Leo Hurtado grew up in the tough streets of East Los Angeles. He spent years as a gang member, going in and out of jail. He became involved with drugs early on, and was a slave to an addiction that lasted him more than 30 years.
While in jail, Leo was fed the Word of God through Prison Ministry volunteers. Just before his release, Leo got down on his knees and asked Jesus to come into his heart; Leo’s life was never the same.
Leo asked the Lord for help on where to go when released and received an answer from the Lighthouse Men’s Christian Home; they welcomed him with open arms.
At the Lighthouse, he learned new life skills and how to take responsibility for his actions. He learned to replace his old negative ways with new, positive patterns. Leo met Pastor Andy Bales from Lake Avenue Church and soon joined together with him at the first Super Bowl party for the homeless in 2000. Leo has attended every Sunday Evening Community Dinner and Bible Study ever since.
As the full-time House Manager at the Lighthouse, Leo served LACF by becoming passionately involved with the Prison Ministry, the Friday meals at Villa 500, the Rose Parade Flower Ministry, to name just a few. Leo also became directly involved with numerous programs in the community, such as Rebuilding Together Pasadena, the Pasadena Bad Weather Shelter, and many more. In March 2000, Leo was baptized at Lake Avenue Church, and in 2005 accepted a position as Homeless and Day Laborer Program Manager at LACF. Recently, when Leo was a guest speaker at the Wyoming youth camping trip in summer 2007, Leo felt called by the Lord to work in Youth and Gang Intervention ministries. He is now attending classes to become a Youth Intervention Counselor and will add that to his ministry at LACF.
As a single father raising five kids, Leo understands the challenges of raising young people. In his free time, Leo loves hanging out with his kids.
leoh@lakeave.org 626.817.4892
