Beleaguered and broken, poverty-stricken grandmothers come through the doors of Union Rescue Mission hoping for safe shelter and a hot meal. Each precious lady’s earthly possessions fill only a couple of small bags. But with help from caring partners like you, these fragile seniors will find protection from the terror of Los Angeles' Skid Row.

Union Rescue Mission's Hope Gardens is a “Psalm 23” experience. Penniless women and children come from the violence and filth of Skid Row to 71 acres of peace, green meadows and quiet waters. Seniors like Thelma,* Ruth,* Shirley,* and other impoverished, lonely women leave a life of fear and despair behind.

“I can hear crickets,” Ruth remarked in wonder. “My lungs don’t quite know how to breathe this fresh air!”

Thelma, at 75 years of age, was drawn to the fishpond. “It’s therapeutic,” she whispered, her eyes following the lazy trail of the golden koi. Indeed, the surroundings at Hope Gardens are healing.

Shirley immediately noticed a patch of soil and asked if she could get some seeds. "I had a 'Victory Garden' during the war," she remembered.

I stand in silent awe to ponder how simple it is for compassionate partners like you to transform life for our desperately poor but worthy seniors. No woman deserves to be reduced to sleeping on hard sidewalks. Navigating street fights and drug dealers. Counting on filthy public restrooms for personal hygiene. Or digging through dumpsters for food. Please help provide a blessed and safe environment for some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable seniors with a gift to support Hope Gardens.

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