Dream Center

The Los Angels Dream Center, 2016

The Dream Center is a Pentecostal Christian Church mission located at 2301 Bellevue Avenue in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, two blocks west of Alvarado Street on the north side of the 101 Freeway. It is two miles from Downtown Los Angeles and a little over two miles from Hollywood.

Based out of the former Queen of Angels Hospital at Bellevue and Waterloo Street, the facility consists of almost 400,000 ft² (37,000 m²) in buildings on 8.8 acres (36,000 m²) of prime commercial real estate.

The church ministers to the local homeless community, emancipated youth, gang members, addicts to drugs or alcohol, single mothers, struggling families, taggers, AIDS victims, and various subculture, ethnic and nationality groups. It feeds the homeless and others in need and runs a halfway house for released prisoners. Close to 500 people are housed at the center and receive rehabilitation. Many other services are offered each week to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the community.

The Dream Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Pastor Matthew Barnett manages the Dream Center and pastors the Angelus Temple, which is a Foursquare Pentecostal church.

History

The organization was founded in 1994 with Matthew Barnett and Tommy Barnett, as a home missions project of the Southern California District of the Assemblies of God. ^[1] In 2001, Pastor Matthew Barnett and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel merged the Dream Center with the Angelus Temple, with Pastor Barnett becoming the senior pastor over Angelus Temple as well as the Dream Center.

Associated Dream Centers have been established in other cities. Over 100 Dream Centers have been launched around the world.^[2]

Outreach

The Dream Center has a number of resources for both the community and people living in different states or countries. For the Homeless they have a Transitional Family Housing Program, Skid Row Outreach and a Food Chapel. For Human Trafficking victims they have the Human Trafficking Program, the emergency shelter and the emergency hotline. For community outreach they have The Dream Center Academy, The Lord's Gym, Adopt-a-Block, the Youth Center, and the Worship Project. For hunger in general they provide a Food Truck and a Food Bank to the public. For poverty issues they have the Emancipating Youth Home program, Foster Care Intervention, Clothing Outreach, Mobile Medical Clinic, Adult Education Program, and the Job Placement and Transition Program. For recovery they have the Men's and Women's Discipleship live in program.

Purchase of For-Profit Colleges

In 2017, a subsidiary of the Dream Center, in partnership with a private equity fund, purchased the Art Institutes, South University, and Argosy University systems of for-profit colleges from Education Management Corporation.^[3] The transaction received significant scrutiny, due to concerns about Dream Center's ability to successfully manage the acquired schools, and criticism that the transaction was designed to allow the schools to avoid increased regulation of for-profit colleges.^[4]

Controversy

According to BBC News, some Hurricane Katrina evacuees who stayed at the Dream Center felt like prisoners.^[5] In response to the complaints, several social activists, led by Ted Hayes, a homelessness advocate, called a news conference demanding an investigation of the Dream Center. After visiting the Dream Center, however, and being given a tour of the facility, the activists concluded that the accusations were groundless. ""There is no basis to the complaints we've heard," Hayes said,"The horror stories reported to us do not exist."" ^[6]

References

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 34°4′27.9″N 118°16′8.83″W / 34.074417°N 118.2691194°W / 34.074417; -118.2691194