2

Los Angeles County saw a large

increase in its homeless

population in 2017 (Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles County’s homeless population has soared

23% over last year despite increasing success in placing people in housing, according to the latest

annual count released Wednesday.

The sharp rise, to nearly 58,000, suggested that the

pathway into homelessness continues to outpace

intensifying efforts that — through rent subsidies, new construction, outreach and support services —

got more than 14,000 people permanently off the streets last year.

“Staggering,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement. “It is clear that if we are

going to end the homeless crisis, we need to stem the

overwhelming tide of people falling into homelessness.” (LA Times)

The key point here is ”…we need to stem the overwhelming tide of people falling into

homelessness.”

A lady in her 70’s living in San Pedro, told us a few

months ago that she has changed residences three

time in the last few years after her husband died; each time stepping down to more affordable housing.

She now rents a “very small” place and barely makes

it from month to month, and is pre-homeless. She has great anxiety that her rent might be increased,

which most likely will force her onto the street.

Another lady we met at the beginning of the year in

San Pedro is now on the streets. Pointing up the

street to a building, she said, “You see that building way up there; I lived there for about 20 years, but

when I could no longer afford it. I kept what I could

and walked away from my home.”

This is what Supervisor Hahn is talking about when

she states, “we need to stem …the tide of people falling into homelessness.”

I ask, Why isn’t there some service group that people who are “pre-homeless” could go to seek help. Either

of the above ladies would have been a good

candidate for Section 8 housing that most Landlords would love to have. Long term, law abiding residents.

Here at Beacon Light

Mission we had a homeless man move in

who had a college

education and had taught school in Ohio. Because California did not recognize his credentials

from Ohio, it exempted him from teaching here. But

he still found a full-time job and was doing well until he went to work one day and they were told the

company was closing. He had money in the bank

that would pay his rent until he found a job which did not happen. After a few months, his money was

gone and he explained the situation to his land lady.

She gave him another month but at the end of the month, he became homeless, and moved into BLM.

This is how fast and easy it is to become homeless. The three-above people were tax paying citizens with

no drug or alcohol problems, and being homeless

never crossed their minds.

The startling jump in homelessness affected every

significant demographic group, including youth, families, veterans and the chronically homeless,

according to the report. Homeless officials and

political leaders pointed to steadily rising housing costs and stagnant incomes as the underlying cause.

(LA Times)

Of all the South Bay cities, Wilmington has the

highest with a 17% increase.

At the beginning of September, 6 months after the

LAHSA 2017 count, the LA County Health Dept. told

us they were already seeing people coming in from Texas, because of the Hurricanes. Homelessness is

going to continue to rise.

One of the reasons we see more

homeless on our streets are the

continuous raids on homeless encampments in the name of public

safety. For many years the

homeless stayed out of sight in their encampments. But as the

encampments increased in

size, so did the trash exponentially. Suddenly the

NIMBY’s (Not In My Back

Yard) began complaining to our elected leaders

about the camping and

the trash, and Continued on page 6

Jerry Rilling, Executive Director

Beacon Light Mission Doors of Hope

Linda Stratton, Director of Operations

Doors of Hope DOORS OF HOPE W

here has 2017 gone? Here we are, three-fourths the way through the year and the

blessings from you and God have been overwhelm-ing. We constantly thank God for all the gifts and donations that you consistently provide for our la-dies. Whether it is a small request or a big request, you have always come through and we thank you profusely for answering the plight of our homeless ladies. Our Monday and Thursday open showers for home-less ladies have increased over the months, due to the increase in homeless, which is up 17%, the highest in the South Bay. Along with showers, we provide clothing, hygiene, breakfast and a lunch for these ladies twice a week. Our average is about 68 ladies per month, which means, 68 changes of clothing for them, plus the clothing for our guests who check in daily. We are always in need of new underpants for the ladies as we give out a minimum of 40 pair per week, mostly in sizes 5 and 6. As the homeless population increases, there is a greater need for a variety of services which are in short supply such as case managers, to help people with their needs such as: driver’s licenses, California I.D.s, birth certificates, social security cards and benefits. And the number one need is housing. Some of this we can do, one person at a time be-cause we don’t have a case worker, or counselor, but outside sources such as Harbor Interfaith, PATH, and others come along side and help us help the homeless the best we can. In the future, Doors of Hope and Beacon Light Mis-sion would like to have a case manager who could help these individuals get the items they need. �

Right now, we are praying for property that would help us in these areas.

We’re praying for the lot next to Doors of Hope, and lots across the alley and across the street. We are boldly asking God for His guidance and His will in this endeavor. We are praying that if God gives us these properties, or some other property, that the funds would come in to pay for them.

Would you come along side of us and pray for these requests too? A prayer donation would be greatly ap-preciated by Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter and Beacon Light Mission. Matthew 7: 7-8 states: Ask and it will be given to you: seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives: he who seeks finds: and to him who knocks, the door will be opened! We are asking and believing God will answer our prayers according to His will. �

In August, we had our last parking lot sale of the year. We have been doing these in the summer time for about 4 years now. Before our sales, we have asked all donors that if we could not utilize all their donations here at Doors of Hope for our guests, would it be okay to donate to other ministries help-ing the homeless. Also, if it would be alright to sell them in our parking lot sale and put the money back into Doors of Hope. The sale money into the DOH general fund and to our Team volunteers, as we fur-nish these ladies everything they need. Occasionally, we give them a few dollars to spend as they desire; and to say thanks for their hard work that make these sales possible. �

Dear Lord, I want to ask a special blessing on those who are reading this. I pray You protect that each person in whatever they face. Give then peace and joy each and every day. God shower them with your favor and love and grace. Amen. Thank you and love to each and everyone. Linda

LAUREN THE CAT A little side note for our cat lovers. Lauren is

doing just fine. We took her in to the vet about a month ago, because she was not feeling well. She has hypothyroidism, under active thyroid. So we have been giving her medicine, and she is getting much better. She is so much better that she patrols the back of the building and parking lot, and when she sees another animal on our property she immediately takes charge and chases them away. It is so cute to see her do this because she is so tiny. So now we have a guard cat. (ha ha ha ). Thought you might like to have a chuckle. � 3

4

Who’s in The Middle of

Your Road TGIF

, I thought as I approached the BLM parking lot. Steve Cope,

watching me approach, reached over and pulled back the sliding gate so I could park my car, and then came over to speak with me. He asked, “Remember Joaquin who stayed with us a while back?” Yes, I answered. Steve continued, “Well, I just got a text from Joaquin and he needs me to help him at the check cashing place. I’ve done this before so it won’t take too long”, and Steve took off walking to meet Joaquin. Joaquin, a previous guest at BLM, is deaf, and can only speak a few intelligible words. When he arrived, the challenges of communication began immediately. Joaquin naturally had questions about our proce-dures, but we couldn’t understand what he needed or wanted. Some of us giving up in frustration just walked away... but Steve had great compassion for him. While observing Joaquin’s handicap, Steve be-

Laura Scotvold-Lemp, Executive Assistant Who Am I?

B eing in ministry these past years and serving those who are experiencing homelessness has

certainly opened my eyes to many circumstances and situations but one woman’s response to a seemingly simple act changed my heart. I knew that obtaining California identification cards was a crucial first step in their obtaining further help...you need an ID to do any-thing. So, I offered to bring several people to the DMV to ob-tain their ID and they piled into my car. It was just a non-descript, nothing special kind of day or so I thought. I gathered the fee waiver forms, assisted some in helping complete the application and sat with them while they waited to be called. We laughed at times and other moments we wondered if we would be there all day. But finally, all had their paperwork proc-essed, all had their pictures taken and we walked out of the building feeling pretty good. As we were walking to the car I looked over at one of the women and noticed she had tears rolling down her cheeks. So, of course, I asked, “what is wrong, what happened?” And it was her answer that day that changed my heart… as she stood there clutching her

DMV receipt she said “no, you just don’t know what this piece of paper means – I now have an identity, I exist, I matter.” Yes, that piece of paper stated her first, middle and last name along with address and other personal informa-tion. Who is she? ….…..she is a child of God. A child whose dignity was restored. There are close to 58,000 people experiencing home-lessness in Los Angeles county and I must wonder do they know who they are? �

gan to communicate with him using signs and ges-tures. Getting frustrated but not giving up, Steve found a tablet and wrote, “Can you read? “Yes”, Joa-quin nodded. “Can you write?” inquired Steve. Another nod, and with that nod, the barrier was bro-ken and communication with Joaquin had begun. Steve, along with his tablet, took Joaquin under his wing for the total time he was here, and daily the two would “talk, via a tablet or through texting whether they were in the Mission or out in the alley. After Joaquin left BLM, he would occasionally text Steve to say hi, or as before, that he needed some help. Today was one another one of those days, and the Lords servant answered, “I’ll be there shortly, Joa-quin.” � “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to

them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Matt 25:37-40

Financial donations on our websites:

Beacon Light | www.beaconlightmission.org Doors of Hope | www.doorsofhopewomensshelter.org

A $10 donation will provide:

5-6 Dinners, or 20 Pairs of Socks, or, 5 Pairs of Men’s Boxer Briefs

“House of God” I

n our June/July newsletter, we had an article on the Bethel movement among the Sailors, and how it

evolved from a lantern hanging from the topmost mast to a flag, that signaled a prayer meeting was going to be held on the vessel. It was an invitation to sailors in port and “lan-lubbers”, to join them in worship. The problem was that the lantern was very hard to see during the daytime. The solution; a flag that could easily seen. In the same article, we had a small appeal for someone to sew a Bethel flag for our mission. A lady in Oregon City, Oregon, who loves the Lord but has several severe health problems, was the first to call and volunteered to sew one and just needed size, dimensions, material and what color of blue. About the same time, Frank Gumbinger of San Pedro, who read the newsletter and the appeal gave us a call. He said that he had a friend who just might make such a flag for us right here in San Pedro, and suggested I get in touch with Juanita Wade, aka “Boss lady” at Seaborn Canvas.

A few days later, we met with the “Boss Lady”, (and she truly is a lady), along with Brian, and gave them a copy of the newsletter, and some more paper work on the Bethel Flag and the Bethel movement, and talked with them about making such a flag. They said they were able to make any flag and all they needed were the dimensions and a color for the background. On September 22, we received a call from Brian and he said he had a flag for us, and off to San Pedro we went. Brian met us at the door and Juanita appeared shortly thereafter. Seaborn Canvas presented to us two Bethel flags; a smaller one for the inside of our mission and a large one to fly from our flag poles. Both are professionally made with the best of materials. When the Bethel flag is raised on our flagpole, in the very near future, it will be the first time in 100 years or more, that a Bethel flag has flown over our Harbor. The cost? None. Juanita and Brian said it was just their way of thanking us, Beacon Light Mission & Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter for helping the lost, homeless, and lonely. Yes, that is a tear in my eye. jhr

How We Help A

t the beginning of Sept, The County Health Dept. came to BLM/DOH to give free Hepatitis A inoculations to all our staff and any homeless person who

wanted one. After completing the required paperwork, we just waited to get our shots. While waiting for his turn, Calvin Nelson asked if we could help him get a California ID. Laura quickly reached into her files and pulled out an application for a free Cal. ID. A few minutes later, Sonny Qualm asked the same question, and he too was given an application. As soon as the Health dept. was finished, we loaded Nelson and Qualm into our van and off to DMV we went. A couple hours later, they called us and we picked them up with their new temporary ID’s. They once again had an identity.

Jim (pictured on page 2), a gentleman who lives at the back of our mission in the alley and, whose ID was stolen or lost obtained a Cal. ID. with the assistance of BLM. �

5

In August/September with

your help, we were able to...

and 3070

Attended

Chapel Service

provide showers for 745*

serve 115

meals per day assign 2747 beds

*Open showers are for any homeless man or woman. Each person is given clothing, hygiene items and served a

South Bay 2017 Count Results without the Youth Count

City Unsheltered Sheltered Total Rank

Cars Makeshift Shelters

RV’s / Campers

Tents Vans On the Street

Transitional Shelters

Emergency Shelters

Carson 21 81 155 44 38 39 0 0 378 3

El Segundo 3 0 10 2 9 1 0 0 25 12

Gardena 8 4 23 0 14 22 0 161 237 6

Harbor City 3 13 59 3 13 19 0 0 110 8

Harbor Gateway 19 54 44 19 7 55 0 0 198 7

Hawthorne 16 4 21 0 9 19 0 5 74 9

Hermosa Beach 0 2 2 0 0 10 0 5 19 13

Inglewood 29 21 8 12 27 111 104 23 335 4

Lawndale 0 8 8 0 0 16 10 0 42 10

Lomita 2 0 8 0 4 3 14 0 31 11

Redondo Beach 37 8 75 0 36 105 0 0 261 5

San Pedro 84 37 84 14 56 107 65 113 559 2

Wilmington 60 77 235 7 52 127 0 40 598 1 6

Los Angeles County saw a large increase in its

homeless population in 2017 -continued from page 2 the great push to get rid of the homeless began through legislation and through laws that had not been

used in years or new laws keep them away NIMBY!.

This isn’t helping the homeless as we are just moving people

from one place to another.

It’s like a partially filled balloon wherein no matter how you squeeze it, the air is still there, but it just bulges out

somewhere else. The more the cities squeezed, the more

obvious the problem of homeless was exposed.

One of our homeless friends told us that he didn’t mind

moving every couple weeks. He explained, “…that as soon as they (Government) cleans up the “Pit”, I try to be one of

the first ones to get back in, to get me a better place. They

would be better off by giving us trash bins and leaving us alone. It would save them a lot of money.”

Even with our cities ambition to build 10,000 new housing units it’s only a band-aid on a very large wound; this wound

is the 58,000 homeless that is still climbing.

Our Lord told us that we would always have the poor, which

gives us all a way to serve Him by serving the less fortunate.

Blessings to all you fellow servants. jhr

Current Needs We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is qualified to receive tax-deductible donations.

Online Shopping at Amazon.com or Walmart.com

N ow you can donate items to the mission from the comfort of your own home or office. We have created an Amazon Wish List and a Walmart List. We have diligently searched for selected quality items that will

last for the best possible prices. Amazon Instructions: Go to Amazon.com and in the upper right corner hover over the lists button and select Find a List or Registry and type in Beacon Light Mission or Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter. There you will find their list of needs. “Check Out” as you normally would, selecting Beacon Light Mission or Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter as your shipping address. The items will be sent directly to the mission. It’s as easy as that! If you need assistance call Gina at (310) 830-7063. Walmart: Go to Walmart.com and hover over the registry and gifts button and select “Lists and Special Occasions”. Under “Find Someone’s List” for First Name enter the text “Doors” and for Last Name enter text “Hope” in California. Then click the list called “Doors of Hope Women's Shelter” and you will find our needs list. If you need assistance call Gina at (310) 830-7063.

Doors of Hope Needs � Comet � Dish Washing Liquid � Glade Air Freshener *W � Latex Free Gloves (Med & Lg) � Tennis Shoes, size 8 to 11 � Lysol Disinfectant Spray *W � Paper Napkins � 33 Gallon Heavy Duty Trash Bags *W � 13 Gallon Trash Bags � 2-Ply Toilet Paper *W � Paper, Plastic or Cloth Bags. Any size � Toothpaste - Small

Beacon Light Needs

� Jeans (size 34-48) Urgent *W � Men's Underwear (Boxers) Urgent *A � Men’s Tennis Shoes (size 9 -13) � Blankets � Razors *A � Band Aids (Small Packs) � Paper Towels

7

James Marshall-BLM Staff

A bout 6 months ago, staff member James Marshall was spending a lot of time going to his

clinic or to the emergency rooms due to chronic stomach pain, and abnormalities which caused him to lose vast amounts of weight in a very short time, dropping down below 100

pounds. He was like a walking skeleton. Doctors would give him some new medication and tell

him to come back at a much later date. James had been fighting this disorder for several years, but none of the Doctors could discern his problems. Then one night the pain was excruciating and

James called an ambulance for himself. The ambulance crew who had transported him several times before, realized he was worse than they had ever seen him and transported him to a different

hospital. James had wisely called his Pastor and told him where he was going.

The Pastor went to the hospital, but James was in such bad condition, they had immediately sent him to Surgery. A Nurse inquired of the Pastor and asked him if he was James’ Pastor and after

being told yes, she exclaimed that James really needed prayer because they were not sure he would survive the surgery and if he did, they were not sure he would make it through recovery. But our Lord hears our prayers, and brought James back to

health.

On August 4th, 2017, James rode his bicycle from Beacon Light Mission to San Pedro to compete in the annual Vincent

Thomas Bridge run. James completed the race and received his medal of accomplishment, and then rode his bike back to Wilmington. Only God can produce such accomplishments. �

Food Needs:

Smart & Final Brand No. 10 cans please

� Canned Mixed Vegetables � Canned Chili with Beans � Canned Diced Tomatoes � Canned Sliced Mushrooms

*A Amazon.com Wishlist

*W Walmart.com

Beacon Light Mission & Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter 525 Broad Avenue Wilmington, CA 90744

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID

SAN PEDRO CA PERMIT 102

DONATION DROP OFF

You may drop off your food, clothing or other

donations any time between 8:00am-6:00pm

for both Beacon Light and Doors of Hope. Just go to the back gate of the Beacon Light Mission

and honk your horn. Someone will come out and collect your donations.

Financial donations on our websites:

Beacon Light www.beaconlightmission.org

Doors of Hope www.doorsofhopewomensshelter.org

Or by mail to: 525 Broad Avenue, Wilmington, CA 90744

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sam Evans, President

Roy Barile, Vice President

Christian Bower, Secretary

Kent Meyer, Treasurer

Paul Dever

Lee Ettenger

Dan Fox

Gretchen Goldsmith

Margaret Grieco

Pastor Jewel Jones

Ronald Okamoto

Lila Omura

Anthony Sogliuzzo

CONTACT INFORMATION

Beacon Light Mission

525 Broad Avenue, Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 830-7063

email: beaconlightm@aol.com

www.beaconlightmission.org

Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter 529 Broad Avenue, Wilmington, CA 90744

(310) 518-3667

email: dohws@att.net www.doorsofhopewomensshelter.org

I can do all things through Christ

who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is qualified to receive tax-deductible donations.

MISSION STATEMENT Our mission is to minister the love and grace of Jesus Christ to the homeless in the South Bay by providing a safe and nurturing environment where they can receive food, clothing, temporary shelter, discipleship and spiritual encouragement in their present life circumstances.