HOPE. Recipe for. Inside. See why Michelle s heart is grateful this Thanksgiving... November Breaking Bread, Building Trust

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1 Inside 2 The life-changing power of a meal 5 Breaking Bread, Building Trust PhoenixRescueMission.org A Recipe for HOPE I t s a Thanksgiving tradition to sit around the table and give thanks to God for the blessings He has given us. Our health, our homes, our relationships and our financial situation are all common subjects that come up as we share our prayers around the table. But the prayers here at the Phoenix Rescue Mission s Changing Lives Center are all but routine. For example, Michelle, a recent graduate of our recovery program, will be thanking God for a myriad of things. Among those blessings, one will stand out from the rest. The fact that she is here today is because God reached out and miraculously saved her from a violent death. See why Michelle s heart is grateful this Thanksgiving... Continued on page 3 November 2015

2 keeping the main thing, MAINthing the a message from Jay Cory, President and CEO F rom our very beginning in 1952, meals have always been the avenue to a transformed life. It s because when someone is hungry, no amount of reasoning ever gets past that pain in the stomach. When the food is gone and bellies have been filled, scales seem to fall from the eyes and all sorts of possibilities for transformation start to open up. be the final push someone needs to finally seek help and begin to turn his or her life around. Who knew God could use such basic ingredients in so many ways to lead countless men and women back to Him? But the life-changing power of a meal doesn t end there. Our cover story this month proves that when you combine food with education and certification, meals can turn into a lucrative career that helps stabilize a family long after leaving the Mission. When meals are combined with family and fellowship (page 5), recovery itself is enhanced and made more effective than ever before. But a meal is most powerful when it comes in the form of Thanksgiving dinner (Page 6). Combining food with the memories of Thanksgivings past spent with friends and family can The meals you help us provide have the power to transform lives. As you sit down with your family this season, I ask that you pray for us. Pray that the meals we serve, especially during Thanksgiving but also all year round continue to bring about the life-change and transformation that has become the hallmark of our cafeteria. Thank you so much for the support that makes these meals possible and may God bless you and your family this holiday season. PH O E N I X R E S C U E MI S S I O N & M U S I C S ER V I N G T H E W O R D M I N I S T R I ES P R ES EN T MUSIC WITH A MISSION A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY SATURDAY DECEMBER 12th 5:00PM REGISTRATION 5:30-6:15PM DINNER & MUSIC 6:15PM MUSIC WITH A MISSION Hosted by Christ Church Lutheran 3901 E. Indian School Rd. Phoenix, AZ RSVP required. Call or Nikki Smith at or NaikaSmith@phoenixrescuemission.org 2

3 A Recipe for HOPE Jackie (left) and Michelle are both graduates of the Changing Lives Center s Food Services Training Program. Continued from page 1 God brought me here, admits Michelle. Just a few months ago, she was living out of a truck, strung out on drugs with her boyfriend. They had been evicted from their home and had nowhere else to go. The news of the eviction soon reached the ears of her son s teachers and the custody of Michelle s only son was soon stripped from her as well. Michelle had been homeless before; she knew where this road led. She was devastated by the loss of her son but even that wasn t enough to keep her clean. To this day, Michelle admits she doesn t know what it was that suddenly pointed her in a different direction. One day she just lost her taste for the life she was leading, and suddenly saw with perfect clarity that if she didn t do something different, she was going to lose her son permanently. That s when Department of Child Services refered her to the Changing Lives Center. On the streets, it was always clear where I was going. I was a drug addict. I was either going to die or end up in jail. Those were my options. That s what my future looked like. But thanks to this place, I m not only sober, I not only have custody of my son, I have a way to move forward and support my family... For the first time, I have hope for the future! Michelle One and a half weeks later, she was informed by police that her boyfriend had been found beaten to death on the streets she formerly called home. Food Service Operations Manager Brad Shire with Jackie (left), Michelle and Brianda. We went everywhere together; that could have been me, says Michelle.

4 Through the tireless work of the counselors and staff of the Changing Lives Center, God has saved her life. He s saved her soul through a saving relationship with Christ she found during her time here. But God didn t stop there. Michelle graduated from our new Changing Lives Center Food Services Training Program a 13-week course designed not only to give our women the chance to become ServSafe certified as a food manager, but to give indepth knowledge about the inner workings of the restaurant business. It s a program designed to teach skills that will serve the women long after they leave the Center. This education is sparking the beginnings of a long-term career. I m proud to say that every woman who has become certified through this 13-week program and has sought employment has found it, says Brad Shire, our Food Service Operations Manager and head of our Food Services Training Program. It s not entry level positions either. My students have been blessed with positions as general managers, shift managers and team leads in restaurants all over Phoenix. Jackie, another recent program graduate, is excited about what this certification will mean for her and her daughter s future. I used to work in a tattoo shop so I m covered in tattoos. This makes the job search difficult, admits Jackie, but because of the skills I ve learned and the certifications I ve received, doors are now open to me that were shut before. It s exciting to not only see all the success the others have found through this program, but to know that I have that same opportunity before me. Because of you, women like Michelle and Jackie have the opportunity to find a bright new future full of possibilities! From all of us at the Phoenix Rescue Mission, we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! Brad is proud to say that every woman who has become certified through the program has found employment in restaurants throughout the Valley. Because of the skills I ve learned and the certifications I ve received, doors are now open to me that were shut before. It s exciting to not only see all the success the others have found through this program, but to know that I have that same opportunity before me. Jackie

5 Reconnecting with family at dinner on a weekly basis is a key component in recovery. Thanksgiving is a time when we re able to sit down with our family, sometimes family we haven t seen in ages, to share a meal. Breaking bread with our loved ones has a special way of enriching and repairing relationships, invigorating lost friendships and bringing families closer together. In the same way, Phoenix Rescue Mission invokes this special bond, not just once a year but every Sunday. Every one of the men in our recovery program has the opportunity to invite family members at the end of each week to a dinner provided by volunteers and the Phoenix Rescue Mission staff. It s an important component to recovery in a lot of ways. It enables our clients to reconnect to their families, to rebuild damaged relationships, to review and test what they ve learned and to experience fellowship outside their normal day-to-day routines. Patrick, a client currently in the Inner Healing or second phase of our recovery program, says family night dinners have helped him affirm his progress through the eyes of his family. Sometimes we have bad days, even weeks, and it s easy to question our own growth, admits Patrick. Because we re in it every day, sometimes we don t realize that we ve changed, that we ve gone from A to B or even C. But when our families come each week, they can see the changes even if we don t. It s incredibly encouraging to get that feedback. Nicolas, who is in the final phase of our recovery program, acknowledges the power these dinners have and explains how they ve been vital for his growth. A photo of a past family night dinner with a note of affirmation on the back is the encouragement Patrick needs to continue moving forward. Some of the issues that we have to deal with are tied to our upbringing. It s necessary to deal with those things face-to-face with the people involved to start mending the broken relationships with our family. It s the only way to get past some of this stuff and to grow. It s helped me tremendously. But it isn t just our clients who benefit. There s an after week. enormous sense of hope and joy that comes from seeing a son, a brother or an uncle who had been written off as lost not only turn his life around, but grow and thrive week I m so thankful for this time because we get to bond in a positive way. We ve been so destructive throughout our whole lives, it s nice to finally make some good memories, to have some good discussions and just be together as a family. All of us at the Phoenix Rescue Mission will be giving thanks for you this Thanksgiving and for the support you give that allows men like Patrick and Nicholas to find hope and new life here at the Mission! 5

6 Mission Milestones January 1, 2014 December 31, 2014 Total Meals Provided 411,881 You re Invited to Our Annual Thanksgiving Bed Nights of Shelter 86,839 Volunteer Service Hours 19,924 Sunday, November 8th 11:00 am - 3 pm, Lunch will be served Bring a frozen turkey and come see firsthand how God uses your gifts to touch and change the lives of hungry, homeless and hurting men, women and children! You will receive a tour of the facility and we will treat you to a delicious lunch. Bring a friend the more the merrier! We are collecting frozen turkeys to cook our Thanksgiving dinner and give to families in need. There will be no other solicitation. Bottles of Water Distributed 522,809 To mail a gift: P.O. Box 6708 ~ Phoenix, AZ For shelter & meal service: 1801 S. 35th Avenue ~ Phoenix, AZ (602) If you can join us, please RSVP by calling Nikki at or to get more info.