“It’s not like I’m doing anything special, because I love it so much.”
Ask Jenny Gasperino why she volunteers at the Union Gospel Mission, and you’ll always get a humble answer like this. She calls her work at the Crisis Shelter for Women & Children part of her “addiction to UGM.”
“I love to ‘love on’ broken women. I feel like I’m totally where I’m supposed to be.”
And while “addiction” might be too strong a word, it isn’t far off the truth. If she didn’t have other responsibilities, Jenny would be at the Crisis Shelter even more than three days a week. But she says she’s even grown in her roles as a wife and mother because of her time at the shelter.
She’s learned a lot about accountability, about boundaries. She’s also learned about God’s grace and how he’s created and blessed her in a unique way.
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Many children at UGM with their moms have been through chaos, trauma, neglect, abandonment, or even abuse. Here are five things they need in order to heal and restore their relationship with their parents.
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Homeless and hopeless, Kari needed a place to be: Be safe, be healthy, be warm, be wanted, be welcome. She found that and so much more at the Center for Women and Children.
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Moms who enter the UGM Recovery program at Anna Ogden Hall often have open cases with Child Protective Services. Staff like Kamee help them navigate all the requirements and successfully reunite with their children.
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"How do I parent when I wasn’t parented well myself?" Director JoAnn Zajicek explains the challenges faced by moms in recovery at the Center for Women and Children.
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The emotional and psychological scars are not immediately visible, but they're just as real as the bruises. Helping homeless women and children takes time, consistent love and support, a commitment to building trust.
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Meet Teria Kelley, the "House Mom with 70 Kids." She's Resident Services Coordinator at the Center for Women and Children, which helps women and families break cycles of homelessness, abuse and addiction.
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Kimmi (Halbrook) Lane arrived at the UGM Crisis Shelter nine years ago as a guest. Little did she know it was the beginning of a journey that would lead her to help homeless women here at UGM.
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When Amber lost custody of her daughters, she ended up hopeless and homeless. When she finally came to the Crisis Shelter, she found the love and encouragement she needed to reunite her family.
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At Christmas, remember Immanuel means God with us. God with frail, broken humans. God with anyone crying out to him. God with you. God with me. God with Enid.
