Twenty-four years ago, a minister to the down-and-out of Des Moines took a mid-career leap into the unknown, moving his growing family west to become pastor for poverty outreach at a Pasadena church.
Four years later, the Rev. Andy Bales was offered a more prominent and challenging role as head of the Union Rescue Mission, the faith-based shelter in a five-story building on Skid Row. In his 20 years there, Bales staunchly defended the recovery model of homeless care — with Christian-centered therapy — against the secular shift to the philosophy that housing should come first without preconditions. continue reading...