Skip to the main content.
Donate Need help?
Donate Need help?

LIFE
at the
Mission

Inside stories of hope,
courage, and recovery



Sign Up Today

Jim and Ken

homelessness

4 min read

A Conduit of God's Excellence: Letting ministry flow from the heart

UGM is not just shaped by knowledge, experience, and skill, but by the true condition of our hearts - collectively. Excellence in ministry flows from...

Read More

5 min read

Is Housing the Answer to Homelessness?

Has America misdiagnosed the problem of homelessness? In her article “Does Poverty Cause Homelessness?” Marchauna Rodgers argues that we have. She...

Read More

3 min read

The Polarizing Topic of Homelessness [and the hot spot in the middle]

In 2006, toward the beginning of the Spokane region’s focused efforts on addressing homelessness, 1,592 individuals were counted in the annual...

Read More

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...

Read More

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.

Read More

6 min read

Ridiculed Schoolgirl to Heroin Addict: Johanna’s Story

“I was brought up in a family of musicians and my dad was the smartest man I’ve ever known, a philosopher.” Johanna is well spoken, educated and...

Read More

3 min read

A Safe, Healing Community

UGM is more than a shelter. Deep at the root of everything we do—from creating a warm welcome to helping people heal, thrive and get back to...

Read More

4 min read

The Government Agrees: "Housing First" isn't Working

In the fall of 2020, while the news media was focused on the pandemic and the presidential election, a significant report was quietly released by the...

Read More

3 min read

Winning Essay: What I Wish People Knew About Homelessness

"Being homeless doesn't make you less of a person." UGM Men's Shelter resident

Read More

3 min read

The Gift of Talk Therapy for Homeless Men

Dr. Ed Schultze received his doctorate in psychology from Fuller Seminary and has been working in the field for about 50 years. He has worked...

Read More

5 min read

What Causes Homelessness? (It Isn't Always Addiction)

We talk a lot about the cycle of homelessness and addiction here at UGM. We know that substance abuse is a contributing factor for a large percentage...

Read More

5 min read

In Their Words: Two Men Share Their Stories of Recovery

Tyler and Mike recently spoke at UGM's phase promotion event, where they were honored for completing phase 4. "Just a few years ago I was lost and...

Read More

4 min read

What I learned from my homeless guests

Last fall, just before Thanksgiving, a couple acquaintances of mine were on the verge of homelessness. It was crazy timing. They didn’t know each...

Read More
debra-2

5 min read

We Need Each Other: The Cure for Loneliness

“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” – Psalm 25:16 For decades, Debra was a self-described “functioning drunk,”...

Read More
AdobeStock_60945165

4 min read

Loneliness and Isolation

“Humans connect to other humans at so basic a level that when we disconnect, our souls shatter into a thousand little pieces.” – Peter Leithart When...

Read More
John-R-featured

4 min read

Toward Better Relief and Development

Last week, we posted Pastor John Repsold’s explanation of the differences between relief and development when it comes to addressing homelessness....

Read More
John-Repsold-1

4 min read

Relief vs. Development: Diagnosing Causes

Editor’s Note: Pastor John Repsold, whose downtown Spokane church Mosaic Fellowship includes ministry to people experiencing homelessness, presented...

Read More
bw-homeless man-2

2 min read

We Believe...

You may have seen a television commercial for UGM this fall that starts out, “We believe…” In these somewhat acrimonious times, amid heated debate...

Read More
homeless-guy

4 min read

Love Your Homeless Neighbor

“If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like...

Read More
2L7A2595

3 min read

We're Celebrating Real People Making Real Change.

Why a fall campaign? This blog post is meant to give you a glimpse behind the fundraising curtain at UGM. As a faith-based, non-profit organization...

Read More
nick-fewings-1155069-unsplash

5 min read

Is Housing the Answer to Homelessness?

In her article “Does Poverty Cause Homelessness?” Marchauna Rodgers argued that the United States has misdiagnosed the problem of homelessness,...

Read More
Phil at forum

2 min read

Homelessness: Defining the Problem

In his book “When Helping Hurts,” Dr. Brian Fikkert explains the far-reaching consequences of defining poverty incorrectly. He likens it to a doctor...

Read More
Officer Jake Willard and fellow Officer Dale Wells are only allowed to enforce illegal camping laws when there is shelter space available.

6 min read

Cleaning up Homeless Encampments

The Spokane Police Department is piloting a new approach to dealing with homeless encampments. The idea is to clean up the camps while also offering...

Read More
Marchauna

4 min read

Does Poverty Cause Homelessness?

Editor's note: In addition to being a wife, mother of eight children, a staff member with Cru, and a graduate student, Marchauna Rodgers is a...

Read More
featured-image

5 min read

Union Gospel Mission: Our Doors Are Open

“Partnering with the Inland Northwest to reach the poor with the love and power of the gospel so they may become God-dependent, contributing members...

Read More