Located in the Lower Valley of El Paso, Texas, just ten minutes from the Zaragoza Border entry into Juarez, Mexico, Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) is in the right place to help alleviate growing needs of these low-income communities. Established in 1982 as a church plant, this organization has grown to offer multiple services to alleviate human need.

Our primary area of mercy is the Emergency Food Distribution, which serves close to 150 families every week. Through the partnership of other organizations and companies, fresh produce along with non-perishable food items are given to help supplement food resources for people suffering from food insecurity.

Working hand in hand with churches and individuals, we provide educational support to children and teenagers in El Paso and in Juarez. Every year, a “Back to School” drive provides brand-new backpacks filled with new school supplies are given to school-aged children. An average of 1,200 backpacks are distributed through YLM in El Paso and across the border in multiple communities of Juarez.

YLM has a “Stay in School” Scholarship program for children and teenagers in Mexico, where education is “free” yet incurs registration fees, uniform cost, and other financial obligations families living in extreme poverty cannot afford. With the belief education can help break the cycles of poverty, violence, and crime, sponsors are able to help children and youth get an education where they can rise above what is “normal” to them and achieve a career that will benefit them, their families, and their communities.

Underneath all of the different ways YLM serves its communities, both in El Paso and in Juarez, Mexico, is the belief we are to do unto others what God has done for us. In helping meet needs, doors are opened for the sharing of the Gospel to bring relief for an even deeper need within each human being -the need of a Savior.