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Lynn Yount, UGM Volunteer

Jim and Ken
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5 min read

Homeless and Nowhere to Be

Kari had been walking for four days. Literally. She wasn’t going anywhere. She didn’t need the exercise. She was walking because her life had come to a standstill. She didn’t know what else to do. She had nowhere to be.

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3 min read

Five Tips from a Used Car Salesman

Caleb Unruh is not your typical used car salesman, for several reasons. His background, for one: When it became clear that his initial dream of being...

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8 min read

Food Partners: A Win-Win Relationship

Food service partners provide the bulk of the ingredients for the meals served at the Union Gospel Mission, which added up to more than 310,000 in...

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4 min read

Homeless, Hopeless, Loved

Being homeless can make you physically dirty. Its harsh realities can dull your senses and thicken your skin. It can drive you to do things you swore...

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Mike worked hard for decades in manual labor. His body can no longer do the only kind of work he's ever known, and he ended up homeless.

3 min read

Homelessness: A Case Study

“All my needs were met when I got here. The food, the shelter, and the fellowship. … I tried to do it on my own, and I couldn’t do it.” - Mike Mike...

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3 min read

A Brief History of UGM, Part 2: 1987 to Present

Part 1 of the history of UGM covered our founding in 1951 through the retirement of Executive Director Harry Altmeyer in 1987. We pick up as his son...

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The Pacific Coast Mission held chapel services and served meals to homeless men.

3 min read

A Brief History of UGM, Part 1: 1951 to 1987

In the autumn of 1951, a group of businessmen from Spokane attended a dinner hosted by Albert Arend, where they heard testimony from a former...

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Rex Reishus found out his small church needed him as much as he needed it.

3 min read

Why Get Involved in a Church?

Many of those who come to UGM for help have no family, or their families are still stuck in brokenness and addiction. Years of scrambling to survive...

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4 min read

The Emotional Toll of Fatherlessness

A common thread among many people who enter the LIFE Recovery program is an absent or abusive father. Samantha’s story reflects the devastating...

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Meredith McFall is a resident intern at the UGM Student Impact Center.

3 min read

The UGM Residents You Didn't Know About

For years, the reader board at the UGM Crisis Shelter for Women and Children on East Sprague read, “Hope starts here.” The Crisis Shelter has a...

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4 min read

Wonderfully Made

Jolene is beautiful. Her cheerful countenance overflows with love, especially for her two children. Two years ago, she was sleeping in abandoned...

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Sun City Church leaders cut the ribbon on a Crisis Shelter room the church sponsored through its Legacy Offering.

3 min read

Church Partnership: Sun City Church

“I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” – Philippians 1:4-5 Sun City Church opened its doors...

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3 min read

Howdy, Partners: Why We Keep Using That Word

You may have noticed it here on the blog, on Facebook, on UGM buildings and publications. It’s the first word in our purpose statement. Partnering,...

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3 min read

Christmas: The Power of God with Us

Christmas celebrates the arrival of Jesus, the Son of God clothed in humanity, on the earth. One of the most beautiful descriptions of that...

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Veterans are more likely to be homeless than the population at large.

2 min read

Making Connections for Homeless Veterans

If you had a bunch of money in the bank with your name on it but didn’t know about the account, what good would it do you? That’s the situation for...

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2 min read

Sharing Stories of Helping the Homeless

“You work at the Union Gospel Mission? Do you know Dave Wall?” I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this. Everybody knows Dave, and Dave knows...

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Alex Duffy had lost everything when he came to the Union Gospel Mission. Working in the kitchen meant more to him than just feeding the hungry.

4 min read

Feeding the Hungry, Body and Soul

As a kid, I sat on a stool countless times and watched my mom prepare dinner. She didn’t love cooking and wasn’t thrilled to have an idle audience,...

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3 min read

A Unique Opportunity for UGM Clinic

Dr. Ward Merkeley has a soft spot for people in need. Working as an emergency room physician for more than two decades at Providence Holy Family...

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3 min read

Three Portraits of Recovery

Each person who comes into UGM recovery comes in broken. The program extends the love of Christ and brings his truth to bear on their brokenness. As...

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Lacey and Tiffany put out clothing for sale at the UGM Thrift Store

4 min read

Cleaning Out Your Closet, Changing Someone's Life

Of course, thrift stores are cool. Napoleon Dynamite and Macklemore told (and rapped) us that. Thrift is also a smart and environmentally friendly...

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6 min read

Domestic Violence: Why Does She Stay With Him?

“I didn’t know how to leave.” Rachael met Josh in a support group meeting. They were both on the right path – it must be destiny, right? “I had 30...

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Trauma and the Gospel

4 min read

The Gospel: The Heart of Trauma Recovery

We talked about trauma recovery and why it’s important for people like Jocelyne in July’s Mission News. On one hand, it’s complicated: family...

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2 min read

Kevin: “My life revolved around avoiding pain.”

“I ended up on the streets, homeless and literally sleeping outside, and UGM offered a place to stay. It’s better than not having a roof over your...

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5 min read

UGM Camp: Much More than Fun and Games

Heidi Hash had the chance to give a priceless gift. It wouldn’t cost her money, but it would require a huge investment of time, energy – and faith....

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UGM Camp Children

4 min read

The Young and the Homeless: Fighting Poverty at its Roots

The numbers are hard to nail down, but they’re sobering any way you look at them. These are the best estimates we could formulate from the numbers we...

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