Union Rescue Mission CEO Andy Bales leaving organization after nearly 20 years

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Andy Bales, the longtime president and CEO of Union Rescue Mission, is headed back home to Iowa after serving the Los Angeles community for nearly two decades.

According a URM, Bales decided to conclude his tenure at the end of this year.

"I'm relocating. I have a problem with the word retirement," Bales said with a smile. "My wife said, 'Next year on your 65th birthday, I'm headed back to Iowa to hang out with our red-headed grandgirls, and you can join me if you'd like,' so I kind of gulped and said, 'Uh oh. I think I'm in trouble.'"

Bales will continue to lead the organization until a new CEO is hired and transitions into the role. He said he will be leading an after-school education program in Des Moines.

URM provides shelter to about 1,300 men, women and children every day.

During Bales' tenure at URM, the organization added two new facilities for women, children, and families experiencing homelessness.

During the holidays, he and his staff provide a dinner for those in need. Despite his noble work, Bales is leaving URM with a broken heart.

"You get to a point where not one precious human being was left on our streets and I've not only fallen short of that, it's so much worse than it was when I came," said Bales. "There were 2,000 people on the streets when I came, there are 4,700 on the streets of Skid Row in a 53-square block area now."

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a statement on Bales' departure saying,

"Reverend Bales embodies what it means to be a public servant. For more than three decades, he has given his all to answer the call to serve the most destitute individuals living in our county.

Skid Row is not for the faint of heart - it's one of the harshest environments I know. Reverend Bales was a light in that darkness that tirelessly modeled how to help those suffering on our streets with respect and dignity. His ability to garner the community's support for URM's mission, especially for the mothers and children at Hope Gardens, is a testament to his vision and ability to unite people.

He has been a passionate voice for healing that I have always appreciated and heeded. He will be greatly missed."

Bales is widely known as being one of the region's most outspoken and influential leaders on homeless issues in Los Angeles and across the country.