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LIFE
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Inside stories of hope,
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Jim and Ken

5 min read

Deep Trauma, Deeper Healing

Underneath homelessness, we often find addiction and, underneath addiction, trauma. Trauma invades, wounds, hides and resurfaces, wreaking havoc again and again. Trauma breaks bonds, gives birth to shame and pulls a person into patterns of...

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Pepper

2 min read

The Heart of Stewardship: A UGM Partner Feature

Don "Pepper" and Midge Smock of Coeur d’Alene are humble leaders in the community, encouraging generosity out of their desire to see the gospel go...

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Kathy

4 min read

An Unexpected Friendship: A UGM Volunteer Feature

Many of us might think we have nothing in common with a drug addict, or that we have little or nothing to offer someone who has lived a life...

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21 ways

1 min read

21 Ways You Made Real Change Possible in 2021

1. You opened doors to gospel conversations which resulted in 35 baptisms, including Christina's.

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1 min read

The Miracle of Selfless Giving

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own...

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giving

1 min read

It’s a Together Thing

John and Vonnie Tucker have a 61-year legacy of working together to build a strong marriage centered on following God’s call to love their neighbors...

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3 min read

Empathy and Accountability: A Probation Officer’s Unique Partnership with UGM

Picture a man with a badge and a gun chaperoning women at a recovery center Valentine’s Day gala. Now, picture him in tears as he presents handmade...

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3 min read

It’s Always Somebody’s Family Member: An Impact Partner Feature

Matt and Nicole Hendrickson are Impact Partners (UGM monthly giving program) who’ve been quietly investing in the lives of homeless men and women for...

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4 min read

Writer’s Column: A Christmas Reflection

The Mission at Christmastime: brimming with hope, cozy and warm, piled with gifts. This is not what I expected. I came to Union Gospel Mission in May...

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4 min read

What Mary Knew

Christmas turns our thoughts to family, whether it’s kids getting into the “magic of the season” or the contemplation of a special baby laid in a...

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6 min read

Facing the Nightmare of Childhood Trauma and Building a New Life: Krystal’s Story

In an essay entitled “Family Breakdown: Restoring a Damaged Masterpiece,” UGM Chaplain Sonny Westbrook describes what happens when God’s design for...

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5 min read

Young Fatherhood, Pain and Recovery: Eric’s Story

Eric Blackman was trying to live the party life. Alcohol, drugs and carefree days shaped his mid-twenties through early-thirties.

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4 min read

The Drug Crisis: What’s it got to do with you and me?

Opioids. Meth. Marijuana. Cocaine. Cartels. Addiction. Synthetics. Big money. Big pharma. Overdoses.

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3 min read

One Man’s Impact: A Tribute to Ken Richter

Executive Director Phil Altmeyer frequently tells our partners that only in eternity will they know the extent of their influence in people’s lives....

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4 min read

Family of Origin and the Family of God

I wanted this article to tell a story about somebody else. That’s what I like to do.

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4 min read

Together for the Holidays

JUST TWO YEARS AGO THIS CHRISTMAS, Sarah was in a dark place. She had sent her six-year-old daughter, Lylee, to live with her mom in Texas, and CPS...

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1 min read

Bringing Us Home

“Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15)

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2 min read

Befriending the Stranger

WHEN REVEREND RILEY PALMER WAS PREPARING to plant Adopted Church west of Spokane, he felt the Lord calling him to be a part of local homeless...

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5 min read

Former Resident Gives Back: Anita Williams' Story

Every day, we get glimpses into people's stories, and often we get to walk alongside men and women for a season... but only occasionally do we get...

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5 min read

Radical Hospitality: Food as Grace

You may have heard us say we’re not just a soup kitchen, and while that is certainly true, it is also true that so much of what we do begins with a...

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6 min read

Robert’s Recovery: Phase by Phase

Author’s Note: From my earliest days at UGM, I have wanted to follow someone all the way through the LIFE Recovery Program, interviewing him or her...

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5 min read

Do You Want to Get Well?

Testimony written and read by Dawn Lange at a 2021 phase promotion event. As my DOC officer signs the papers to release me to treatment [a non-UGM...

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5 min read

UGM Crisis Shelter: A Safe Haven for Women

Written by Heather Pollock, UGM Women’s Recovery alumna and former UGM employee. Stories. Everyone has one. My story with Union Gospel Mission begins...

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4 min read

Business Owners vs. the Unhoused: A False Dichotomy

A false narrative is being promoted that pits two groups against each other on the subject of homelessness in Spokane.

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2 min read

Meet Talia: Satisfied in Christ

Written and read by Talia, UGM Resident, at a phase promotion event, August 2021. When I was a little girl, I would look out my window at night and...

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