Nuestro Hogar Gives Respite to Homeless

In March, Alejandro Guerrero came to Los Angeles from Honduras with high expectations and little money. With no family or friends to help him make his way in a new country, Guerrero soon found himself living on the streets, forced to sell his meager possessions to buy food.

Then he found a place to call home for a few days a week.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Guerrero, 22, and other homeless people in the Pico-Union area can visit Nuestro Hogar (Our Home) to get a brief respite from their tenuous lives on the streets. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the converted five-bedroom house at 1519 Cambria St. provides a semblance of stability with a hot lunch, showers, clean clothes, medical aid, English classes and home videos.

“I feel safe here,” Guerrero said. “I can meet other people who have the same problems who want to talk and make friends. They give us nourishment here and treat us with dignity. This places gives me hope.”

On a recent morning, Guerrero, along with 50 young men and a few women, sat on couches, folding chairs, window sills and the floor to watch a video of “Rocky V” on a television perched high in the corner of the living room.

The group extended as far as the kitchen door near the back of the house, where volunteers from two Santa Clarita churches had begun to prepare a lunch of hot dog casserole, green salad, corn chips and lemonade, with apple pie and chocolate cake for dessert.

Nuestro Hogar was founded in 1987 by the Missionary Brothers of Charity, a Catholic order started in 1963 by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Private donations pay for all the house programs, said Brother Oscar Martinez, the program director. The center primarily serves young men from 14 to 21, Martinez said.

“When we started, there was nothing serving this population, nothing to help them leave the streets,” Martinez said. “We wanted to return the dignity to these men. In the streets, people discriminate against them because they are dirty. That’s why we offer them a bath and clean clothes. For their pride, it is important for them not to look like they are homeless.”

Teachers from the Belmont Adult School in Pico-Union volunteer to teach English classes, and the Community Health Foundation of East Los Angeles, a nonprofit medical clinic, provides on-site physical examinations and medical referrals, Martinez said.

“When I came here three months ago, I was sick from sleeping outside and not having enough food,” Guerrero said. “They gave me vitamins and medicine, and I was tested for AIDS.” The test was negative, he said.

Geraldo Silva, 21, a first-time visitor to Nuestro Hogar, said he was surprised by its homey and friendly atmosphere.

“I like this place. It is different from other church missions where you have to pray, and they give you a little food,” Silva said. “Here if you don’t pray, that’s OK, and they give you a lot of food.”