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LIFE
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Inside stories of hope,
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Jim and Ken

1 min read

The Need for Change: homeless women and children

THE BIG PICTURE Families make up 34% of the total US homeless population. 87% of homeless families are headed by women. (Single-parent families are among the poorest in the nation and, as such, are extremely vulnerable to homelessness.) Homeless...

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2 min read

Dear Beer: A good-bye letter

Editor’s Note: We found this letter in our parking lot. As you can see, it was an assignment – write a good-bye letter to your drug of choice. Dear...

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1 min read

Show me your ways

On September 6, 2012, the UGM Center for Women & Children welcomed its first guests. One year later, the Center is home to 52 women and children and...

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1 min read

Hypocrite

My teenage daughters told me the other day that they grew up thinking “hypocrite” was a bad word, akin to calling someone a curse word. Funny how our...

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1 min read

UGM Motors: Brittany and Brooklyn get new wheels

Reliable transportation critical for single moms Brittany Branch had a car when she started Women’s Recovery at Anna Ogden Hall – a 1988 Dodge...

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1 min read

Ready for the storm

Every summer, my family and I go camping. It really doesn’t matter where we go or what time of year we go, we know that it will rain. Our little tent...

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1 min read

Business Practicum: Hospitality

As part of her recovery, Dionne Varney needed to find a new career. Before coming to Anna Ogden Hall, she spent 14 years in the adult entertainment...

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1 min read

Aftercare: Bill and Jan Traynor

Bill and Jan Traynor were mentors before UGM had a mentor program. Several years ago they and other members from their church were preparing and...

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1 min read

Christmas for the Homeless

Makin’ a list. Checkin’ it twice…and here’s what we discovered. In order to best serve our clients and clearly communicate our holiday needs to the...

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1 min read

Time to grow up

Meet Johnny Montes – young, handsome, a high school drop-out, and the father of a 2-year-old little girl. Johnny, 20, came to the UGM Men’s Shelter...

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1 min read

Core Values: Life Transformation

This is part of a series on UGM's Core Values. Read a variety of staff members' musings on God-dependence, Christ-likeness, Pursuing Excellence,...

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1 min read

Core Values: Total Accountability

Kathleen Wilson, a Resident Advisor at Anna Ogden Hall, chose three of UGM's core values and wrote a short essay that untangles the meaning and depth...

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1 min read

Back on track

Chase Montgomery with his mom, sister, brother and grandparents Chase Montgomery’s mom dropped him off at the UGM Men’s Shelter the day before his...

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1 min read

Colors of Hope Update

From left: Ethan, Melissa, Cameron, Isaiah, Silas, Noah, Izzy, Roman, Maliaka, Joe and Maranatha The Reid and Hefling families stopped by 1224 E...

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2 min read

Seized Opportunity

The UGM MarCom team: Dave Wall, Danielle Davis, Jessica Morgan, Elisabeth Roginski, Barbara Comito & James Bishop It’s been said when one door...

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1 min read

Into the water

Paul Stankiewicz, who was featured on the cover of the August 2013 Mission News, was recently baptized in the Spokane River at Harry Altmeyer Park,...

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1 min read

The bee sting

2013 Tshimakain Creek Camp Staff - loving kids well and being a little goofy at times God works for our good. All the time. Even when we are praying...

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1 min read

Dressed in Praise

The other day I received this text message from Scott, one of our program graduates: “I forgot to mention that yesterday was my 6 years...

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Take Action: Back to School

Help children staying at UGM shelters begin the school year on the right foot with all the necessary school supplies.

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1 min read

The ripple effect

When a woman makes the decision to commit to UGM's long-term Recovery, the impact of her decision is far reaching. That decision impacts her...

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1 min read

Write it out

I thought this day would never come. Recently, I interviewed for my business practicum at The Spokesman Review. As I sat in the human resource...

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2 min read

Ashes to Beauty

A poem by Dani, pictured above, one of the residents at the UGM Center for Women & Children in Coeur d'Alene (Listen to Dani read "Ashes to Beauty."...

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2 min read

Rubbing Elbows with the Homeless

What Does God Mean When He Calls Us to Be Separate? It’s sad how I’ve sectioned off people because of their economic status, or upbringing, or even...

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1 min read

Real-world work

Robert Lewis turned to drugs and alcohol partly in response to frustrations in the work place. “My addiction came from always trying to be a...

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2 min read

Telling the truth

A few weeks ago, I had my worst case of writer’s block ever. I asked for prayer from pretty much everyone I knew, and many of you were kind enough to...

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