
Are you looking for an extra special gift this holiday season – something other than the normal holiday knick knacks?
Give the gift of hope with Union Station Homeless Services holiday cards! Each card represents a donation to Union Station’s programs for homeless men, women and children.
Cards are available individually and in packages of ten. Whichever you choose, Union Station holiday cards are a thoughtful and generous gift for the holiday season!
For more details, or to order your cards online, visit www.unionstationhs.org/holiday_cards.html or call our Development Office at 626.240.4557.
While the proverbial dust is still settling from another successful Thanksgiving Dinner-in-the-Park, we are already hard at work on our next community event: Christmas Dinner-in-the-Park. More details will be available on our website in the coming weeks. To tide you over until then, here are a few statistics and a link to photos from Thanksgiving Day.
For more information visit our Holiday Dinners-in-the-Park webpage.
Photos of Thanksgiving Dinner-in-the-Park are available on our Photos webpage.
For over 30 years, Union Station Homeless Services has sponsored annual Dinners-in-the-Park on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Held in Pasadena’s Central Park, these events bring together thousands of volunteers to serve a hearty meal and holiday cheer to our less fortunate community members.
Last year we served more than 6,500 meals on Thanksgiving to people who were homeless, senior citizens, alone at the holidays, or unable to afford a holiday meal.
This year’s event features a star-studded list of celebrities, including actors Jason Behr (The Grudge, Roswell), Michael Ealy (Miracle at St. Anna, Seven Pounds), Jason Earles (Hannah Montana), Hector Elizondo (Monk, Cane, The Princess Diaries), Jane Kaczmarek (Raising The Bar, Malcolm in the Middle), Omar Miller (CSI: Miami, Miracle at St. Anna, 8 Mile), Nate Parker (The Great Debaters, The Secret Life of Bees), Alison Sweeney (The Biggest Loser, Days of Our Lives), and writer and producer Michael White (Nacho Libre, School of Rock).
Actor Eric McCormick (Will and Grace, Trust Me), who has volunteered for Union Station’s Thanksgiving event for more than five years, said “The number of people Union Station helps and the services they provide are impressive, and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
You can help make Thanksgiving a little brighter for our homeless community members by donating food for Dinner-in-the-Park, including:
Food donations can be dropped of at Union Station’s Adult Center at 412 S. Raymond Ave. in Pasadena during regular business hours through Wednesday, November 25.
Prepared food can also be dropped off at Central Park on the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Del Mar Boulevard, from 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM on Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings.
For additional information visit our Dinners-in-the-Park webpage or contact the volunteer department at (626) 240-4550 x 542.
On October 28, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released its 2009 Homeless Count. There was remarkable news – the total number of persons counted in this latest survey decreased by 38% compared to the total number of homeless persons counted in 2007.
Among the 48,053 homeless individuals in the Los Angeles County Continuum of Care, the survey identifies 4,885 individuals in 1,840 homeless families in our community, reflecting a stunning 70% drop in homelessness among families with children during the last two years.
As agencies that advocate for and provide housing and services to homeless families throughout Los Angeles County, we have a unique perspective on these numbers.
The results of the survey suggest that our concentrated efforts and focus on successful strategies is making an impact on reducing the number of homeless families throughout Los Angeles. We have on our staffs experienced skilled professionals who understand the unique challenges associated with family homelessness. We have strong partnerships with public and private agencies committed to our common cause. Our program models are successfully demonstrating positive outcomes.
However, we feel that the 2009 Homeless Count substantially understates what those of us on the frontlines of addressing family homelessness are seeing on the street. A sampling of data from providers that focus on family homelessness indicates a 40% increase in family homelessness between 2007 and 2009. Confirming this perception, the Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) recognized 7,500 homeless families in January 2009, the same month the Count was conducted, a 49% increase from April 2008.
Families who are homeless have been referred to as the hidden homeless: they typically are less visible than chronically homeless adults. They may live in an automobile or on a friend’s living room floor, and spend the day at the mall or a city park. With a child in a stroller, the family’s homeless condition is less noticeable to the public, or even to outreach workers. These are some of the reasons families are under-represented in the Homeless Count.
We fear these numbers will likely get worse before they get better. Family homelessness tends to lag behind unemployment by six to nine months. As we endure the worst economic plunge since the Great Depression and the unemployment rate soars past 12.7% across the region, we are bracing to support a surge in the number of homeless families.
If homelessness was truly decreasing in our community, we’d be the first to celebrate. However, our experiences on the frontlines indicate that the problem is getting worse.
For this reason, the release of the 2009 Homeless Count should be a call to action to continue investing in solutions that work. We need resources to dramatically accelerate the pace of affordable housing development and to provide more Section 8 housing vouchers for families. We need additional resources to help families who are currently homeless and those who are at risk of losing their housing in the near future. Most importantly, we need a regional, collaborative and aggressive approach to end family homelessness.
Despite surging demand and diminished resources, agencies across Los Angeles County that address family homelessness remain dedicated to battling this crisis. Let the 2009 Homeless Count be a call to all of us in Los Angeles to rededicate ourselves to addressing this unconscionable crisis once and for all.
Va Lecia Adams
Executive Director
St. Joseph Center
Jill Govan Bauman
President and CEO
ImagineLA
Rabbi Marvin Gross
CEO
Union Station Homeless Services
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer
President and CEO
LA Family Housing
Joel Roberts
CEO
Path Partners
Reverend Andy Bales
CEO
Union Rescue Mission
Devorah Brous
Executive Director
Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness
Tahia Hayslet
Executive Director
Harbor Interfaith
David Littlehales
Executive Director
Rio Hondo Temporary Home
David Snow
Executive Director
Upward Bound House