Denver Rescue Mission Changing Lives June 2014

122 Years of Service

DenverRescueMission.org

June 2014

STARTING THE JOURNEY

In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.

Proverbs 14:23

(ESV)

“IT WAS REALLY A BLESSING IN DISGUISE THAT THINGS GOT SO BAD. I know it wasn’t planned, but it wasn’t an accident. I found a part of me that I’ve never known. I’m at rest, finally. Even though I’m working crazy hours here, I’m at rest. I’ve never felt this kind of peace.

I’m not anxious; I don’t worry about tomorrow. I know that God will take care of me. As long as I’m working, I’m OK,” says Don, a program candidate at the Lawrence Street Shelter.

Our New Life Program is a two-year rehabilitation program for homeless men and women suffering from addiction, abuse or other hardships.

STARTING THE JOURNEY

It combines spiritual, emotional and addictions counseling with academics, Bible study and work therapy.

But most people don’t know there is a demanding candidacy period that precedes the program. People join the New Life Program who are desperate for life-change and long to become self-sufficient. The “program candidacy” for men takes place at the Lawrence Street Shelter and is designed to prepare men for the hard work required to complete our program.

Don is a Program Candidate (P.C.) at the shelter. Like most Program Candidates, he is awake at 3:30 each morning, and he hits the ground running. His schedule allows him only a few breaks, and for his minimum of 30 days living there, he will work 12 hours each day.

His job is to assist the Volunteer Coordinator with meals and help organize all the volunteers we have for each meal.

Don came to the Mission ready for a new life. He took his first sip of alcohol at age 12 and continued to drink for the next 30 years. He spent year after year drinking, too consumed by addiction to enjoy his life. He moved around the country following different jobs, only to find each one less fulfilling than the last.

a.m.

Here is a typical day in Don’s life:

5

4 :3 0 4:

3:

30

0

: 30

0

0 6:0

7: 00

7:30

8 :30 Eat lunch

P. C. devotions Clean dining room and put leftovers away

9:30

10 :30

11: 00

Serve P. C. lunch

Serve breakfast to guests Serve P. C. breakfast and volunteers arrive

Organize P. C. breakfast and begin setting up volunteer stations

Lunch volunteers arrive

Start making coffee and preparing breakfast sides

Wake up and eat breakfast

Prepare sides for lunch and set up volunteer stations

To post a note of encouragement for Don on the Mission’s Facebook page, visit facebook.com/DenverRescue.

“I moved to Colorado in November to be here for my mother, who has cancer. I wasn’t even planning on staying in Denver more than six months, but I was drinking a lot. I needed to detox; I was sleeping on the streets for the first time in my life,” remembers Don. So he came to our Lawrence Street Shelter. He came to help himself, but has found freedom in helping others.

“There is nothing better than getting to know the volunteers. They are genuinely here to help people. I had almost lost faith in humanity, but now I have a newfound faith and calling. I have a purpose in life that I’ve never had before. I would have never known how rewarding serving is if I didn’t come here. It’s a new beginning—a new life,” says Don. After 30 days at the shelter, Don will move into The Crossing to become a Program Participant. He still has a long road ahead of him, but he laid a solid foundation throughout his candidacy.

He is still serving in the kitchen and will begin looking for jobs outside the Mission within the next few months.

p.m.

12 : 00

1:15

2 :10

Serve lunch to guests

3 : 3 0

4 : 00

Thank you for supporting life change in men like Don. Please use the enclosed envelope to mail your donation today!

4 : 30

Set up volunteer stations

5: 0

0

5:3

Bible study with P. C. s Clean up dining room and sweep kitchen

0

Volunteers arrive Serve P. C. dinner

6:

00

Finish preparing dinner sides

8:

30

Serve dinner to guests P. C. meeting and roll call with chaplains

Pray with volunteers, clean kitchen and lock up

From the CEO Dear Friends, I asked Josh Geppelt, Director of our Lawrence Street Shelter, to share a few words with our readers this month: For the many men like Don who find themselves on the doorstep of Denver Rescue Mission’s Lawrence Street Shelter, a “New Life” is often the last thing on their minds. They are weary from their time on the streets, and simply desire a warm meal and a safe place to stay. Most of these men have given up hope that they will escape the streets—that a better life is still within reach.

While the Lawrence Street Shelter is focused on meeting individuals at their immediate physical and spiritual points of need, it is much more than a shelter or soup kitchen: it’s the front door to Denver Rescue Mission’s life-changing programs.

Much like Don, many of the men who come to us each night find themselves homeless as a result of addiction, job loss, failed relationships…the list goes on. They are searching for hope—hope that something better awaits them beyond their present circumstances.

In April, Denver City Council approved funding for the Lawrence Street Community Center, a companion facility to the Lawrence Street Shelter.

With a courtyard, daytime restrooms and showers, and a 200+ seat dining room, the Lawrence Street Community Center will provide us with a new platform to meet men and women at their points of need through various outreach efforts. It is our desire that the Lawrence Street Community Center will be a beacon of hope in our community as we continue to journey with individuals like Don while they take steps toward a “New Life” in Christ.

We greatly appreciate your prayers and support during this process. We cannot do what we do without you. Thanks for helping us offer hope to the hopeless.

God Bless,

Brad Meuli President/CEO

Amazon Smile Did you know we are registered on Amazon Smile? Every time you make a purchase on AmazonSmile.com, a portion will be donated to the Mission.

All you have to do is type “Denver Rescue Mission” into the search bar on the Amazon Smile page and continue shopping.

Easter Banquet Your donations helped provide an Annual Easter Banquet that gave the hungry and hurting in our community a place to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior with people who care about them.

Thank you!

Denver Rescue Mission partnered with Volunteers of America and Runner’s Roost Denver to serve over 700 meals, provide 650 pairs of new socks and shoes, and wash the feet of 50 people at the Mission’s Lawrence Street Shelter.

Statistics

(Fiscal Year) How You Help

YTD

Average Number of P.C.s (Lawrence Street Shelter & The Crossing)

64

Total P.C.s with Addiction

517

Top Addiction Success Rate of NLP

Alcohol 85%

Average P.C. Time (Lawrence Street Shelter)

24 Days

Average P.C. Time (The Crossing)

25 Days

140 People in the New Life Program* 19 Program Candidates at The Crossing 33 Program Candidates at Lawrence Street Shelter

Ground-breaking

88 Program Participants at The Crossing

Mission employees, interns and program participants gathered on April 10th to dedicate the land where the new Administration and Education building will be constructed across the street from The Crossing. Join us in prayer for the future of this project and all the important work that will take place inside the new building. We are thankful to JHL Construction and Edios Architects for their diligent work!

Our Outreaches

Summer of Hope

Lawrence Street Shelter: Emergency care: meals, overnight shelter, free health care, food box and clothing distribution.

We need your help to make this a Summer of Hope for Denver’s homeless. As summer donations drop, Mission expenses often exceed income. The heat throughout the summer months is oppressive to those who live on the streets. The simple things like food, shelter and clothing create hope for the hopeless, and hope changes everything!

PASSING YOUR VALUES TO THE NEXT GENERATIO N

A Family Living Out The 9 Stages Of Giving

New Legacy Brochure

*on 5/6/14

Fort Collins Rescue Mission: Emergency care: meals, overnight shelter; and transitional program.

Champa House: Residential facility offering longterm help toward self-sufficiency to single mothers with dependent children.

Harvest Farm: Long-term New Life rehabilitation program, farming and ranching operation, food and clothing distribution, and Fall Festival.

Ask for a free copy of our new brochure: “Passing Your Values to the Next Generation”

The Crossing: Long-term New Life rehabilitation program, transitional program for New Life graduates and homeless families, temporary housing for interns and visitors.

 Check the box on the enclosed reply card to receive your copy.

Ministry Outreach Center: Warehouse facilities; food, clothing and household goods distribution.

For more information, please contact Alice at 303.313.2487 or visit our website at DenverRescueMission.org/LegacyGiving.

Family Services: Transitional program; assistance for permanent housing; mentoring for homeless working families, seniors and refugee families.

Global Ministry Outreach: Consultation, resources and support to city/rescue missions around the world.

Changing Lives is the monthly news publication of Denver Rescue Mission.

Director of Communications: Christine Gallamore Designer: Rachel Vigil Writer: Rachel Greiman P.O. Box 5164 • Denver, CO 80217 • 303.297.1815

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