As the year comes to an end, let’s take a look at some of the lives you changed in 2018!!!
JOSEPH: Joseph spent many nights on the streets, wrapped in blankets and cardboard to keep warm. “It’s hard on your body,” Joseph said, “Especially when it’s wet. The cold weather’s not good for the elderly.” Joseph is 64.
Joseph found shelter and care at Portland Rescue Mission. He eats at our Burnside Shelter ever night. “It’s nourishing. It’s a balanced meal.” But Joseph’s favorite service at the shelter? The overnight beds. “It’s warm,” he explains, “They keep you warm in there.”
“The mission is very needed,” Joseph told us.
Thank You for giving Joseph, and so many others like him, warm, safe shelter in 2018.
JASON: “I hadn’t eaten a decent meal in about a month,” Jason said. “It’s a very degrading thing when you’re considering eating out of the dumpsters.” Alone and without hope, Jason considered ending it all. “I lost sight of hope. I lost sight of anything except suicide. All I wanted was to be done.”
At The Harbor, our year-long residential program for men, Jason found safe shelter, nutritious meals and a caring community to support him through his recovery. “Everything in my addiction was erratic. This was stability,” Jason said, “I knew this place was safe. I knew God was here.”
Now, Jason has hope for the future. “There was no hope before, that’s what I was missing. Now I know that I have God and I know that because of that, there’s hope.”
Thank you for giving Jason, and countless others a second chance at a new life in 2018.
JONI: After a bad marriage, Joni’s life fell apart. “I found alcohol to be a solution,” Joni remembers, “It numbed physical pain, emotional pain, spiritual pain. And it worked, it worked really well until it didn’t work.” Joni’s father died, and she spiraled even further into despair and addiction.
When Joni found Shepherd’s Door, a year-long residential program for women and children, she knew she needed to make a choice to change her life. “When I got in here, I felt so loved and welcomed,” Joni said. At Shepherd’s door, a loving community of women and staff helped Joni as she sought freedom from the pain of addiction and her past, while developing a rich relationship with God. “There’s a lot of love here,” Joni said, “Thank You.”
Thank you for giving Joni, and so many others, a second chance at a new life!