Sean Finds an Oasis in the Middle of the Desert
Those who have experienced addiction will tell you that sometimes it feels like the addiction controls you, that it will take everything from you until you are left with nothing. Sean can attest to this firsthand. He had a job, a nice car, nice clothes, and more than enough money. But an addiction to drugs […]
Marysha and Her Family Build a Firm Foundation
In 2008, Marysha was told her company was downsizing and her position was cut. She lived paycheck to paycheck, supporting herself and her three children, so she knew she was in trouble. Marysha frantically looked for work but knew an eviction notice was coming if she didn’t find a job soon. After weeks of dead […]
Impact on Family Has Lasted 25 Years
Betty came to Orlando in 1988 as a single mother of three and moved in with a friend while she looked for work. Her background was in working with developmentally disabled adults, but the only jobs she was qualified for paid minimum wage. “If you live off of minimum wage, you’re going to need help. […]
Mission Was the Home That Penny Never Had
Life was an uphill journey for the early part of Penny’s life. She was in an orphanage by the age of 5, began drinking and doing drugs by the time she was 12, and experienced a failed marriage in her 20s. But the darkest moments came when Penny’s son from that marriage chose to live […]
Betty Gets Time to Heal, Along With a Fresh Start
Even though 1988 is 25 years ago, Betty still remembers weeping the entire 11-hour car ride from Tennessee to Florida. She was driving herself and her two young children to Orlando to escape her abusive husband. She had desperately wanted to make the marriage work so her children would have the father she didn’t have […]
Once On Receiving End, Willie Now Helps Others
Twenty-eight years ago, Willie never imagined that the gratitude he felt after receiving a meal when he was hungry would result in a career of making sure others don’t go hungry, either. Willie arrived in Central Florida in 1981 with his uncle and the two men started working in construction. An injury on the job […]
Helping Hand Set Wayne On Right Path to Adulthood
Wayne was just 10 when his family moved into the Orlando Union Rescue Mission in 1998. His father, mother and sister, along with Wayne, found themselves needing help when there wasn’t enough work to pay the bills. “We moved around a lot so I didn’t have many friends. My parents did the best they could, […]
Short Stay at the Mission Yields Long-Term Benefits
Rosa, originally from Ecuador, found herself in the United States looking for a fresh start after a divorce. Her marriage had ended after 28 years, leaving Rosa heartbroken. The journey, however, strengthened her faith tremendously, and it was that renewed faith that led Rosa to leave her management position at a hospital in Ecuador to […]
Early Struggles Shaped Heart for the Homeless
God made my heart sensitive toward the homeless population through my own struggles starting when I was as a child. My father died when I was 1 year old and my mother soon remarried to a man who turned out to be an abusive alcoholic. The effects of this abusive relationship altered how I was […]
Tamika Realizes God Did Not Forget Her
Tamika and her three kids found themselves facing eviction when she lost her job in 2009. She bounced from one family member’s house to the next, frantically searching for work with no luck. When her friends and family could no longer help her, she looked to outside sources for help and found the Orlando Union […]