Dream Center Network
Founded in 1994, The Dream Center was started by Pastors Tommy and Matthew Barnett in Los Angeles, CA. It is a volunteer-driven organization that finds and fills the needs of over 40,000 individuals and families through approximately 70,000 encounters each month, with many accessing multiple services.
They do this through mobile hunger relief and medical programs, residential rehabilitation programs, a shelter for victims of human trafficking, transitional housing for homeless families, foster care intervention programs, job skills training, life skills, counseling, basic education, Bible studies and more. They work to meet people where they are at, to bring them hope and a way off the streets.
In the first four years of the Dream Center’s establishment, prostitution and gang violence dropped 73%, the homicide rate dropped 28% and rape dropped 53%. The Mayor of Los Angeles and the City Council publicly acknowledged the dramatic impact of the Dream Center and praised its efforts.
They also equip others to serve. The Dream Center’s record of success has attracted urban missionaries and Christian leaders from across the U.S. and the world. As they volunteer with Dream Center, they gain insight and skills that they can take back to their own communities.
In this way, more than 100 independent Dream Centers have been launched nationally, as well as internationally. Many more churches and ministries have become more effective as they teach those who give their time and talent to do what they do. Many who once needed their services also go on to help others.