Skid Row, Broken Roads

There’s a place in downtown L.A. that I go to sometimes. It’s where thousands of broken and hurting people live. They stay on the streets and live in camp tents, sleeping in cardboard boxes, begging for food and shooting heroin into their arms. It’s a place called Skid Row, the dumping ground for the ignored and seemingly hopeless.

I remember my first time experiencing the atmosphere of Skid Row a few years ago, and my heart instantly broke for the people there. I have never in my life seen a community so depressing- around every corner, homeless people lying around like dead people, screaming and cursing in the streets like they just escaped from an insane asylum. There is so much oppression and destruction.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” He hasn’t forgotten about these people and He uses us to reach out to them.

There is a ministry called “Under the Bridge” that I have been privileged to get involved with, which goes out to Skid Row every week. The poor and homeless are given plates of food, and are loved with God’s love. Some people show their appreciation, while others take the food and leave, but many people are being blessed in the middle of their pain.

It’s hard to explain in words…it’s totally different to actually be there than just hear about it. It’s a total nightmare and these people need constant help and prayer because they are living in a vicious cycle of shame. I have witnessed several people freed from this path and regain hope, but there are many others who haven’t yet.

Why do I go to Skid Row? There’s nothing remotely attractive about that place- it reeks of urine and garbage and huge roaches crawl around. I go because God has broken my heart for the people there, and I know that I can make a difference, even if it’s just a little difference. Those people desperately need love and someone to have compassion for them. I go because it’s an opportunity to go beyond the walls and get out of my comfort zone. That’s where Jesus would be if He were incarnate.


-Shimmy