Hey Friends,
This past weekend I had an opportunity to partner with my church, Christian Assembly, on our annual Young Adult's Urban Plunge and work with Central City Community Outreach. CCCO is located in Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles right in the heart of the largest homeless population in the nation. I want to confess that in the past, I've been kind of scared of homeless people and I have largely ignored them, thought ill of them, and haven't honestly taken the time to get to know any homeless people by name. I mostly felt confused and unsure of how to deal with people I see on the street and this gaping problem.
But this weekend, I was humbled.I was challenged to take a risk and actually looked several homeless people in the eye and tried seeing the world with a different lens. I had some deep conversations with Fred and Jim, two homeless people I met with my team on the street. I took the time to listen. I also learned some crazy statistics about the homeless. Did you know that the average age of the homeless is 7 years old?! Can you believe that? 7...and that there has been a 360% increase of women and children on Skid Row in the last 6 months, primarily because after being victims of domestic abuse they have nowhere to turn?
Now I know we all have different ideas of the homeless and what the causes are, what our role is, etc. I'm not here to start some argument about it, but I would just like to challenge you to watch this short documentary about a program called Homeless Karaoke. I'm a believer that film can change lives and this film and program has actually changed the lives of people within the Skid Row community. It's easy to have your hope challenged when you go to Skid Row. And yet I found myself being inspired by the stories of people in LA who are giving their lives to help people like Fred, who without us even mentioning it, told us about how at Homeless Karaoke, he has the opportunity to rise above his status in society and be respected under his alias, Dr.Cool.
In the documentary you will see Grady, Tony, and Jan, some of these people who daily give their lives to the Skid Row community. I dare you to watch this and at least not be challenged a little bit. I know it challenged me... And if you want to join some of my team members to see what Homeless Karaoke is like, let me know. We're checking it out this month!
http://www.homelesskaraoke.com/
Go to VIEW.
Thanks!
Melissa
This past weekend I had an opportunity to partner with my church, Christian Assembly, on our annual Young Adult's Urban Plunge and work with Central City Community Outreach. CCCO is located in Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles right in the heart of the largest homeless population in the nation. I want to confess that in the past, I've been kind of scared of homeless people and I have largely ignored them, thought ill of them, and haven't honestly taken the time to get to know any homeless people by name. I mostly felt confused and unsure of how to deal with people I see on the street and this gaping problem.
But this weekend, I was humbled.I was challenged to take a risk and actually looked several homeless people in the eye and tried seeing the world with a different lens. I had some deep conversations with Fred and Jim, two homeless people I met with my team on the street. I took the time to listen. I also learned some crazy statistics about the homeless. Did you know that the average age of the homeless is 7 years old?! Can you believe that? 7...and that there has been a 360% increase of women and children on Skid Row in the last 6 months, primarily because after being victims of domestic abuse they have nowhere to turn?
Now I know we all have different ideas of the homeless and what the causes are, what our role is, etc. I'm not here to start some argument about it, but I would just like to challenge you to watch this short documentary about a program called Homeless Karaoke. I'm a believer that film can change lives and this film and program has actually changed the lives of people within the Skid Row community. It's easy to have your hope challenged when you go to Skid Row. And yet I found myself being inspired by the stories of people in LA who are giving their lives to help people like Fred, who without us even mentioning it, told us about how at Homeless Karaoke, he has the opportunity to rise above his status in society and be respected under his alias, Dr.Cool.
In the documentary you will see Grady, Tony, and Jan, some of these people who daily give their lives to the Skid Row community. I dare you to watch this and at least not be challenged a little bit. I know it challenged me... And if you want to join some of my team members to see what Homeless Karaoke is like, let me know. We're checking it out this month!
http://www.homelesskaraoke.
Go to VIEW.
Thanks!
Melissa
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That eight minutes was indeed challenging, Melissa. I am, pretty much, an L.A. local, and I work in DTLA; every day I pass by some of the scenes--and people--that were shot. I've always been challenged when I see homeless people, esp in light of Jesus' judgment over our treatment of "the least of these my brothers" (Matt. 25:40). Thanks for sharing that there is hope, and that it can come in an unexpected package--which is pretty typical of God, isn't it?
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