5 min read
A Gift that Lasts
For years, UGM has been blessed to receive countless gifts from faithful partners who included the ministry in their estate plan. Today, we have 256 ...
Note: This is the first in a 3-part series from Rich Schaus, UGM Director of the Crisis Shelter for Women & Children.
In 1890, William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, looked around his beloved England and saw darkness, hopelessness, poverty, confusion and destruction.
His heart, connected to the heart of God, developed a plan to reach those in darkness. It was a simple but challenging strategy: Give people shelter, food and jobs, along with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the 1950s, a Catholic priest put the same strategy into place in France – providing food, shelter and jobs to the homeless in Paris. Soon, there were not enough homeless to do the work that had been developed, and France started to recruit homeless men and women from other countries.
A study completed last year showed that if a woman can earn at least 50% of her income through legitimate employment, she will be stably housed.
At the UGM Crisis Shelter for Women and Children, we have developed a job training program; we encourage women to look for jobs; and we teach them a system of looking for work. Then, we celebrate when they get an interview or actually get the job.
Yes, we provide food and shelter to give them stability as they look. However, what is really important is that we believe in them – even when family, friends, doctors, lawyers and social workers may not. We believe in their potential, and we believe in a loving God who can put that potential to work.
~ Rich Schaus, Director of the UGM Crisis Shelter for Women & Children
3 min read
Exploring Something New
Beverly Bergstrom is a front desk volunteer for our Spokane administrative office. She and her husband had donated to UGM for years, and one day,...
6 min read
Another Year of Change
As we reflect on 2024, we celebrate another year of change. You partnered with us as we navigated challenges, embraced new opportunities, and made...
A little girl's dream
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...
Homeless women: Who will believe in them?
Union Gospel Mission : February 25, 2014
Editor's Note: This is the first in a regular series, "The Crisis: a Troubling Reality." We will begin to examine and discuss the causes, conditions...