Our Mission is, “To provide Christ-centered programs and services that lead the homeless and addicted toward self-sufficiency.”
This statement has served us well over the years to keep us focused on what we do best. We did, however make a change to it 2 years ago. We added the word, “Addicted.”
This addition to the statement was really just to affirm and validate what was already going on. We serve the homeless and addicted. It is probably no secret that homelessness and addiction are often times connected. Sometimes it’s hard to really know which caused which. Some turn to substances to relieve the trauma of being homeless and others find themselves homeless because of their addiction. Either way, it is a co-occurring condition that has to be recognized. They feed off one another.
We video tape the stories of many of the men and women who go through our shelters. I found myself watching to dozens of them the other day and there was an all-too common thread in them. Substance abuse.
It was disturbing to hear how many of these individuals had begun drinking and smoking marijuana at early ages like 11 or 12. And this almost always led to meth or fentanyl. And then heroin and cocaine. It was almost as predictable as the sunrise.
Unfortunately, their lives were on a path of destruction before they had even gotten started. They come to us with so much trauma, shame and regret.
Thankfully, we have a Lord, we can introduce them to who loves them and will restore them, just like they are. It hardly ever happens overnight, and some reject Him. But the ones who trust Jesus by faith will tell you that without Him, they might be dead or in prison for the rest of their lives.
James put it this way, “Now, I put God first, I seek His face, I hit my knees every morning and ask Him to get me through another day.”
I hope you will join me in praying for these men and women who are trying to get their lives back. Let’s pray for our world, that the evil of illicit drugs and substance abuse would be defeated. And let’s pray for the children, whose lives are so fragile and their minds so vulnerable. They deserve a family and parents who will love them and guide them in Lord.
