CHRIS

family breakdown, substance abuse

Chris’ mom went to prison when he was three for selling cocaine. His dad hung himself when Chris was eight. “My life completely flipped upside down. One day I was hanging with my friends, going to school, and the very next day, I was halfway across the state with foster parents.”

After two years, Chris moved to Spokane to live with his grandparents. He started using drugs in high school and got kicked out. At 18, he was on the streets. He tried the Mission for a while, but at that point, “I was like, I know everything. Don’t talk to me.”

Sometimes it’s tempting to define homelessness, and even this ministry, by the numbers: 1,295 people on the streets. 97,000 nights of shelter. 303,000 meals. 1,295 medical clinic appointments. 4,323 items of clothing. Numbers are important – they help to show the magnitude of the need as well as the impact you’re making – but sometimes numbers tend to blur the faces.

A small group of women from the First Assembly of God Church in Spokane visits the Crisis Shelter twice a month to worship and pray with the women there. “Some of our team are typical church ladies,” said Mary Ann Dalessi, “and some of us are women with a past who’ve been reformed. We tried everything that was out there before we got to Christ. We see ourselves in these women. We can really relate.”

by Vern Buller, UGM board member