WHY OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS THE TIMOTHY HOUSE

President and CEO of the Long Beach Rescue Mission, Jeff Levine (left) sitting with a young resident named Ernie

Earlier this year, President and CEO of the Long Beach Rescue Mission (LBRM), Jeff Levine spoke of their 2025 goals, highlighting their mission and vision to “swim upstream to prevent homelessness.”

The LBRM, located on Pacific Avenue near Anaheim Street in Downtown Long Beach, is one of the leading organizations in our city providing housing and life changing guidance to the unhoused population through their “New Life Program.” Their shelter—which is almost always at 100% capacity—houses 140 homeless men in its “Samaritan House” and 50 women and children in its “Lydia House” Shelter.

The Long Beach Rescue Mission, a Christian-based non-profit not associated with the city government, is privately funded by the generous donations of local residents (like you). LBRM is expanding in a new and important way this year, having broken ground on the new Timothy House… a shelter specifically designed to house young men, ages 18-25.

A Shelter Just For Men, 18-25 Year Olds, Is There Really A Need?

One thing I’ve learned over the past few years, as I’ve gotten more involved with the Long Beach Rescue Mission, is that there is almost no mold for who walks through those doors at rock bottom. Any age, race, economic background… the scary reality is that homelessness transcends lifestyles. Even generalizations like “addiction” don’t always apply.

But often, there is a common indicator, a thread that loosely ties together many of the residents who end up at the LBRM Samaritan House: childhood trauma.

For those who have experienced any form of childhood trauma (and there are many), their early adult years are crucial to stability. Unfortunately, early adulthood is all too often when things can go south, especially for those facing an uphill battle, like many residents do.

Foster Care Grads

Young men aging out of the foster care system, while certainly not the only individuals for whom the Timothy House was created to help, are unfortunately, a commonly afflicted demographic.

Imagine being 18 years old, with no parents to provide guidance, no supervision by anyone… no safety net. Just life and all its responsibilities, with nothing to fall back on…

Meet Ernie

If you met Ernie, a current resident at the LBRM, just about the last word that would come to mind is “homeless.” The 25-year-old is in his last semester of community college, earning an associate degree in fire technology. He hopes to attend the fire academy one day.

Ernie is well-spoken and well-dressed. He’s employable. He’s also made a few mistakes, not so different than your average 25-year-old.

From the age of four, Ernie grew up in the foster care system. He was “mentally instituted” at age eight for throwing tantrums and taken away from his first foster family. His aunt and uncle took him in, still through the foster system, and gave him a good childhood. Ernie maintained a GPA above 3.0 in high school and participated in football, basketball, and other extracurricular activities, while working at Smart & Final. “I have nothing bad to say about my upbringing,” said Ernie. “I was given any opportunity I could have wanted.”

But by age 18, Ernie was confronted with the realities of the foster care system and found himself on his own. He had a full ride to Cal State Fullerton, with “extended foster care” money being placed in his account. And no one was watching over him.

“It was a culture shock to me,” he said about college. “I was young and I had money, and I made some mistakes.”

Ernie dropped out of college after one semester. He got his first of 2 DUIs. He got a job at a warehouse, loading/unloading trucks. Then COVID hit. The atmosphere, culture, and isolation that came along with the pandemic hit Ernie hard, and not in a good way. He became extremely depressed.

“The fact that everyone had to stay six feet away from each other, the fear of not waking up the next day because of a cough and not knowing where that cough came from. People were angry and no one was respecting authority,” he continued. “I was working nights in the warehouse hardly seeing people. I participated in a lot of recreational drugs. I didn’t like my lifestyle. I didn’t like the person I woke up to see every day in the mirror. And I knew it wasn’t what God wanted me to do.”

Trying To Better His Life On His Own

In the depths of his depression, during the heat of the pandemic, Ernie logged onto the internet, looked up the Conservation Corps of California job placement program and applied.

His life began to change positively. He was placed into Cal Fire wildfire training and given an opportunity to work in the field. It gave him purpose. Two years later, he enrolled in community college and began his fire technology courses with the goal of becoming a fireman.

With No Safety Net, How Do You Improve Your Life?

So why is the Timothy House for young men so important? Look at Ernie.  

Last year, one of Ernie’s old foster care agents reached out to see how he was doing. At the time, he no longer had a car; was commuting by public transport from LA to school and back to OC to work a warehouse job; and

just barely able to pay the rent for a lease he wasn’t sure he would be able to see through.

Ernie wasn’t exactly homeless, but he was in a key moment in his life. He had no one to depend on, no guidance, no safety net like most people. His dreams of finishing college and improving his life, while at the same time trying to pay the bills and cover his lease, were unsustainable.

That’s when he was referred to the LBRM. He wasn’t exactly homeless, and perhaps future residents of the Timothy House won’t be homeless either. But how do you improve your life as a young man with no support? The reality for most people is… you can’t.  

Ernie’s likelihood of finishing his career plans through college and the fire academy were slim. Without the safety net created by the LBRM, the realities of bills and rent meant that reliance on the stability of the warehouse job may have become his only option. Until, if and when that became not enough, he became helpless, depressed, and possibly homeless.

Support The Timothy House

The Timothy House is the LBRM’s most ambitious project to date. A bid to support a vulnerable population before it’s too late, providing a safety net for young men trying to improve their lives for the better. With plans to open this fall, if you would like to make a contribution toward the ongoing costs of running the house, you can email Jeff at jlevine@lbrm.org or call him at (562) 277-4697.