The Milwaukee Rescue Mission is pleased to announce the opening of Door of Hope, our expansion to Joy House, to provide safety, hot meals, warm beds, clothing and more for unaccompanied homeless women, so they can escape the streets of Milwaukee. For more information, call 414-344-2211.
The Milwaukee Rescue Mission will host our Faces of Hope Banquet celebrating our 125th Anniversary on Thursday, May 17, 2018, at the Pfister Hotel. An evening of fun, food, fellowship, dining and inspiration will be on the menu! Proceeds from the event will help homeless men, women and children rebuild their lives on a firm foundation — and find their way home.
For more information, contact events@milmission.org or call 414-935-0205 for more information.
Last April, Marshall was cold, hungry, broke and alone on the streets of Milwaukee. He had just blown his last paycheck on crack cocaine. He hadn’t eaten in two days. Worse, after a 30-year addiction, he had burned every bridge to friends and family and had nowhere else to turn for shelter.
“I was a little bit like Jonah, in the Bible,” said Marshall. He remembers how Jonah ran away from God and what God had called him to do. “The Book of Jonah ought to be called the Book of Marshall. I always knew God was there, but I was running from Him. I didn’t want to surrender. I always wanted to do things my way,’’ he said.
Marshall, 54, was raised by a hard-working single mother who was determined to provide “a better life for her kids,” he said. But working two jobs, she was away so much, there was little structure in the home. He started using drugs in 8th grade and dropped out of school.
By age 24, crack cocaine was the love of his life. “It was the worst thing I ever did,” he said. “It got so bad, I was spending every pay check entirely on crack. Nothing else mattered but getting high.
“When I ended up on the streets last year, I remembered the Milwaukee Rescue Mission,” he said. “I’d been here before when I needed a bed or a meal. But now I needed it to change my life. I had to quit running, surrender and turn my life over to God.
Marshall says he learned how to love God, himself and the people around him during his time at MRM. Graduating from the New Journey program was a big step in turning over his life to God. Now he knows that God will never leave him, saying “God never quit loving Jonah, and He never quit loving me.” Thanks to supporters of MRM like you, Marshall has hope for the future!
This winter, hundreds of our homeless neighbors will spend life-threatening days and nights in abandoned buildings, cars, garages and worse. But today you can help save someone’s life — and even provide a door of hope.
Your donation of any size will give warm, safe shelter, hot food, clothing and long-term support to escape homelessness for good. But best of all, you will help lead every man, woman and child into the loving arms of Jesus Christ, who offers them the real hope and new life they need today and for eternity.
Finally, if you’re able, would you also consider sending an extra $5 gift to help provide bedding, sleepwear and other essentials for vulnerable women in our new Door of Hope shelter this winter? Please give generously!
Dear Friend,
I am so grateful for the faithful support of friends like you! Your kindness has made a real difference in the lives of our homeless neighbors — for men in Safe Harbor, our men’s shelter, as well as women with children in Joy House. But in the last few years, we have begun to see that there is one group that still needs help — single women.
Women who are homeless and unaccompanied by dependent children are in a particularly vulnerable situation. There are very few places they can turn for help, and staying on the streets can be very dangerous. They may face theft, assault or worse. It can seem hopeless.
Until now. Because of the increased need, the Milwaukee Rescue Mission is stepping into the gap and opening up space to provide safe shelter, hot meals, warm beds, spiritual care and even long-term case management for these hurting women, so they can experience transformation in their lives through Jesus Christ. We’re calling this expansion of Joy House the Door of Hope Program — because that’s what it is — a gateway of hope to give vulnerable women a chance for new life.
I know you care about these precious women as much as we do. I’m so grateful for all the support you’ve given to hurting men and families at MRM. Now, I pray that your generous, loving compassion will extend toward women who need you more than ever.
I thank God for you,
Patrick H. Vanderburgh, D.Min.
President
