Flooding, Cold Weather Result in Overflow Conditions
January 27th, 2012
FLOODING, COLD WEATHER CONTRIBUTE TO UNION GOSPEL MISSION EXPERIENCING OVERFLOW CONDITIONS AT WOMEN & CHILDREN’S SHELTER
Salem, Oregon – January 27, 2012 – With a record 66 guests last night, mats lined the hallways, occupied the dayrooms and filled office spaces. Union Gospel Mission’s women and children’s shelter is experiencing an increase in numbers seeking shelter and has experienced overflow conditions in the last few weeks.
“Right now, what I can offer you is a mat on the floor.” Allison Ziaee, UGM’s Simonka Place’s Guest Services Intern, responds to calls inquiring for shelter that come in one right after the other. The Union Gospel Mission’s shelter for women and children has never seen numbers like these and the need continues to grow.
“Right now, I don’t have anything at all,” a guest shares. “[Sleeping on a mat] is okay. I don’t’ mind, it’s a comfortable, safe little corner.”
Around Christmastime the number of women and children being sheltered at Simonka Place was hovering around an average of 35 guests. When, on December 28th, the number rose to 44, Jeanine Knight, Women’s Director, was surprised; they had never served that many guests. She had no idea this was only the beginning.
The calls kept coming in and every space filled up. “Some days we would get six calls, some days we would get twelve calls for shelter,” Jeanine explains. “Almost every day this month we have had more people that have needed to come in.”
A number of factors contribute to the sudden increase including recent flooding and cold weather conditions. One guest relates returning to her camp by the river to find everything gone. “Fifteen feet of water was covering our camp,” she told us, “we lost everything.”
To accommodate the increase in number of guests, the staff opened an overflow room and, for a while, was able to provide a bed for each guest. However, as the need for space continues to increase they are now offering a simple mat on the floor. Keizer’s Fire Marshal has advised the staff concerning possible overcrowding/safety concerns, ensuring women and children needing shelter are cared for.
In addition to the increasing need, Union Gospel Mission is experiencing lower than normal giving this time of the year. The support of our community is needed now more than ever.
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Family Matters
November 3rd, 2011
Aaron Eggers Director of Men’s Ministries aeggers@ugmsalem.org
“This is my mom!” Sarah said as she pointed me toward Tammy, an older African-American women. In my confusion I said, “But she’s black; you’re white,” noting that Sarah was fully Caucasian. “She’s my street mom!” Sarah corrected.
This actual interaction plays-out on the streets continually. Persons experiencing long-term homelessness often form pseudo-families of brothers, sisters, moms, dads, aunts and uncles when there is no actual biological or legal relationship at all. There is just something in us that seems to drive us toward a sense of family. When we don’t have one, we find one.
In fields of research, “family” is one of the areas that have been the most studied in recent years. The findings are as irrefutable as they are profound. As it turns out…family matters! Research is telling us that what goes on in one’s family is the greatest single predictor of how the life will go. Of course, our great-grandparents tried to tell us this long ago.
In short, when the family system functions properly, each generation improves; when it does not, a cascade of generational dysfunction begins that is extremely difficult to reverse. In an ideal family system, the child grows in a warm and welcoming home, nurtured by attuned loving parents. When this happens, children generally grow to be good parents… and the cycle continues. We have all seen what happens when this goes badly… That is where we come in.
The Union Gospel Mission of Salem works hard to reverse this cycle. We help those who come to our door to understand how God’s system works. We begin by welcoming them into our warm, welcoming UGM family. Then, the Gospel message reflects the heart of God’s intent for family. For most of our guests, we are their first real glimpse of what good love looks like.
With a supportive family, our guests get the courage to embrace life change. We become the safe home from which they can venture out and then return; just like a family. Over their time here, we pay special attention to those areas in each life where family wounding has occurred and show them how to apply the Gospel to those wounds.
Being a family for those experiencing homelessness is a significant contribution to their lives. Our greater joy comes, however, when we help moms and dads to become better able to provide “family” to their families. Currently, we have a husband and wife staying with us who are each enrolled in the New Life Fellowship programs at Simonka Place (for women) and the Men’s Mission. This couple has determined to break the cycle of addiction and family dysfunction. What we are working toward with this couple will affect generations yet to come.
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HARVEST CELEBRATION DESSERT
June 16th, 2011
Harvest Time!
This is the time of year that we gather together to celebrate what the Lord has done in our midst. Please join with us as we celebrate God’s goodness!
Don’t miss this opportunity to:
- Hear testimonies of lives being changed because of your compassionate care and generosity
- Fellowship with others who share your burden for the homeless and hurting men, women and children of Marion/Polk counties
- Learn about the ministry of UGM and how you can become more involved
- Introduce your friends and neighbors to the ministry of Union Gospel Mission
We look forward to seeing you at the Keizer Civic Center – October, 21st at 7pm! Don’t forget to call in your reservation – 503-362-3983!
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Walk for Hope
March 31st, 2011
Did you know that Oregon ranks #3 in the nation for the number of homeless per capita?
That statistic shocked me. I had no idea Oregon had such a large homeless population – and I have been involved in the work of Union Gospel Mission for over 2 decades. I should have known. After all, our shelters are always busy and almost always full. But the problem is not as obvious here in Salem as it is in some bigger cities. We don’t have many folks sleeping on the sidewalks in cardboard boxes or in tent cities. They are there, though, and they don’t go away when the weather gets warm.
Summer is a busy time and as we get busy it’s easy to forget that there are men, women and children who are homeless and hungry. Let’s face it - the need just doesn’t seem as urgent when the temperatures aren’t dipping down to dangerous lows. And yet, the need is still prevalent and the homeless don’t disappear when the sun comes out.
The Union Gospel Mission is serving over 450 meals everyday and when the weather is nicer and the need seems less urgent, our funding drops considerably and volunteer numbers decrease. There is something you can do to help us get the word out and raise support for the many homeless men, women and children we will serve this summer. You can join us in out first annual Walk for Hope.
Cheryl Dixon, Donor Relations Manager cdixon@ugmsalem.org
Walk of Hope Registration Page
Print out a registration brochure complete with sponsor sheet
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Mentors, Mentees, and Mentos®
November 18th, 2010
Bud Austin, NLF Program Manager
Most of us will admit that we like to have people we care about walking alongside us through the bad times as well as the good times in life. With others there to encourage us, obstacles don’t seem nearly as large or impossible. It isn’t much fun, nor is it very successful, to do life alone.
Having that kind of person in our life will remind us that we’re not alone. They demonstrate the truth of God’s promise: ‘I will never leave you or abandon you. Don’t be afraid. Be encouraged. I am with you.’ (Paraphrase from Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5; John 14:18)
One of the most difficult things we ask the men on the New Life Fellowship Program to do is develop a supportive relationship with a mentor from a local church.
Why do we ask them to have a mentor?
1. Having a mentor, or a small group of accountability partners, is one of the best ways for the men at the mission to make healthy connections at church. A network of support within the local church will make the difference between a return to the former life or continued growth into the new life. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.”(MSG)
2. Having someone outside of the mission to encourage them is invaluable. A mentor can coach their discipleship progress, encourage them to go deep with the Lord and to keep their heart open when they seem resistant to the counsel they receive at the UGM.
3. Mentors can model the lifestyle that results from being an active follower of Jesus.
(Proverbs 27:17) “Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of one another.”(CEV) Do you know how important this “one another” supportive type of relationship is to God? Here’s a clue: the phrase “one another” is used in the New Testament alone more than 118 times. God designed us to need one another.
Why is it so difficult?
This is a tough thing for men needing a mentor:
Seeking a mentor is uncomfortable for the men on our program – men who often feel like outsiders when they go to church. They tend to feel like outsiders for a lot of reasons. Most of the men have broken relationships; they are unemployed; they live at a homeless shelter; they have no car; they have no cell phone; they can’t bring food to the potluck, etc. The list could go on, but the point is that most men will allow themselves to stay in relative isolation. Mentoring relationships will develop best if individuals in the church proactively reach out in consistent and concrete ways.
This is a tough thing for guys in the church:
There are plenty of reasons why becoming a mentor may be difficult. Guys often don’t feel “qualified” to be a mentor because they know they are working on their own issues. Additionally, many Christian men are busy serving their church, workplace, community, and family. They don’t think they would have the time to be a mentor. And still others have simply never thought about it.
My request of you is this: Consider being a mentor. Begin the conversation with God, your family, and your pastor about the possibility of mentoring a man at the mission. Include me in the conversation. As you gain information about mentoring, you will likely discover that the time commitment is quite small compared to the Kingdom payoffs. My contact information is at the top of this article.
What to do next?
You might have been wondering why this article was called Mentors, Mentees, and Mentos®. Well, here’s where the Mentos® comes in.
“Coffee and Mentos® ” is a monthly gathering with men in the community who are interested in learning more about mentoring with the New Life Fellowship Program. Coffee and Mentos® is on the first Saturday each month at 10 A.M.
Call or e-mail, please, so that I will be sure to have your coffee and Mentos® ready!
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USE YOUR WORDS
October 20th, 2010
If you have had any experience working with children you know that they are told ‘use your words’ whenever they attempt to express themselves, say physically (i.e. hitting, biting, kicking, etc.) That expression has taken on a new meaning for me in the past few days as I have been mulling around some things our CEO, Mike Rideout, shared with us at our annual banquet.
He was talking about how as a Christian culture we have slipped into a philosophy that fully embraces the ‘actions speak louder than words’ mantra, which isn’t completely untrue. No one wants to be all talk and no action. We know that our faith without works is dead (James 2:17). At Rescue Missions across the country the very essence of what we do is reaching out to help those in need. Love in action.
However, some have adopted this mindset, sadly, to the point that they are not speaking at all. Can we afford to take the risk of assuming that the people who come to us for help KNOW that what we do for them is in the name of Christ? Are we really helping if we feed, shelter and clothe them and allow them to walk away without speaking the words of Christ to them?
‘But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it?’ Romans 10:14-17 (The Message)
I am so thankful that the staff and volunteers who work in the ‘frontlines’ of our ministry understand the importance of preaching the acceptance, grace and transforming love of Jesus Christ, in word and deed.
So, today may you be encouraged to use your words. May your actions and your words work together to show the love of Christ to anyone you have the opportunity to serve.
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What can I do to help a panhandler?
September 13th, 2010
We see them on our streets daily. They are usually holding a cardboard sign that says in a variety of ways, “please help me.”
Does your heart go out to them? Do you want to stop and do something? Most of us want to offer help; it gives us a good feeling when we can offer food or tuck a few dollars in their hand. But who are we really helping when we give to panhandlers?
It might be helpful to ask ourselves some questions the next time we are approached for help:
- Will this move them out of the “danger zone”? Does it move them ahead out of the situation they are in?
- Will this solve any drug or alcohol abuse problems they might be facing?
- Will this train them for jobs, provide needed counseling or offer other life skills?
- Will this help them face and overcome the obstacles that have defeated them in the past? Or will this just continue to enable a lifestyle that is destroying them?
The reality is that giving to panhandlers is more about how it makes us feel than it is about bringing lasting change and restoration to struggling lives. Panhandling is unhealthy for the panhandler, and it is unhealthy for the community.
We encourage you to restore hope and restore lives by saying no to panhandlers and yes to supporting life-changing programs that are available free or for a small charge by the nonprofit charitable organizations within our community.
Here are some Meal Tickets— Cut them out – Keep them in your wallet or purse and the next time a panhandler approaches you, be ready to give them a meal ticket good for a meal and other services at UGM. If they really want to escape from their situation, it will be the kindest act you can do.
For more information on our life-changing programs browse our website or email your questions to info@ugmsalem.org.
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Restoring Hope…Restoring Lives…Together!
August 26th, 2010
Volunteers play a critical role at UGM. I don’t know what we would do if we did not have our dozens of volunteers each and every week. At any given time one can walk through the various UGM ministries and find volunteers doing everything from serving meals, cutting hair, to teaching classes and helping customers. Volunteers are everywhere. Helping. Serving. Giving. Caring.
Volunteers lighten our workload and often accomplish those things that otherwise might not be done at all. Each is important and necessary to the whole. Volunteers are the important part of our team that comes together to do the work of Rescue.
UGM volunteers are not only a blessing to the staff, but their very presence makes an impact on our guests by showing them they are valued and cared for. Volunteers encourage and interact with the men, women and children in a way that only a volunteer can – they truly make a difference!
Volunteering not only helps change the life of an individual in difficult circumstances, but it can also be a rewarding, encouraging and transforming experience for the volunteer. Holly Hamlin attests to this in a recent Statesman Journal article, which includes a family’s reflection on their volunteer service at UGM.
Last month UGM was blessed to have the middle school ministry of Suburban Christian Church as volunteers. They made a wonderful impact on our ministries, and the Lord made an impact on their hearts. Read their blog describing their volunteer experience at UGM.
Other volunteers have shared their experience with us:
“I have come to call UGM ‘My Mission,’ because I love being here. I hope to volunteer here for many years to come.”
“Being able to volunteer and help out at Simonka Place has added so much to my life. It gives me a feeling of helping people and helping their lives become a little better.”
“I don’t know if anyone will ever fully understand the impact you all had on us (when we brought our youth group to UGM for an extended work project)”
“I look forward every month to serving dinner at the Mission. I’ve grown fond of the men and enjoy being with them.”
Have you volunteered with UGM of Salem before? If so, share your experience in the comments section below!
Posted by Cheryl Dixon, Donor Relations Manager, cdixon@ugmsalem.org
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