Keep On Truckin'

Thanks to grants from the Youngstown Foundation, the Home Savings Foundation, and the Ruth Beecher Charitable Trust, the Rescue Mission has a new truck. Once the signage is attached, you will see this new Ford E350 moving throughout the 3 county area picking up donations from our corporate vendors.

For more than 20 years, the Mission has utilized trucks and vans that have been purchased through grants and donations from generous benefactors in the Mahoning Valley. These vehicles are then used to pick up donations from various businesses who provide food and clothing to help serve people in homeless situations.

Thank you, Youngstown Foundation, Home Savings Foundation, and the Ruth Beecher Charitable Trust. Your generosity will be a benefit to many people.

"God Bless the Child..."

We are accustomed to seeing people standing on the side of the street holding signs asking for work or some kind of assistance. We have viewed pictures of people sleeping on sidewalks or park benches. These images usually come to mind when we hear the word “homeless.” “Homeless” has many definitions. A person or a family may be experiencing homelessness because of a personal or family tragedy; perhaps economic reasons have led to this temporary condition; or maybe a loss of family stability has contributed to a mother and her children seeking shelter.

When you think of the face of a homeless person, do you ever think of the face of a child? According to a study published in Newsweek, 1 out of every 30 children in America has experienced homelessness in 2013. This graphic shows the sad growth of this unfortunate situation.

The Mahoning Valley is not immune from the impact of this national trend. So far in August, the average number of children who are housed in our emergency shelter is 16 – with 22 children in the house this past weekend. This is not LA, San Francisco, Chicago or New York. But proportionality, the situation is similar.

Homelessness is often a family affair. And remember, some of the children you see getting on or off the school bus will do their homework at a homeless shelter.  

 

 

 

Rise and Shine

Imagine this: staff members of the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley get to start each day with a devotional challenge from the Scriptures! Sometimes we will watch a video; sometimes we gather into small groups to pray for each other and the people we serve; sometimes we’ve even been known to sing a hymn or two – making a joyful noise (with an unfortunate emphasis on "noise"). More times than not, we are led in devotions by one of our staff members. This photo is our own Pastor Terry Weyand leading us in an exposition of Psalm 37.

God is doing amazing things at the Rescue Mission. He is rebuilding broken lives, mending wounded hearts, and even helping unworthy servants to be better equipped to labor in His harvest.

Got a Towel?

Towels are a hot item at the Rescue Mission. Our overnight population has been in the 150 + range for most of August. When you consider 150 showers each day, it is no surprise that keeping clean and dry towels would be essential.

This past Sunday, the good people at Bailey Road Baptist Church donated 56 new towels to the Mission. You can see some of them in the photo. Thank you Pastor Boyd Eliot, Mrs. Brenda Eliot, and members of Bailey Road. This is a reminder of the words of Jesus that, “as you did it to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

Why Homeless?

It is a fact that there are many people who experience homelessness in our community. The population count at the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley is evidence enough: 152 on August 10. It might surprise you to learn that of this number, 19 were children. In fact, according to a 2009 study by the National Center on Family Homelessness, 1 out of 50 children in our nation will experience homelessness.

Two important questions come to mind: What causes this? How can this issue be so prevalent and yet so frequently go unnoticed?

The Causes of Homelessness:

According to a 2008 study sponsored by the US Conference of Mayors, the leading causes of family homelessness are:

·         Lack of affordable housing

·         Poverty

·         Unemployment

These are interrelated. Unemployment and underemployment contribute to poverty and the inability to afford housing. It is nearly impossible to maintain housing for a family on a minimum wage job.

The same study cited these reasons as the cause for individual homelessness:

·         Substance abuse

·         Lack of affordable housing

·         Mental illness

Other issues factor in as well: domestic violence, human trafficking, etc.

How does this go unnoticed? Probably because we do not like to acknowledge that we have real problems in affluent America. Many of us live in the suburbs where we are sheltered from contact with homeless people. Many get their perceptions of homelessness from Hollywood, a caricature of the situation to be sure.

At the Rescue Mission, we are doing more than sheltering people who experience homelessness. We are trying to address the reasons that caused the situation in the individual’s life. We want to provide help and hope. And, by the way, there is hope.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Many people think that they can spot a homeless person as soon as they pass them on the street. You know the type: ragged clothes, disheveled hair, unkempt and likely smelling of a mixture of alcohol and body odor. This is the stereotype, thanks in no small part to the depiction given to us by Hollywood.

While this may describe some individuals who are experiencing homelessness, it is by far not the reality – at least not here in the Mahoning Valley. Would it surprise you to know that those who have experienced homelessness and sought shelter at the Rescue Mission are people not much different than you? In the past several years we have counted among our guests: addicts, alcoholics, college graduates, real estate investors, victims of human trafficking, university professors (2 in the past decade, both with PhD’s), mom’s with children, and complete families who were in difficult situations.

The next time you think you know what a homeless person looks like, think again. In fact, look in the mirror. He or she looks just like you.

"No Soup For You!"

These are strange days indeed. Case in point is this article appearing on line from NBC News:

More American cities are blocking individuals and ministries from feeding homeless people in parks and public squares, and several Americans have been ticketed for offering such charity, according to a forthcoming report by the National Coalition for the Homeless.

To date, 33 cities have adopted or are considering such food–sharing restrictions, according to the coalition, which shared with NBC News a draft of its soon-to-be published study.

Police in at least four municipalities – Raleigh, N.C.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Daytona Beach, Fla. – have recently fined, removed or threatened to jail private groups that offered meals to the homeless instead of letting government-run service agencies care for those in need, the advocacy group reports.

This is a bizarre notion, that providing food for individuals in public places would be considered illegal. Certainly, as the article mentions, there are other issues at play here, but the impact of these ordinances are yet to be fully realized by the people who are involved in compassionate ministries.

At the Rescue Mission we serve, on average, 662 meals each day. For the current fiscal year, we have served 201,148 meals (as of July 31). All meals are prepared and served at our shelter facility located at 962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. And, by the way, to dine at the Mission, you need only to be hungry, not homeless.

50 Shades of Care

Thank you, Alex Lischak, for the donation of 50 bags of personal care items (toiletries, toothpaste, etc.). Alex and his father brought these to the Mission over the weekend to be distributed to the guests at the shelter. 

In addition to these care packages, Alex also brought a generous monetary donation. What practical way to help those  whose lives are in a difficult place!