The Mission That Gave Him Shelter

The Rev. Wayne Teuerle had worked in the rescue missions of downtown Los Angeles. He knew their image: smelly places with ragged furniture, gray linoleum and pale green walls.

He wanted his Long Beach Rescue Mission to look more like a well-maintained apartment building than a shelter for the homeless.

The result of that ambition is readily apparent at the earth- toned, two-story mission buildings on either side of Pacific Avenue north of Anaheim Street.

Both the two-story Samaritan House, a men’s 100-bed facility with a chapel and dining hall, and Lydia House, a 33-bed temporary home for women and children, were built specifically as mission buildings. Teuerle said that allowed him to incorporate many of his ideas.

“One of the things we wanted to do was change the image,” said Teuerle, who started the mission in 1972 with his wife, Janet. “You don’t have to have a mission that looks like a mission.”

In the men’s building, for instance, the walls are painted cheery shades of orange and baby blue. The bathrooms, dining areas and bedrooms appear as spotless as rooms in a well-maintained private house. The furniture is new. And the rooms are pleasant and airy, lacking the rank odor of disinfectant found in some downtown Los Angeles missions.

Facility for Women

The women’s facility has private showers and a plush living-room-style lounge.

Teuerle said he helped design both the men’s and women’s quarters. “I got a little creative and I wanted to build something and decorate it,” the 49-year-old evangelical Christian minister said.

Unlike some of the missions in Los Angeles, the Long Beach facility was laid out so that the homeless and hungry would not have to loiter on the sidewalk to await the nightly meal and church service. Instead of waiting outside, the crowd comes inside to a large outdoor atrium or a waiting room lined with chairs.

The Long Beach mission has been so successful that the Teuerles want to expand. They plan to raise about $500,000 for an addition that will include about 20 new beds, more office space and two staff apartments.

Began on Broadway

Teuerle, a finance manager before becoming a minister, started the mission in an old building on Broadway in downtown Long Beach. He said that they served 27 meals the first day and that 16 homeless people attended the church service and stayed the night.

After a few years of seven-day weeks, the Teuerles built their new mission for men and the chapel in 1983. It was followed two years later by the women’s facility. Wayne Teuerle said no one in need of a bed is ever turned away at the mission. On average, 68% of the beds are filled annually; the high was 82% one month. Nevertheless, he said the mission needs to expand to keep pace with its projected growth. The new beds and offices are needed “as a hedge for the future.”

Teuerle said the $440,000-a-year operation employs 14 paid staff members. It is self-supporting, depending entirely on contributions from individuals and 85 churches.

Although the mission served 107,000 meals last year, Teuerle said total food costs ran about $400--mostly for spices. Virtually all of the food consumed at the mission is donated.