Faith in Action

FAITH IN ACTION

Words by Natalie Caudle | Photos provided by Visalia Rescue Mission

The Visalia Rescue Mission's 42-year journey of fostering hope and restoring lives in our community.

Beginning as a soup kitchen in 1981, the Visalia Rescue Mission has grown into the largest privately funded nonprofit in Tulare and Kings counties. There are currently an estimated 1,200 unhoused individuals in Tulare and Kings counties. Of those, 258 are considered chronically homeless. Michael Simmon, Visalia Rescue Mission’s CEO, comments, “The work we're doing is real, current, and necessary. Homelessness has increased dramatically over the last five years.” The Visalia Rescue Mission works tirelessly to serve the unsheltered and address homelessness at a deeper level.

Having evolved to accommodate the needs of people and families within Tulare County, the original soup kitchen has grown to include multiple shelters, a community kitchen, thrift stores, and a year-long recovery program.

MEETING EVERYDAY NEEDS

Daily, the Rescue Mission provides beds and warm meals to those in need. An average of 40-50 men, women, and children stay at the shelter each night.

With warm hospitality, the Serenity Center offers women and their children six months of transitional housing. The facility has a homelike environment with programs to help the women successfully step into a new season while providing the children with safety and enrichment. The center works alongside Visalia Unified School District to enable children to maintain continuity in their education. The two main requirements for staying overnight are a negative drug test and not being listed as a sex offender. However, if a drug test fails, community showers, meals, and case managers are still available to address the individual's needs. When a person is ready to step into sobriety, the staff offers access to a safe room for drug detox or a bed at Kaweah Health Medical Center for alcohol detox.

Case management services and community showers are available to anyone. Often families will live in their vehicles and need a morning shower before heading to work and school. “We're not here to ask you what you do with your life, but we want to give you the dignity to start every day fresh,” says Nova Torrez, Director of Programs. “I know what it's like to be on both ends: to need the resources and now to be able to provide the resources. It's a passion of mine to provide the basic life necessities in the most dignified way possible.”

Daily at 4:00 pm, restaurant-caliber meals are served to 150-200 individuals in need. Donations from local grocery stores give ample supply to the community kitchen. Excess food is donated to the larger community by filling pantries in neighboring towns through a partner distribution program.

Visalia Rescue Mission also regularly partners with businesses and organizations in the Valley. “[They go] beyond providing a shower and a meal,” says Karol Anderson of Anderson Real Estate Group. “They make sure that our community is properly served. We love partnering with them—they truly care about helping those in need.”

“The hurt and the broken are our mission field,” reflects Michael. “We are about loving people and providing them a different pathway.”

ADDRESSING GREATER NEEDS

The heart of the Visalia Rescue Mission is to restore individuals physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Beyond providing daily necessities to Tulare County residents, the Mission offers a free-of-charge yearlong Life Change Recovery Program, where participants tackle addictions and brokenness while living on-site. “The hurt and the broken are our mission field,” reflects Michael. “We are about loving people and providing them a different pathway.”

The Life Change Recovery Program takes a multifaceted approach to healing and preparation. Over the year, residents attend classes, gain job skills, and address seven targeted topics. With the assistance of licensed therapists and traumatrained coaches, residents dive into recovery from addiction, self-awareness, self-worth, life skills, mental health, trauma, and spiritual health.

Michael reflects on the weight of the program, “The heavy lifting of recovery, that's not a straight line. Recovery is one step forward and one step back. We're here to help and want to do it in the way that models how Christ would have done it.”

A religious commitment is not a prerequisite to receiving services. Jessica Gravitt, Volunteer and Partner Coordinator, explains, “You don't have to be a Christian; we are there for the perfectly imperfect—which is all of us. It's a place where you can refer anybody who needs help. We're always there, always open; there is always someone here you can turn to.”

After graduation, those who want continued support, accountability, and case management can accept two years of transitional assistance as they enter new lives free of addiction. Working in conjunction with the recovery program are multiple retail sites supporting the Mission through funding and workplace opportunities. Rescued Treasures Thrift Shop on Mooney Blvd. accepts donations and processes all items on-site.

Several employees of Rescued Treasures are graduates of the Life Change Recovery Program. Additionally, current residents of the recovery program gain valuable life experience by working at Rescued Treasures. After donations are processed, higher-end items are distributed to the Simply Chic Boutique downtown or sold online through Poshmark. All proceeds from the thrift shops get poured back into the life-changing efforts of the Rescue Mission.

LOOKING FORWARD

Michael is eager for the community to know the heart and purpose of the nonprofit organization. “As the new leader, it's about making sure the public knows we are not a church; we are a Christ-centered social services provider,” states Michael. Being a privately funded organization, the Mission is supported entirely by generous donations and grants. Due to being faith-based, the nonprofit does not accept any government funding.

“As we look towards the future,” Michael continues, “we are going to lean hard into recovery, into loving the broken, and pursuing the sick and brokenhearted, because we think that's what Jesus would do.”

GET INVOLVED!

Empty Bowls | October 10

Annual Fundraising Event

Where: The Gardens Venue, Tulare

Individual and group volunteers are always welcome and needed. Contact Jessica Gravitt for more information or head to our website.

visaliarescuemission.org

@vrmhope

Article is brought to you by Anderson Real Estate Group