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LIFE
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Inside stories of hope,
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Jim and Ken

homeless

3 min read

2022: A Year of Love and Good Deeds

At UGM, we are rich in partnership. Year after year, the Inland Northwest community partners with the Mission to create life-changing opportunities...

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Homelessness Today

2 min read

Homelessness Today: Why Housing First Isn't Working

Each year, as the November elections approach, our staff members and volunteers are often asked about the homeless crisis in Spokane. Why is the...

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3 min read

A Lot of Love: How a Used Car Dealership Provides Homeless Services

Car shopping along E Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley can feel like running a gauntlet of clambering salespeople, flashy marketing ploys, and banners...

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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....

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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...

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Matt Lewis helps the homeless at UGM, sharing the passionate love of a good God at the Men's Shelter.

8 min read

Pursued and Loved by a Good God

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....

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amber4

4 min read

Homeless, Hopeless, Loved

Being homeless can make you physically dirty. Its harsh realities can dull your senses and thicken your skin. It can drive you to do things you swore...

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After 15 years of off-and-on homelessness, Marcus is getting help with managing his depression without using drugs.

5 min read

Why World Homeless Day?

You might be asking: Why is UGM making such a big deal of World Homeless Day? How does a day devoted to homelessness really help anything? Actually,...

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6 min read

World Homeless Day 2016

Each year, UGM tries to do something to mark this day – 10/10 – something to say, We see you. We’re paying attention. For the last two years, we’ve...

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3 min read

How do you define "home?"

By Cherise Stutzman, UGM Volunteer Two weeks ago, a friend of mine moved from Idaho to Europe. Today, I asked her to define the word “home.”

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1 min read

Lose the Label: Damaged Goods

“When you know that you’re bad, you always feel like you’re doing something wrong.” After meeting her biological parents and realizing her mother and...

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2 min read

Lose the Label: Chronically Homeless

Troy is a likable guy with a quick smile. He learned and remembered my name the first time I met him, and ever since then, if I pass him – even if...

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2 min read

Honoring Those Who Have Fought for Freedom

While 2015 Point-in-Time Count numbers for the nation showed an overall decrease in veteran homelessness, the statistic for homeless veterans in...

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mike-home_featured

3 min read

Homelessness: It's About People

Editor's Note: This blog post is part of a series on homelessness. Part 1 explained the magnitude and complexity of the problem. Part 2 was a story...

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1 min read

We are Thankful - To Those Seeking Help

David, 31, spent half his life homeless. At the age of 14, he was taken from his family home due to a domestic violence incident. After that, he...

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1 min read

Hopelessness to Homelessness

By David Nicosia, UGM Men's Recovery participant When I became homeless, there were so many feelings that led up to it. How stupid was I to allow...

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Trace-Rockwood

2 min read

Trace - Homeless

Trace spent 15 years intermittently homeless, fluctuating from employed to unemployed, living on the streets or in an RV without heat, running water...

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Take Action: Give a Hand Up

How many times have you pulled up to a stop light and seen a man or woman holding a cardboard sign, asking for help? No one likes to see people...

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2 min read

Beyond Labels

Prisoner. Addict. Homeless. Drunk. When we use labels, we miss out on seeing people for who they really are. We confuse peoples’ actions with their...

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2 min read

Homeless, Hopeless, and Alone

By Merrily Brast, Staff Writer “I thought it was me, all by myself. I’ve got to do everything, period. No help. And then, I walked through the east...

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Dean-Lynch

3 min read

I Didn't Have a Job

Poor work history. Felony record. Long periods of unemployment. Addiction issues. Lack of education. No transportation. No appropriate work attire....

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1 min read

Take Action: Give a Hand Up

Here are a few of the ways your gifts to UGM are helping people get back to work: Vocational Education: In our learning centers, men and women are...

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2 min read

The Struggle for True Identity

In "The Reason Why," the author gave a description, through her story, of why she believes many women get involved in unhealthy relationships or turn...

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2 min read

Christmas Shopping that Helps the Homeless

By Merrily Brast, former Staff Writer “Try it on! Try it on!” As each of 20 cousins, aunts, and uncles from Tiffany Riddle’s family opened their...

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