3 min read
Union Gospel Mission: January 31, 2014
Editor’s Note: Ashley and her dad, Chris Kent, were featured on the cover of the February 2014 Mission News. Chris was absent from Ashley’s life for over a decade. “I’m a recovering heroin junkie,” he said. “I was on the needle – between meth and...
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Barbara Comito, former marketing director: January 28, 2014
Safe Shelter Kimmi Halbrook liked to play, “Let’s Make a Deal” with God: Get me out of this scrape, and I promise to get my act together. But at 39 –...
4 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: January 23, 2014
Editor's Note: We first met Amanda while she was staying at the Crisis Shelter with her daughter, Daisy. She and Daisy moved into Anna Ogden Hall...
5 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: January 17, 2014
Seven years ago this week, UGM opened the Crisis Shelter for Women & Children at 1234 E Sprague. This week also marked the Shelter’s 10,000th...
2 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: January 7, 2014
Not everyone who walks through the doors of one of UGM’s shelters needs the same kind of help. Case in point: Tim Whitman. Tim had been sober for two...
2 min read
Union Gospel Mission: January 3, 2014
When I say “counseling,” what do you picture? Most of us probably imagine two people in a quiet room, seated in comfortable chairs, talking. You’ve...
3 min read
Union Gospel Mission: January 1, 2014
Recovery is impossible... if you don’t believe you have a problem if you refuse to look at the problem if you blame someone else for the problem or...
2 min read
Union Gospel Mission: January 1, 2014
Below are two letters of gratitude from individuals experiencing radical life change through UGM’s LIFE Recovery programs. We were encouraged to read...
3 min read
Union Gospel Mission: December 31, 2013
Last December, we took a look at the words “God with us” and launched our focus for the first half of 2013 on Isaiah 61:1-3. Those three verses paint...
6 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 19, 2013
My Attempt to help Sammy and Ambre By Barbara Comito, UGM Staff Writer I met Sammy and Ambre in Freeway Park (a mere plot of grass and trees in the...
4 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 18, 2013
Editor’s Note: For this newsletter - published in October 2011 - UGM Staff Writer Barbara Comito went outside the Mission’s shelters onto the...
3 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 6, 2013
Holly Simons is one of the extraordinarily talented volunteer professionals giving sacrificially of their time and talents to the Union Gospel...
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 5, 2013
Editor's Note: As part of Lisa's journey from broken to whole, she has returned to her love for music. She wrote these lyrics specifically to...
1 min read
Union Gospel Mission: December 1, 2013
By Phil Altmeyer Executive Director Christmas – what’s not to love? Family and old friends gathered together around a roaring fire. Sledding....
1 min read
Union Gospel Mission: December 1, 2013
Lois used to be a kindergarten teacher. That probably says it all. Lois loves kids. Her husband, Everett, loved children, too. The couple lived life...
1 min read
Union Gospel Mission: December 1, 2013
Holly Simons, a psychiatric nurse, worked in the prison system for 10 years and first visited UGM while researching safe places for an inmate to go...
Union Gospel Mission: December 1, 2013
UGM is partnering with Burlington Coat Factory again this year for the Warm Coats/Warm Hearts Campaign.
3 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: November 14, 2013
“Share.” As a parent, how many times do you suppose you’ve said that word? We want our children to be generous, selfless, compassionate, but...
4 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: November 5, 2013
11% of the adult homeless population are veterans. 20% of the male homeless population are veterans. About 1.4 million other veterans, meanwhile, are...
2 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: October 30, 2013
Group gathered on a foggy Saturday to dedicate heart-shaped tree park. This blog post is a little different for UGM. It’s not really about the...
1 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: October 29, 2013
Last year, I experienced a significant dream, a visitation from the Lord. In my dream, I walked out onto our patio, and Jesus was seated in one of...
2 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: October 24, 2013
Roxanne and Doreen Roxanne and Doreen are bright, articulate women whose lives got off track. “In high school,” Roxanne said, “I just wanted to be a...
3 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: October 21, 2013
Dan McLellan is a house manager at the UGM Crisis Shelter for Women & Children. Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of interviews with...
1 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: October 16, 2013
Amanda & daughter Daisy "I think it's safe to say that when our residents were little girls, they did not dream of growing up to stay at a homeless...
1 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: October 14, 2013
Lenore puts together the welcome baskets for new guests at the Center. From my perspective, Lenore McDonald is a volunteer extraordinaire. She says...
