History

Billy Soto of the Los Angeles Dream Center founded “Under the Bridge Ministry” in 1996.

In his words:

“I started with my wife and sometimes my kids. We would make 500 sandwiches and 10 gallons of punch every day. The way I started was that I got a ticket for no insurance on my car, so when I went to court I asked for community service because the Dream Center had a community so I thought I would skate but God had something else in mind.

"I had to do 35 hours of community service. After I got my proof of insurance, I was sent to a place called Project Angel Food where they deliver food to the people who were dying of AIDS. This touched my heart so much that when I was done with my 35 hours, I continued and did it for a full year, every day.

"Pastor Tommy, Pastor Matthew and Jim Baker would check me out every day from the rooftop of the Dream Center. I would be loading my little Mr. Magoo Jeep with the food for the day.

"I would have prayer warriors do a follow up on the people that I delivered food to. I made a lot of new friends, Pastor Matthew called the follow up “Acts 29”, there are only 28 chapters in Acts and from that, Adopt-a-Block started.

"On one of my runs, one of the people I made friends with, told me there are a lot of people living under the First St. Bridge. He told me they needed help but not to beat them with the Bible so I said “OK” and off I went.

"It was rough in the beginning. I had to build a trust with these people. I surely was tested many times but PERSISTENCE BREAKS RESISTANCE every time, so I kept on going and they told me of others in need and as time went on, I was serving 2000 people a week and that's only because I ran out of food.” ~Billy Soto



On December 24, 2003 we started following the Macomb County Warming Centers. These are shelters that allow the homeless to get off the street at night. The homeless move from church to church weekly. We went with clothes, shoes, socks, boots, tents, blankets, and whatever else was donated to help these people in need before they went into the shelter. We also go under bridges to help those who live "between the beams".

In December of 2006 we gained more volunteers and with this additional support we started in a new direction. We now go to various locations handing out clothing and continue to let them know of God's love for them. We believe God's goodness will continue to bless the homeless.