Making A Difference That Matters
Stories that Inspire.
Victories to Celebrate.
Stay connected with all the good work the Mission is doing!
Providing Hope Through Financial Literacy
Operation Hope started with a vision to see financial investment and opportunity created in low-income communities in America. The organization’s founder, John Hope Bryant, was moved by the devastation that occurred in low-income communities during the Watts Riots. His background as a banker provided him with a unique perspective on many of the root causes…
Pursuing Dreams through Education
Angel is just your average teenage boy. He is a senior in high school, loves cars, likes to hang out with his friends, and every night after dinner at the mission you’ll find him diligently completing his chore of taking out the trash. “Before my family came to the mission, I did not really care…
Because of a Loving Community
At the Mission, we not only focus on families experiencing homelessness, but we also serve individuals who have been chronically homeless and living on the streets for many years. Sheila is one individual who has been a part of our community for several years. She first started coming to our S.O.S. shower program each week…
Women’s Mentoring Group
In March 2017, we launched a women’s mentoring group headed up by a long-time friend of the mission, Laura Robbins. We started with a vision of creating a safe space for women to provide encouragement, support, and guidance for each other. Laura recruited our first 13 mentors and matched those with 13 women who either…
Wade’s Word – May
Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with a group of our Clean Streets/Clean Starts trainees. The group of trainees includes people who have been living on the streets for several years as well as individuals who are new to homelessness. I started our conversation by asking each of them to share their vision…
Friday Nights at the Mission
At the mission, we could not provide a high quality program for our families without the help of the community; we are thankful for our many partners. One of our partners is Rocky Peak Church. Over the past four years, the group has become an integral part of the mission. The last Friday of every…
Wade’s Word – April
Everyone can recall the wonder and enchantment of childhood imagination; where closet doors separate bedrooms from magical lands, couch cushions become a refuge from shark-infested carpets below, flying to the moon is a quick errand between nap and dinner time, and the hero always wins in the end. For many children, these adventures are buried…
LAUSD Connects with the Mission
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has over 13,000 students who identify as homeless. Those students are met with a unique set of challenges as they work towards their education. We often see children coming into our program who have changed schools several times in one school year. For some families, this means their…
Giving Back and Finding Hope
Volunteers are an essential part of the mission and Mandy Richardville is no exception. Mandy has been a volunteer receptionist for over a year. In Mandy’s view, “Volunteering at the mission adds a sense of purpose to each week.” On a typical day, Mandy has a number of responsibilities: she monitors the front gate, answers…
Wade’s Word – March
Someone recently asked me how we define success at the mission and I thought it would be meaningful for you to hear my response. It is important to know that we deal not only with physical poverty, but also with relational poverty (lack of relationships) and spiritual poverty (lack of hope). Many of the people…
Clean Starts
We are always looking for new ways to help those we serve live fulfilling lives and better serve our community. The Clean Starts/Clean Streets program is an excellent example of a new program we launched recently. In partnership with Councilmember Mitchell Englander, Northridge Sparkle and Mayor Garcetti’s office, the mission piloted this program to provide…
Wade’s Word – February
For the past eight years, the Rescue Mission Alliance San Fernando Valley has been providing showers to our chronically homeless neighbors through our mobile shower program. Over the years, we have provided thousands of people with the opportunity to enhance their dignity through this program. We have also helped several other groups start similar programs…
