5 WAYS TO HELP THE LONG BEACH RESCUE MISSION THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

By John Grossi

“We are, all of us, meaning-seeking people. What better way to add meaning to your life than to become part of something bigger than yourself?” asks Long Beach Rescue Mission’s Executive Director, Jeff Levine.

All year, we’ve covered amazing, real success stories coming from the Long Beach Rescue Mission (LBRM). The LBRM is a non-government affiliated, 501c3 non-profit committed to providing healing and hope to the hurt and homeless, helping individuals in our community change their life for the better.

If you haven’t done so already, this holiday season may be the perfect time to become involved with this mission that is doing so much good in the community, transforming people’s lives and giving them hope that they may never end up living on the street again.

Here are five separate ways you, your family, and your friends can help!

1: Volunteer With Meals

The Long Beach Rescue Mission feeds 700-800 people in our community every single day. Volunteers can help serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Whether you want to volunteer as an individual, or organize 15-20 friends to staff mealtime together one night, email Volunteer Coordinator Jessie Lube at jlube@lbrm.org to get on the schedule! 

Or donate a “meal on me” to feed the community dinner one night. Individuals or businesses can donate $500 to buy dinner for the mission on a given night.

2: Toy And Food Donations

The Thanksgiving food drive and Christmas toy drive are other ways LBRM provides dignity while helping low-income families in and around the mission.

Each November, the week before Thanksgiving, the Mission turns one of its rooms into a grocery store so that families in need can go “shopping” and bring home what they need to feed their family a Thanksgiving dinner. 

Likewise, before Christmas, the Mission transforms the room into a Toy Store where children with their parents can pick out gifts they might want to see under the tree Christmas morning.

Consider donating non-perishable food items and toys by dropping them off at the “Samaritan House” between 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday, 1335 Pacific Ave, 90813.

3: Go On A Ministry Outreach

Perhaps one of the best gifts you can give yourself this season is to go on an outing with the mission’s outreach ministry. Each week, the mission’s trained and experienced outreach coordinator and his volunteers head to the streets of Long Beach to build relationships with the people living day-to-day in the public spaces of Long Beach.

“This is a powerful opportunity to complicate the story in your heart and mind about who these people are that are living on the streets,” says Jeff Levine. “You can’t force or convince someone to change their life. This is mercy ministry, meeting people where they are and building trust, so they can make that decision on their own.”

The outreach team offers kindness, prayer, food, water, clothes and other necessities to people on the streets; and reminds them that the Long Beach Rescue Mission is always there for them.

4: Donate Toward The Lydia House 

Expansion

On October 25th, 2024, LBRM broke ground to expand the women’s and children’s shelter known as the Lydia House. Currently, the shelter houses 50 women and children. By next Christmas, it will hold a total of 110.

“The sad reality is that we’ll fill those beds the minute they are available,” said Levine. “But that means another 60 women and children will be off the streets, no longer sleeping in cars, and getting the help they need to change their lives.”

There are naming opportunities for donors in the Lydia House Expansion, including memorial plaques where family’s names can literally become part of the cause they are helping to build in the community.

5: Donate Toward The Timothy House 

Also under construction is a new transitional house for adult men ages 18-24. While still part of the men’s shelter, this separate housing unit will provide a special place for young adults who have never had the proper chance to try and make it on their own. Whether because they’ve aged out of foster care, grew up homeless to near homeless, or were kicked out of their house… the stories of these young men are heartbreaking. And their stage of life is different than the older men in the shelter.

These young men often need to learn the soft skills and life skills that their parents never taught them. Cleanliness, manners, hygiene, job skills, and hope are all equally important lessons that will be instilled in the young men– sometimes still in high school– that this shelter will house.

The Mission Behind Giving

No matter how you can give– whether time, food, money, or toys– every act of service is an invitation to “more” according to Levine. Food and toy drives, meal service, and outreach are all invitations to build trust for those living on the streets. Volunteer service reminds those in need that the Long Beach Rescue Mission sees them for who God created them to be and are here to help. Monetary donations to our expansion projects help to provide more space for individuals ready to take steps toward bettering their life.

“Homelessness isn’t a problem; it’s people. People are emotional, spiritual, and relational,” says Levine. “We are meeting people where they’re at and are ready to help them transform their lives if they are willing.”