San Diego Rescue Mission: SDRM In The Local Media

Rescue Mission Turns 50

By Ronald W. Powell
STAFF WRITER

September 18, 2005

The San Diego Rescue Mission began in 1955 as a soup kitchen in a rundown section of downtown that was later transformed into the upscale Gaslamp Quarter.

"It was the area where the brothels were located," said Jim Jackson, the mission's president. "We served mostly older white men who had their bottles in a paper sack."

Hobos. Skid Row drunks. The sick and injured. All were among the mission's initial clients in a converted cardroom.

As the Rescue Mission prepares to mark its 50th anniversary this month, the population it minsters to is more diverse. The people come from all types of backgrounds and include single men and women, as well as women with children.

Over five decades, through good times and recessions, the mission has doled out its brand of practical Christianity. The approach is based on the Bible's admonition to put faith into action by feeding, clothing and comforting the poor.

Last week was typical. The mission averaged 204 men in its long-term rehabilitation program, 30 women and 34 children in its long-term shelter program, and 25 women and 35 children in emergency shelter beds.

The mission has had four homes. Since last year, headquarters have been in the former Harborview Medical Building at 120 Elm St. in downtown Bankers Hill. The six-floor facility has 95,000 square feet of space.

The mission's first site at 428 G St. bore the message "Jesus Saves" on its facade. The second location at 527 Fifth Ave., which allowed the mission to offer overnight shelter, carried the words on its exterior: "The Wages of Sin is Death," followed by the promise of eternal life through Christ.

No slogans have adorned the last two mission buildings, but the messages of faith are dispensed to those in need of food or services through sermons, Bible study and religious instruction.

Private donations make up the mission's $12.7 million annual budget. It doesn't accept government money to avoid interference with its programs.

About 80 full-time employees and hundreds of volunteers work at the mission. It has a program, Partners for Hunger Relief, that picks up excess food from markets, restaurants, schools and other sources and distributes it to 77 local aid agencies and ministries and 25 in Mexico. Last year, the program distributed 2.2 million pounds of perishable and prepared foods.

"From the very first newsletter, the people who established the Rescue Mission saw themselves as a light in the darkness – a beacon," said Jackson, 59, who was appointed president in 1999. "They saw a need and responded to it."

In its early years, the mission established a working relationship with the police, jails and City Council members, whom Jackson said were pleased to have a group serving the growing number of poor people who were congregating downtown.

When Pete Wilson was mayor in the early 1970s, that relationship began to change, Jackson said. Wilson wanted the city to become a catalyst for the renewal of downtown through commercial and residential development, and he and other city officials created the Centre City Development Corp. in 1975 to oversee the shift.

Feeling pressure from redevelopment forces, the mission moved to 11th Avenue and J Street in 1985. Redevelopment pressed the organization again this decade when the Padres' downtown ballpark project got under way. The mission eventually sold its East Village holdings and bought the Bankers Hill facility for $8 million.

A signature of the mission is its frequent collaborations with the city and other service providers to help the poor.

Sharon Johnson, the city's homeless services administrator, praised the mission for its work last year during San Diego's winter shelter program.

At no cost to the city, the mission served as the entry point for homeless families to be assessed for services and placed in housing – a job that required coordination with the county, city, Catholic Charities, YWCA and other organizations. The mission also assists the city's Homeless Outreach Team by providing showers and clothes for people being taken from the streets to service providers.

"The Rescue Mission is always available to do whatever is needed," Johnson said.

The mission fills an "incalculably valuable" niche in the homeless services network, said Rosemary Johnston, executive director of the 20-year-old Interfaith Shelter Network. She said the diverse homeless population requires programs with varied philosophies, and that some people respond to the mission's requirement that assistance be tied to religious instruction.

Still, there was anxiety among Bankers Hill residents and businesspeople when the mission announced plans to buy the former medical building. Opponents protested to the City Council and sued to block the move, fearing the mission would attract people who would commit crimes, litter and drive away customers.

The organization began moving into the building in January 2004 after settling the lawsuit by agreeing to eliminate walkup meal services and pay for some security around the building, among other items.

Bill Hinchy, a businessman whose office is across the street from the mission, opposed its move because of the food lines it used to allow.

"We just thought that if people can eat for free, they'll use the money they save to feed whatever demons they have – either alcohol or drugs," Hinchy said.

Hinchy said he and other businesses share the costs of nighttime security patrols with the mission. He said the mission has "worked nicely" with its neighbors and has had little effect on the neighborhood.

"It's not a perfect business, but they're doing a good job of managing a nonperfect business," Hinchy said.

Marco LiMandri, president of the Little Italy Association, was among the most vocal opponents of the mission's relocation.

"I've seen nothing dramatic because of their presence here," LiMandri said. "The move has worked out well so far."

Jackson said the mission now has its sights on creating housing to prevent homelessness among people who sometimes end up on the streets: prison parolees, foster-care graduates, veterans.

Converting the vision to bricks and mortar will require about $30 million in fundraising for the initial construction, Jackson said.

But as a Christian organization, Jackson said, the Rescue Mission cannot shrink from a challenge or stop believing in miracles.

"We've demonstrated that a well-run agency can be a positive part of a growing community," he said. "We're committed to doing this as long as San Diego supports us."

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