Street Angels Ministry

A story written by Street Angels volunteer Jami. Basically her experience with two young homeless people, Suzy and Joe, during the January 23rd outing. It’s these intimate interactions that inspire us to continue this movement of love.

I met Suzy and Joe on January 23, 2010 in Ocean Beach. Suzy was peering into our giant wagon that was filled to the brim with backpacks, blankets, and hooded sweatshirts as we came to a halt on the sidewalk. She seemed hesitant to grab anything so I asked her if she was in need of a backpack. She said “Definitely! All of our stuff washed away in the torrential downpours this past week.” I gave the backpack to her and asked if her significant other needed one and he said “I’m fine, I will just rough it.” Suzy told me that she was in desperate need of a blanket. After I gave her one she said a lady came by last week with blankets and Suzy asked for one, but the lady told her it was only for the homeless. Suzy didn’t have the heart to tell her she was actually homeless. You see, Suzy and Joe are not your average homeless people. They are extremely clean, no tears, rips, or stains on their clothes, Joe was clean shaven, and they both had shoes and socks on. Another thing that sets Joe and Suzy apart from your average homeless people is that they are both going to college full-time.

I introduced myself and asked them where they were from. “Indiana,” said Suzy. I told them I was from Illinois and after a small midwest bonding, Suzy said they moved here last year and Joe already got laid off from his job. “But he still manages to pay for my school!”, exclaimed Suzy. Joe was receiving unemployment, but it hasn’t been coming for the last couple of weeks so they had to move out of the place they were staying downtown. I asked Suzy what she was getting her degree in and she told me Business Finance. She said she doesn’t plan on quitting school, she wants to go on for her Master’s degree. I asked her if she was receiving any help from any social services programs, and she said “No, but I just told the Dean of my school that I was homeless last week. I have been going to that school for a year and they had no idea of my situation. I am hoping they will be able to help me out some how.”

I explained to them about Street Angels and told them we are in Ocean Beach every 2nd and 4th Saturday and as I was leaving, Suzy said “If you hear of any services offered to homeless college students let me know!” I left wishing I could do more to help them out.

EDITOR’S NOTE—-After speaking with me, Suzy spoke with her college advisor about her situation and she is now able to take online classes. Her advisor is also helping her find a place to live.

- Jami

For our outing this Saturday in Ocean Beach, we are completely out of several essential items!
We need your help in replenishing our supply for this weekend!

Items in need:

shampoo–a handful left, not enough for 15 bags
toothpaste–completely out
snacks–completely out
razors–completely out
shave cream–completely out
conditioner–completely out
batteries–completely out
flashlights–completely out

If you would like to donate, please contact Sidney@missiongathering.com or drop off the supplies at the Missiongathering Office in Hillcrest!

Thank you to all our supporters and community for your love!

Hey Volunteers!

It has been 2 weeks since our last Ocean Beach outing, however January is a special month containing 5 Saturdays. To stay on schedule, and to clarify, there is NO OUTING this Saturday in OB.

Our next outing will be Tuesday, Feb 9 in Hillcrest, and Saturday, Feb. 13 in Ocean Beach.

See you guys next week!

Our Outing on Saturday, January 23 was another great success! 15 backpacks were given out as well as several needed hoodie’s and blankets. Due to the Pacific Coast storming earlier that week, several teens reported losing much of their belongings, so Street Angels came at just the right time!

A Special Thank you to Rhonda for holding a hoody drive and collecting so many awesome hoody’s!!

Photography by our awesome volunteers Tamandra and Darin!

Additional stories to come soon from this special outing.

This was truly a blessed night. We were overwhelmed by the love and support we experienced from this REVO event.

STREET ANGELS THANKS YOU FOR SHOWING YOUR LOVE TO THIS EVENT AND CAUSE!!

DONATIONS EARNED:

Door Donations: $953
Jedidiah Hope Shirts: $240
Cooper’s Beer: $87
Artist Donations: $390
Support from our Community: Priceless

TOTAL DONATIONS: $1599!! That’s a lot of backpacks and supplies!

Aside from the money earned, several people came up wanting to get involved or help spread the word about Street Angels! Without volunteers, Street Angels would cease to exist. If you missed out on REVO but still wanting to get involved in our outings or events, please contact James@missiongathering.com. New and old volunteers are always welcome!

Anyway, here are some flix from the REVO event!

For the new year, we hit the streets with a new wagon! From the support of Missiongathering, this new wagon will make it easier for our team to roam the streets with more supplies without having to run back to the car to replenish!

Saturday in Ocean Beach was indeed a beautiful day. The swell was huge, and so were the crowds! We met some really great groups of teens, and were able to hand out 14 backpacks! The weather was wonderful. With everyone out and about enjoying the sunshine, we recognized several of our past backpacks given out still being used. It’s awesome to see that all the survival supplies we hand out (including the packs) are helping.

A shout out to Jessie Burgeson for putting together a donation box at Front Line Direct, for supplying Street Angels with more socks, and other survival items in need! Thanks Jess!

We’ll see everyone at the REVO SD event tonight at BONDI BAR AND GRILL! Talented Art, Great food, drinks, and a cause for youth!

Since our latest outing update, our street team has gone out with 2 very successful outings. Our pilot outing in Hillcrest gave 7 backpacks within less than 30 minutes of hitting the streets. We should have prepared more packs! This is great news, to know we have found another location with consistent need. Our Hillcrest outings will continue every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month, rain or shine.

The Saturday following Christmas, our team handed out 15 backpacks and several blankets. We couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present! We couldn’t have supplied these teens without the help of our donors and the warm hearts of our supporters and volunteers! Please stay tuned for more updates, and always please contact James or Sidney if you’re interested in getting involved.

Our inventory shows a big need for more backpacks! If you would like to donate, shoot us an email at James@missiongathering.com

Please  join us for this upcoming event on January 10th at 7 pm. Help us celebrate local artists showcasing their talented work. The night promises to be full of giving some love for the Street Angels cause. Help SAM meet the needs of the impoverished youth living on the streets of San Diego by hanging out with us! Bondi Bar and Grill is located in downtown San Diego at:

333 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92101

REVO describes their mission statement as “REVO is a movement. It is a movement within a generation that is redefining America’s perception of love. REVO is a simple concept of loving others for the sake of love, nothing more, nothing less. REVO exists to influence and generate passion in our culture. To each person involved, REVO is the way he/she commits their life to loving others. Simply, REVO is the movement of love.” Find out more at their website.

SAM would like to thank REVO SD for showing this love to our cause and for putting this awesome event together. A shout out to John Shultz as the man behind the scenes. And last but not least a big thank you to Bondi Bar and Grill for hosting.

This is the season of showing love, hope, and gratitude.

Street Angels Ministry would like to give a HUGE thank you to COMMUNITY (Prescription Center) Walgreen’s for showing SAM some holiday love by their generous donations at a time when we needed it the most. We were out of most items in our inventory, enough for only one or two more outings.

But with COMMUNITY (Prescription Center) Walgreen’s donation, we were able to fill over 75 backpacks full of supplies! Read more about Community!
If you are local, you can also visit them at 640 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92103, in Hillcrest!

Street Angels Ministry would also like to thank Nick Warren, a member from Missiongathering. He’s the one that made all this happen!

This will surely help with the added outings SAM is starting every second and fourth Tuesday of the month in the neighborhood of Hillcrest. We are inspired and hopeful that these added supplies, as well as the extended love shown to this cause will lead to greater outreach and expansive movement of Street Angels.

THANK YOU AGAIN COMMUNITY (PRESCRIPTION CENTER) WALGREEN’S AND NICK WARREN!

What a day! What a day! Our team was worried our packs would get soaked from the rain this Saturday, but lo and behold, Ocean Beach was gorgeous, with a little vitamin D peaking through the clouds, and a slight drizzle.

Our team of nine, handed out 12 backpacks within 15 minutes of being out there. We found a large group in need of packs and survival items. They were thankful, and stayed and chatted with us a bit about their journey’s and struggles.

It is so easy to be caught up from the chaos that can be the holidays, but being out there, walking the streets, searching for teens, everything is placed in a clearer perspective and priority.