DenverRescueMission.org
February 2017
TAKING THE NEXT STEP The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)
DESPITE HIS NEWFOUND FAITH, JOHN FOUND HIMSELF IN A DESPERATE STRUGGLE AGAINST HIS ADDICTIONS. Most of his life had been spent in and out of jail, and when he ended up homeless, he only knew one place to go: Denver Rescue Mission.
“I STARTED DOING DRUGS IN MY LATE TEENS AND THROUGH MY THIRTIES. SO MUCH OF MY LIFE WAS TAKEN AWAY BY DRUGS. BUT I DON’T FEEL LOST ANYMORE.” - JOHN
TAKING THE NEXT STEP When John became homeless, he knew he didn’t want to sleep in an alley, that’s why he came to the Mission for help. “It’s dangerous sleeping on the street,” he says. “Cars could hit you or run you over. You could get mugged, or the freezing cold might get you.”
John says the Biblical foundation of the Mission’s services encourages him to make better choices and change his life.
If he wasn’t able to make it to the Mission’s shelter at night, he would find a parking garage, curl up on a piece of cardboard and tuck his hands inside his thin sweater, clinging to what little warmth he could find overnight. The next morning, he’d drink and do drugs to hopelessly pass the time, only to repeat it all again day after day. But he knew this wasn’t the life he wanted. John grew up in a home where alcohol abuse was prevalent, and his father was violent. When he was just a teenager, he experimented with marijuana for the first time, and for the next 20 years, he was in and out of jail regularly.
In his late twenties, he picked up a Bible in jail and began to read. Soon he was praying and studying the Bible eagerly. “I started to love what was right and not being in trouble,” he says. “I read through my criminal record and it turned my stomach. I couldn’t believe the things I did to get drugs.” After he got out of jail, he lived with his cousin and did well for the next four years by going to church and studying God’s Word while working and staying out of trouble. Eventually, his cousin moved away, and John had to live with his mother and her boyfriend. But he was not on their lease, and the landlord threatened to evict them all when he discovered he was living there.
This time, John had nowhere to go. “I walked all the way over to the Mission,” he says, describing how he relied on the Mission for shelter and meals. But being homeless brought John closer to his former lifestyle, and despite his better judgment, he found a drug dealer on the street and relapsed into his drug and alcohol addictions. “Drugs and alcohol have taken so much of my life away from me,” John says. One day, a stranger approached John while he was at the 16th Street Mall. John was already intoxicated, and the stranger promised to give him more drugs in exchange for his help. “I was not smart about saying no, and I wasn’t in my right mind because of the drugs,” John describes. They ended up breaking into a shed behind a bar trying to steal snacks to sell on the street. “A security guard caught us, and I couldn’t climb the fence fast enough,” he says. “They let me go, but two weeks later, I was arrested and spent nine months in jail.” After he was released, he came to the Mission on probation. But trust didn’t come easy to John, so he left the Mission and returned to a drug-ridden lifestyle. Since that was a violation of his probation, he was sent back to jail for another nine months. After serving his sentence, he came back to the Mission. Now he’s on probation, and this time he says he’s done with his old life. “I don’t feel lost anymore,” he says. “I’m nothing like I was before. The Mission has helped me through the spiritual focus they have here.” If his probation officer agrees, John would like to join the New Life Program, but for now, he’s taking advantage of the Mission’s Next Step services which offer a bed, basic case management, special classes, and Bible studies while participants volunteer at the Mission. He says he already learned so much at the Mission, and he’s excited to take the next step to improve his life. “I didn’t know how to cook before I came here, but now I can, and staying in touch with the Bible studies has helped,” he says. “It’s exactly what I want to do— work and study the Bible.” Emergency services like shelter, meals, laundry, and more are an open door into the lives of guests like John. By meeting these basic needs, we’re
able to build relationships with people experiencing homelessness and encourage and direct them toward long-term solutions like our New Life Program and STAR Transitional Program. Thank you for helping us reach out to our neighbors in need. We couldn’t do this without you. Look for more photos of John on our Facebook page: Facebook.com/DenverRescue.
NEXT STEP SERVICES Some people who come to us for help don’t need an immersive, long-term program to become self-sufficient. Instead, a temporary bed, meals and some basic assistance and education is enough to jump-start their journey toward a new life. For these people, the Mission offers a selection of services we call Next Step. As a Next Step participant, guests receive: • A consistent bed, instead of being entered into the nightly lottery system that normally distributes bed assignments • Access to basic life-skills classes • Bible studies (also open to regular guests) • Accountability (participants must remain drug and alcohol free) • Assistance with various legal needs • Assistance accessing government, unemployment or disability benefits when available • Other basic case management assistance Thanks to your support, we’re able to offer a wide variety of services to help people take the next step in overcoming poverty and homelessness. HELP PROVIDE EMERGENCY SERVICES THAT CAN LEAD TO LONG-TERM CHANGE BY M A K I N G A D O N AT I O N TO DAY !
Letter from the CEO
Celebrating Christmas at the Mission We want to say a big thank you to the Denver Broncos for helping spread Christmas cheer as they returned for our annual Broncos Christmas Party! Fifteen team members joined us at The Crossing to celebrate and decorate Christmas cookies with the children and families in our STAR Transitional Program.
The following weekend, 225 families in need were blessed by generous sponsors who brought Christmas presents right to their door thanks to the Mission’s Adopt-A-Family program! Dear Friends,
Did you know that Denver Rescue Mission started, 125 years ago, as a ministry to women in prostitution? Although we still serve many women, we have changed in many ways over the years to meet the needs of the community. There are always new challenges and new obstacles to address, and because of this, we are constantly trying to improve how we serve people in need, to reach more people in more life-changing ways! Our Next Step services described in this newsletter are an example of some changes we recently made. Not everyone who comes to us for help is ready for our 13-27 month New Life Program, or necessarily needs it, but they need help taking that first step toward becoming a productive, self-sufficient citizen. So after some careful discussion, prayer and preparation, we launched Next Step just a few short months ago at our Lawrence Street Shelter and Community Center to try and help people whose needs were not being met by our long-term programs. We are so excited about how this service is reaching people right where they are and meeting a demand we see in our community, just as we did 125 years ago. This type of innovative thinking and willingness to find new ways to reach people is something we have to keep doing. We have a wonderful staff here at the Mission, many of whom are young people with a hunger to serve the poor and creative ideas about how that might take place. I am blessed to work alongside these men and women. As we grow and adapt to the needs in our city, something that has not changed since our first day 125 years ago is our belief in Jesus, our desire to share the Gospel with everyone and our deep desire to see Jesus change lives. With these goals in mind, we will keep improving and trying new things so we can continue to be worthy of your trust and respect. And we will always keep pointing people to Jesus! Thank you for your support! We could not do this without you. Together, we are 125 years strong! God Bless,
Brad Meuli President/CEO
On December 23, 450 hungry people joined us at the Lawrence Street Community Center for a festive holiday meal, and 117 men, women and children also enjoyed a Christmas banquet at Fort Collins Rescue Mission on December 21.
Christmas can be especially difficult for people experiencing homelessness, but your generous donations helped us share the love of Jesus and the joy of the holidays with our needy friends and neighbors last December. Thank you for giving the gift of hope for this holiday season!
Congratulations Graduates! Our winter graduation ceremony kicked off the month of December as we celebrated with staff, family and friends cheering on our GED recipients and program graduates.
In total, 56 people received certificates of completion from the Mission’s LifeSkills, Education, and Career classes, 35 people graduated from the New Life Program, and 8 men received their GED diplomas. In addition, a new record high of 16 individuals graduated from the STAR Transitional Program! Congratulations graduates!
Easter Celebration
Thank you CenturyLink!
Statistics
When: Friday, April 14 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
On December 5, we held our 17th annual Broncos Christmas Party and celebrated a ribbon cutting for a very special occasion. Thanks to our friends at CenturyLink and the Denver Broncos, the STAR Transitional Program and Denver Broncos Youth Center at The Crossing received several technology upgrades including 24 new desktop computers, four laptops for the youth center, a projector for the STAR Program computer lab, and five new wireless access points across The Crossing program facilities.
How You Help
Where: Lawrence Street Community Center 2222 Lawrence Street Denver, CO 80205
Thank you CenturyLink and the Denver Broncos for helping families, individuals, and children in need have the tools to learn and grow toward self-sufficiency!
Find Denver Rescue Mission Online! Find special announcements, exclusive content, videos to share, and more when you follow Denver Rescue Mission on social media!
December
Meals provided
65,895
30,537
Lawrence Street Shelter Overnight shelter for men, chapel and health clinic Champa House Residential facility offering long-term help toward self-sufficiency to single mothers with dependent children Harvest Farm Rural rehabilitation program near Fort Collins
Fort Collins Rescue Mission Meals, shelter and transitional programs
The Crossing Transitional program for families and rehabilitation program for men
170,567
Chapel attendance
15,773
3,769
Clothing distributed (lbs.)
54,292
180,752
Clinic services provided
457
Lawrence Street Community Center Meals, restrooms, showers, washing machines and dryers, clean drinking water, and access to Mission staff for encouragement and guidance
418,517
Nights of shelter provided
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Denver Rescue Mission Outreaches
YTD (fiscal year)
2,408
Changing Lives is the monthly news publication of Denver Rescue Mission. Director of Communications: Christine Gallamore Designer: Rachel Titus Writer: Robert Bogan
Ministry Outreach Center Central warehouse facility including food, clothing and furniture distribution Administration & Education Entry point for Mission programs and home to the Mission’s administrative and development staff Family Services Transitional program, assistance for permanent housing, and mentoring
P.O. Box 5164 • Denver, CO 80217 • 303.297.1815