COLORADO
From Denver Rescue Mission, Denver, Colorado
Dedrick’s story
Every day at 7:30 a.m., Denver Rescue Mission’s custodial team gets together to have a Bible study. They’ve been studying the New Testament this year, reading a passage each day and discussing how to apply the Word of God to the duties set before them. “We go through [the passage] and connect it to why we’re all here,” said Ryan Wickstrom, facilities director at the Mission. “We work to glorify God, so there’s a certain way we’re going to do things.” The custodial team is an unwavering example of going beyond studying the Word and actually living it out. When Dedrick moved from Washington to Colorado to pursue a new beginning and reconnect with God, he had some rough stops at unclean shelters along the way. “I just felt alone,” he said. “You look at the towel and you see yourself, all scarred up and useless, and I felt like that was what I deserved.” But when he moved into The Crossing in July of 2019, the Mission’s residential program facility, he was in awe of the room that was waiting for him. “I got here, and it was beautiful,” he said. “It was clean. People were smiling. The staff was praying for me, and I knew this is where I was supposed to be. With so much negative self-talk and other stigmas, a clean towel made a world of difference.” The clean, welcoming ambiance at The Crossing is fundamentally due to the dedication of the Mission’s custodial team, who work tirelessly to create a clean and inviting atmosphere for people joining the Mission’s New Life Program and STAR Transitional Program. The custodial department operates seven days a week, carrying out daily duties that include taking out the trash and cleaning the floors and bathrooms with Kaivac machines, which use a science-based hygienic system that protects the health of building occupants. Every week, the team prepares rooms for new program participants. Silvia Ruiz, lead custodian, reads the profiles of incoming participants and families and places them in the most suitable rooms according to their sizes and needs. She asks about the kids’ genders and ages and gets bedding and comforters for them at the Ministry Outreach Center (MOC), the Mission’s warehouse that stores donated clothing, furniture and household items. She looks for decorative pillows, drapes and anything else that will make the room feel homey. “Here I am, coming in broken and without anything, and literally just holding on to faith the size of a mustard seed, and she’s pouring over our stuff— washing it, cleaning it and saying, ‘we’re going to get you new sheets,’” he said. The Mission recently upgraded its laundry facilities with new commercial washing and drying machines, which enables Silvia to wash bedding and clothing more efficiently. New machines were also installed in the guest laundry area for participants to use during their time at The Crossing. Once participants are settled in, the custodial team works hard to implement and maintain an exceptional hygienic standard in order to break the stigma of the unclean environment that often comes with living in shelters and transitional housing.
For more information: Denver Rescue Mission 6100 Smith Road, Denver, CO 80216
Phone: 303.297.1815
Email: info@denrescue.org
Website: http://www.DenverRescueMission.org
Follow us at http://www.twitter.com/denverrescue or
at Facebook.com/DenverRescue
UTAH
From Rescue Mission of Salt Lake, Salt Lake City
John’s story
Two years ago, at my most desperate point, I came to the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake needing help. I had come to Utah to work for a solar panel company, after spending my life in the west, mostly in California and Nevada. It was a Nevada company that had hired me to help work in a solar panel field that they were installing in Utah. I moved to Utah and followed my normal routine of working but using drugs and alcohol while on the job. It was a pattern I had followed for my entire working life. While I grew up in a Christian home, I rebelled and by 16 I was going to parties and using drugs and alcohol. Even though I was usually able to keep jobs and take care of myself, I used drugs or alcohol almost daily. Up to that point, I had been able to balance my drug and alcohol use with my job performance. But that changed in 2017 when the solar panel company I was working for decided to quit the Utah market. The company’s government funding for solar dried up and they abruptly told all their Utah employees that they were leaving Utah market and we no longer had jobs. I was left with no employment in a state where I had few connections. Despite three decades of drug and alcohol abuse, I still had good relationships with my family back in Nevada, but I was too proud to ask my parents, or my two adult daughters, for help. Instead, I started living out of my car, wasting the remainder of my money on drugs and alcohol. When it was too cold to stay in my car, I started living at the downtown public shelter, which was still open at that time. There I was often robbed and beaten. People would take what little money I had and I was even robbed of the clothes off my back. By January of 2018, I was desperate. I was out of money and was living a horrible life on the streets of Salt Lake. Then, I saw a guy I had worked with at the solar company. He told me about the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake and how it had changed his life. At rock bottom and with no other real options, I walked into the Rescue Mission and asked if they could help me. They took me in and God began to change my life.
I had never been to a real recovery program before. God started to use the New Life Program to bring me back to Him. I went to nightly chapel services, regular counseling sessions, and daily Bible studies. As I learned more about God and His son Jesus from the Bible, I came to realize that I had been trying to control my own life, instead of giving God control. I asked God to control my life and when I did, a weight lifted from my shoulders. I felt less pressure and worry. It freed my soul to know that Jesus had taken away my sins and forgiven me for my past drug and alcohol abuse. I began to trust that God had the power to keep me sober. Trusting God was important to me since I knew I didn’t have any ability to keep myself sober. As I have stayed sober, the biggest obstacle I have had to face is dealing with my emotions. I sometimes feel like a 15-year-old, in that I have a lot of difficult emotions that I deal with. For my entire life, I have used drugs or alcohol to suppress my emotions. Now, I must experience life dealing with emotions, even feelings that make me uncomfortable such as fear, sadness, and loneliness. The good news is that I know God is bigger than my scary emotions and can provide more joy and gladness than any negative feeling I might experience. God is the true source of good emotions and the one who can help me overcome whatever negative feelings I experience. I realize now that I need God, not drugs and alcohol, to cope with difficult feelings or circumstances. When I graduated to the employment phase of the New Life Program, God blessed me with a great job. I do deliveries for a company that supplies materials at construction sites. I pick up my supplies at our yard and then make deliveries and pick-ups across the Wasatch Front. It’s a good job that pays well and allows me to support myself. My company even paid for me to attend a recent training in Washington State. It’s good to know my company thinks I am doing a good job and wants to invest in my progress. In April I hope to graduate the New Life Program and move into the Freedom House, the Rescue Mission’s transitional housing unit for men. At Freedom House, I will continue to have the structure and support I need. I will be able to stay connected to my home church, Calvary Chapel, as I transition out of homelessness and into a self-supporting lifestyle. I am so thankful for the support I have at Calvary. They even let me volunteer there one day a week doing small maintenance projects. I’ve come a long way since I was homeless on the streets of Salt Lake, being robbed. Back then I was defeated and destitute. Now I am sober, have a great job, an awesome relationship with God and friends at church and the Rescue Mission, and a bright future. Thank you so much for supporting the Rescue Mission so people like me can be rescued from the pit of addiction and homelessness and be carried into new life!
For more information: Rescue Mission of Salt Lake 463 S. 400 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Phone: (801) 355-1302.
Website: www.rescuesaltlake.org
WYOMING
From Wyoming Rescue Mission, Casper, Wyoming
Melissa’s story
When the father of her children was killed through an act of violence, Melissa was devastated. “After he died, I had never been so alone in my life,” she says. “But in those moments, you can really feel God’s presence, because He’s always there in our darkest hour.” Yet, sadly, because of long-held feelings of unworthiness and low self-esteem, she was unable to embrace the full power of His love. As she struggled to cope with her grief and pain, she rekindled an addiction she thought she had put behind her. Placing her children in the care of her parents, who continued to love her unconditionally, she faced homelessness – even jail time – as she tried in vain to pull her life back together. Finally, at the encouragement of her mother and father, she came to WRM and joined our Discipleship Recovery Program. Today, Melissa says, WRM is empowering her with a stable foundation – spiritually, mentally and emotionally – to go back into the world. And she is learning that her self-esteem comes not from how the world sees her, but from God’s love for her. When she graduates, healed and whole and confident in her role as a godly mother, she plans to f ind a job and affordable housing where she can be reunited with her children. She attributes her transformation to her parents, the staff and volunteers at WRM and others who believed in her and showed unwavering support. “It’s all been through the Lord and the people He has put in my life to help me grow and let go of my fears,” she shares. Although you may never meet Melissa, she is eternally grateful to you, too, for YOUR support – and her heart is filled with new hope for the future.
For more information: Wyoming Rescue Mission P O Box 2030 Casper, WY 82602 230 N. Park Street, Casper, WY 82601
Phone: (307) 265-2251
Website: www.wyomission.org
