Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photos courtesy of The Midnight Mission
Tom Liddecoat opened the doors of The Midnight Mission as a refuge for the men of Skid Row in 1914. They have been a consistent beacon of light for those with nowhere else to turn. The mission has never closed its doors. They have served the Skid Row community through the Great Depression and, most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic without stopping our emergency services. The Midnight Mission serves three nutritious meals every day to the Skid Row community. Near-homeless and homeless individuals and families come through their meal service. They serve almost one million meals a year.
KB: Describe to the RSR readers how The Midnight Mission was founded and by who?
Tom Liddecoat opened the doors of The Midnight as a refuge for the men of Skid Row in 1914. The Midnight Mission has been a consistent beacon of light for those with nowhere else to turn. It has never closed its doors. We have served the Skid Row community through the Great Depression and, most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic without stopping our emergency services.
KB: How many homeless people can you shelter?
The Midnight Mission can shelter 450 individuals between our two facilities. Our downtown location provides crisis and bridge housing and housing for those who enter our recovery program. Our other location is in Inglewood, HomeLight Family Living, which houses families working towards self-sufficiency.
KB: How long can they stay and are they giving food, clothes?
Individuals stay for varied lengths of time. Those who are in our Healthy Living recovery program stay for a year. The Midnight Mission offers paths to self-sufficiency to individuals and families who have lost direction. Our emergency services and 12-step recovery, family living, job training, education, and workforce development programs offer a compassionate bridge to achieve and maintain healthy, productive lives. We remove obstacles and provide the accountability and structure people experiencing homelessness need to be productive in their communities.
The Midnight Mission serves three nutritious meals every day to our Skid Row community. Near-homeless and homeless individuals and families come through our meal service. We serve almost one million meals a year.
KB: Is it only homeless or also people who flee domestic abuse, runaways, youths?
We will help anyone who comes to our doors.
KB: Describe the mission’s Homelight Family Living Program.
HomeLight Family Living provides the path for families in crisis to reunify, rebuild, and restore their lives. We provide education, career preparedness, counseling, and life skills to break the cycle of abuse and poverty to ensure independent, successful living.
KB: Is your mission helping homeless people finding a way to beat homelessness as in work or finding living accommodations?
The Midnight Mission has been offering paths to self-sufficiency to individuals and families in need. Our extensive range of essential services, including 12-step recovery, education, job training, and work programs, are designed to get people off the streets and into productive lives. The Midnight Mission knows the important difference between a hand-up and a hand-out.
KB: What is the main reason people end up on the street?
There are many reasons individuals can experience homelessness from job loss, outstanding medical bills, domestic violence, addiction, rent increase, death of a spouse, etc… Because there are a multitude of reasons, we have to have varied services to meet each person’s need.
KB: What can a country and humans do to prevent people from becoming homeless and end up on the streets?
There are many things a country and humans can do to prevent people from experiencing homelessness. In my opinion, the best way to start is to have all take care of their neighbors and be a community.
Check out The Midnight Mission’s website: HERE
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