Rev. Andy Bales who serves as CEO for Union Rescue Mission is back on the streets — this time in a wheelchair.
His reappearance on Los Angeles Skid Row comes just nine weeks after his lower right leg was amputated, the Associated Press reported Sunday.
According to the news outlet, Bales is diabetic and a blister that became infected by bacteria he likely picked up while helping the homeless on Skid Row led to the amputation.
“He had been making daily walks around the downtown area where the homeless, drug-addicted and mentally ill congregate. On Friday, Bales rolled through an area strewn with trash, lined with tents and running with urine,” the AP reported.
The Union Rescue Mission reports it serves about 1,300 people a day, and LA county figures show the number of homeless is around 47,000.
“New York puts a roof immediately over 90 percent of people experiencing homelessness, and is embarrassed about the 10 percent on the streets,” Bales told the AP. “We, in turn, put a roof over 25 percent and are not embarrassed about the 75 percent on the street.”
“I know the Redeemer lives,” he told the AP. ” I’d give my other leg and more if we could get a roof over everyone’s head.”