4 min read
Breaking Ground For Hope: Community gathers in the LC Valley
On February 23, the LC Valley community gathered to break ground where the future UGM shelter will stand in Lewiston, Idaho. As the sun shone down on...
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2 min read
Everybody Has a Story: Meet UGM volunteers Bob and Sharon
Genevieve Gromlich, former Content and Communications Manager: September 14, 2023
As a case manager at the Men's Shelter, Bob McLellan says he’s become a better listener. “I used to be afraid to talk to homeless people on the...
6 min read
The Dan Mader Story: Investing in the LC Valley
“The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord.” (Psalm 24:1) Fresh out of university, Lewiston-area native, Dan...
2 min read
Christmas at UGM: A warm welcome into a community that cares
Genevieve Gromlich, former Content and Communications Manager: December 15, 2022
The snow has come, the days are nearly at their shortest, and Christmas is right around the corner. But what is Christmas if you’re homeless? Is...
3 min read
Where There Is Breath, There Is Hope: Hear From UGM Shelter Guests
Genevieve Gromlich, former Content and Communications Manager: October 26, 2022
If you’ve never experienced homelessness or a debilitating addiction, chances are you’ve struggled knowing what to say to someone in the midst of...
5 min read
How the Gospel Brings Us Home
Genevieve Gromlich, former Content and Communications Manager: April 20, 2022
Guest post by UGM Aftercare Coordinator Dennis Roach A mythical story contains elements of fantasy and reality, a blend that sometimes pushes us to a...
6 min read
Facing the Nightmare of Childhood Trauma and Building a New Life: Krystal’s Story
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 16, 2021
In an essay entitled “Family Breakdown: Restoring a Damaged Masterpiece,” UGM Chaplain Sonny Westbrook describes what happens when God’s design for...
2 min read
Inside the UGM Crisis Shelter: A Volunteer's Perspective
Genevieve Gromlich, former Content and Communications Manager: December 3, 2020
We asked high-impact volunteer Margene Nobles to discuss her work with guests at UGM's Crisis Shelter for Women and Children.
2 min read
"You Broke Down Our Biases": Nursing Students Share Experience at UGM Men's Shelter
Union Gospel Mission: November 12, 2020
Nursing Students Ruth and Madison came to UGM to give. They set up a medical station and provided free care and advice to guests at the Men's...
3 min read
A Lot of Love: How a Used Car Dealership Provides Homeless Services
Genevieve Gromlich, former Content and Communications Manager: August 6, 2020
Car shopping along E Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley can feel like running a gauntlet of clambering salespeople, flashy marketing ploys, and banners...
3 min read
Safety is the First Step to Recovery
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1 Under God’s Roof Joey Reyes defies homeless...
5 min read
Homeless and Nowhere to Be
Lynn Yount, UGM Volunteer: December 11, 2018
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...
10 min read
From Homeless to Hope Fountain
Union Gospel Mission: October 18, 2018
Kimmi (Halbrook) Lane arrived at the UGM Crisis Shelter nine and a half years ago as a guest. Little did she know it was the beginning of a journey...
8 min read
Pursued and Loved by a Good God
Union Gospel Mission: September 27, 2018
Matt Lewis has worked with the guests at the Men’s Shelter a little more than a year – first as a resident advisor and now as day desk supervisor....
3 min read
A Brief History of UGM, Part 1: 1951 to 1987
Lynn Yount, UGM Volunteer: August 16, 2018
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...
2 min read
Shelter Life...A Child's Perspective
Union Gospel Mission: May 17, 2016
By Ellen Presley, former House Manager at the Crisis Shelter for Women and Children They brush their teeth, do their homework, eat dinner, do chores,...
2 min read
A Front Row Seat to Holiness
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: December 2, 2014
Editor's note: This is the first in an Advent devotional series based on Isaiah 61:1-3. Some of the posts in this series were first published as part...
1 min read
The Darkest Dark
Union Gospel Mission: April 1, 2014
Do you remember the darkest dark you’ve ever experienced? I know I do.
3 min read
A Whole-Person Approach to Breaking the Cycle
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 –...
1 min read
The Only Number that Matters
Union Gospel Mission: October 1, 2012
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....
1 min read
Volunteer Profile: Autumn Banks
Union Gospel Mission: July 1, 2012
When asked how volunteering at the Union Gospel Mission has impacted her, Autumn Banks said, “It humbles me…When I look at the women, I see myself –...