Skid Row

I don’t even know where to begin when talking about my experiences on Skid Row.  I have been all over the world, including the Middle East, and I have never seen anything quite like it.  At times I felt as if I was in the middle of Post-Apocalyptic Atlanta during The Walking Dead.  There are few businesses open, although the occasional car does drive through.  The people live in the most impoverished conditions you can imagine.  The sights, sounds, and smells are overwhelming.  Here is the thing, before the first mission trip meeting, I never even knew this place existed.  I just assumed the term “Skid Row” described a hair band from the 80’s.

Skid row has been home to the homeless since as far back as anyone can remember.  As early as the 1880’s people began to move into this section of Los Angeles.  As early at the 1930’s the homeless population of Skid Row numbered in the 10,000’s.  Many times throughout its history there have been attempts to rehabilitate the area, but all with no avail.  In 2005 it was found out that mental institutions had begun dumping their patients into this area of Los Angeles.  After many lawsuits between the City, the Federal Government, and the ACLU, eventually Skid Row was officially established as a place for homeless residents to reside.

The Veterans Program at the LA Dreamcenter runs the Skid Row outreach program.  Before we left the Dreamcenter we received our brief, explaining what conditions we would encounter.  We were told when moving through the city that there would be a point man and a rear guard.  Various veterans would mix in amongst us as we passed out food and prayed over anyone wanting prayer.  This is a perfect role for the veterans.  Being a veteran myself, I felt completely comfortable heading into this environment (although not initially….I will cover this more later in the week).

We arrived at Skid Row and set up on a basketball court.  The first individuals we encountered were sitting in folding chairs and were extremely cordial.  The smells were bad, and the “puddles” (it doesn’t rain in LA) were scattered throughout.  Some of our team stayed behind at the basketball court to pass out food, while others of us began walking the streets.

Our first real confrontation arose when a man came out of his tent and began preaching.  At first he was spot on, until he began telling us God hates Jesus because God is a jealous God.  As we talked about it later, the devil often uses distractions to take our attention away from the real issues at hand.  On the street behind us was a man who stopped for food and prayer.  He had tried to commit suicide earlier in the day.  After prayer, his whole attitude changed and he walked off after thanking us.  The devil tried to distract us from this man by using the false preacher to keep our attention.

I watched a man sitting on the sidewalk with a paper cup filled with water.  He was holding it for his little chihuahua.  One of our leaders said these people wouldn’t be able to survive without their pets.  I would see the same thing when we returned at night.  I met Egypt, the very well-behaved gray pit bull while his owner was walking him.

When we did return to Skid Row the next evening I quickly settled into my role.  The fear that I once had was gone and I felt as if my job there was to be a protector, to watch over my teammates as they would pass out food, water, and prayer.  There were times when I would be blocks away from the majority of the group, just hanging out with 2 or 3 people from other teams.

This is where I met Paul.  He was our rear guard and he had years of experience with street ministry.  In fact he came to the Dreamcenter on a short-term mission trip, like us.  However, he never left.  That was three years ago.   We talked for awhile…..he had questions for me about the Marine Corps, since he may be looking to finally leave and the military seems to be the direction he wants to go.

Throughout our two trips down there, once in the day, and once at night I watched my team break through barriers and step out of their comfort zones.  The most amazing story involved a lady, Denise, whom prayed to receive Jesus and proceeded to throw away all of her drugs and paraphernalia.  She joined our prayer circle and said she wanted to go to the Dreamcenter.  I continue to pray for her, because I can’t imagine how tough her life is.

There were times I would just look around and it was almost an out-of-body experience.  There were those that were clearly high, rolling around on the ground next to their tents or talking to themselves.  There were those that were clearly drunk…..stumbling down the street.  When they would get close enough to you, you could look in their eyes…..often times there was nothing there.  It was like they were dead on the inside.

As one of the Dreamcenter leaders told us as we prepared to leave after our night visit…..so many times all it takes is one bump in the road for someone to end up down there.  Their disability check or social security just isn’t enough to pay for an apartment and food.  He made a huge point, that by this point in our trip I had already come to realize.  They are real people.  Not statistics, not stereotypes….but real people who God created, just like He created us.  Our leader told us to imagine walking down the streets of Skid Row, with our eyes closed, and all of the judgements gone.  “Just talk to them, listen to their voices.  They are loved by Jesus too.  When you talk to them without seeing the conditions they are in, you see them the way Jesus does.”

I don’t think I will ever get the images of Skid Row out of my mind.  At the same time, I don’t think I want to.  I never want to forget the hurt people, the people in despair, the people with no hope.  These are the people we are supposed to be helping and loving on.

(As a closing side note…..there were people down there with way stronger faith than I possess.  Even in the most difficult of times, they know God is there for them and watching over them.  That enduring, trusting faith is something I don’t know if I have ever seen before.  As bad as it may seem down there, I know that there are just as many angels walking those streets as there are demons.)