LOS ANGELES — The plan is simple. Can the members of The Dream Center Los Angeles community sync one free throw in solidarity with every homeless person in Los Angeles? That would be 52,000 free throws, and they’ll have 24 hours to do it, beginning at 5 p.m. April 12.

“The scale of the problem is huge, and we hope that this event will help people understand really how many people need our help,” said Pastor Matthew Barnett. “Ultimately, the goal is not just to shine a light on these people whom God loves, but to rally our community to provide the support they need — to transform lives.”

For nearly 25 years, The Dream Center Los Angeles has worked to address the challenges of the homeless throughout Los Angeles with that type of “transformation” in mind.

“The Dream Center Los Angeles has always had the goal of getting at the root problem for those we are blessed to serve,” said Pastor Caroline Barnett. “We can only do so much about the high cost-housing and low wages, but we can do a great deal to help with providing temporary release support to those struggling with various forms of trauma and even addiction.”

The Dream Center Los Angeles offers all of their residential and community outreach programs free of charge. In addition to serving the homeless, the community organizations work with veterans, victims of human trafficking, foster youth, and provides various types of free counseling. The Dream Center Los Angeles also distributes a half-a-million pounds of food each month via over 33 local churches, 23 distribution sites and a local community college campus, provides thousands of items of free clothing on the first Thursday of every month, helps keep families together through Foster Care Intervention and has “adopted” more than 100 blocks throughout Los Angeles with the help of hundreds of volunteers.

To learn more about “Hoops for Hope” or to register to shoot or to fundraise for the event, visit www.DreamShot.org. To learn more about The Dream Center Los Angeles, visit www.DreamCenter.org.

###

The Dream Center Los Angeles is a faith-based community organization that finds and fills the needs of struggling people in Southern California, particularly in the Los Angeles community. Since 1995, thousands of individuals and families have found hope and healing through the programs that only the Dream Center Los Angeles offers. Its programs aim to not only meet the immediate needs of communities, like providing food and clothing but also focus on the transformation of individual lives, all free of charge.

The mission of the Dream Center Los Angeles is “to connect broken people to a community of support by offering free resources and services that address immediate and long-term needs in the areas of poverty, addiction and abuse. The Dream Center serves as a resource center focused on finding solutions to homelessness, hunger, and the lack of education through residential and community outreach programs.”