Eureka Rescue Mission

Well it’s been awhile since I have updated you on our Men’s Shelter renovation. Ithas been a long process but we can finally see the finish line! As I am writing this, allof the fixtures, counters, restroom stalls, toilets and urinals are being installed. Wehave had some problems with our roof leaking which delayed some of the sheet-rock being installed inside the new dormitory. Thankfully St. Joseph Health, Smul-len Foundation and Vera P. Vietor Trust of Humboldt Area Foundation contribut-ed generous gifts toward roof repairs and a new roof which will be installed in Juneof this year. So far it seems that the leaks have stopped and now all of the sheetrockhas been completed. The sub flooring is nearly completed and last to go in will bethe new flooring. Our hope is that the bottom floor will be completed at the end ofApril. Also the program member restroom on the second floor has been complet-ed, inspected by the City and is already in use. The program members are com-pletely blessed to have a new restroom and showers. Next will bephase 3 of our renovation which will remodel all of the upstairs pro-gram member rooms. Our building has had its share of problemsthroughout the years and we are so excited to be able to have a morefunctional facility to better serve all who come through our doors. Weare still raising funds for phase 3 and hopefully will be able to completethe entire remodel this year. Next we have our sights on our Womenand Children’s Shelter for a much needed renovation. I will keep youupdated as things progress. Thank you so very much for all that youdo for the Eureka Rescue Mission, because of you we can continue tohelp change lives one life at a time. Blessings!

-Bryan Hall Sr. Executive Director

Serving Our Community Since 1967

Rebuilding Broken Lives… One Life at a Time

Would you like more information?Find us online at:

www.eurekarescuemission.org

Spring 2019 Vol. 10 #2New Life Discipleship Program Graduates

President Vice President Secretary / TreasurerLawana Martin Bob Ow Sigrid Weir

Member Member Member Executive DirectorBob Vess Richard Waters Mike Fuller Bryan Hall Sr.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PHONE:(707)445-3787FAX: (707) 445-3794

Jacob Timms graduat-ed on 12/19/2018.

Jacob came to us addict-ed to methamphetamines and was going

down the wrong road really fast. Jacob appliedhimself while in the program and had a tremen-dous amount of support from all of the otherprogram members and staff because he was theyoungest of the group for a long time. Jacobenrolled in College of the Redwoods and isnow a full time student with A’s and B’s forgrades. Jacob wants to get into constructionwhen he graduates college.

Robert Hover graduated on2/6/2019. Robert struggled with Meth-

amphetamines and alcohol. Robert had a few “bumps”in the road early in his program but with oversight from staffholding him accountable, Robert flourished and appliedhimself to studying God’s Word day and night. Robert isnow a full time employee at our Thrift Store and on3/20/2019 he and one of our other graduates moved out ofthe Mission into a shared apartment.

James Still grad-uated on

2/20/2019. Jamescame to us in serious shape be-

cause of alcohol abuse, James nearlydied because of it. Currently he is workingon getting his commercial drivers licensewith the plan of securing employment lo-cally as a truck driver. James also flour-ished in God’s Word while in the programand was a model program member. We

are blessed to see the change and areexcited to see what the Lord has forhim as he pursues his dream.

Bob Franklingraduated on10/3/2018. Bob came tous having struggled withserious alcoholism and wasa completely broken man.Bob excelled in his pro-gram and planned on goingback into his former line ofwork dispatching trucks fora fuel company. God hadother plans and Bob decid-ed to stick around the Mis-sion. A house managerposition came open andBob was offered the jobwhich he gladly received.Bob is a phenomenal man-ager and operates with atremendous amount oflove toward our programmembers and guests.

Mark Merz gradu-ated on 10/17/2018.

Mark came to usnearly dead, he had been

drinking excessively and usingmethamphetamines. Mark had

been in our program several timesbefore but never completed it. It was a very roughroad for Mark but he hung in there and stayed thecourse all the way to graduation. Currently Markworks as our night desk manager keeping watchover program members and guests as they sleep.He also is the one on duty to receive guests duringlate hours who have been brought in by our locallaw enforcement during the cold winter nights.Mark has an infectious joy about him and ema-nates the love of Jesus to everyone he comes incontact with.

Don Pendleton graduated on10/31/2018. Don came to usstrung out on Methampheta-mines and alcohol. Don had alsobeen in the program several timesbefore but never completed.When he graduated he decided tomove back to Redding where hismother and children live so that hecould be closer to family. Don has recently calledand is doing well!

Charles Kaufmangraduated on11/7/2018. Charles had aserious struggle with alcohol.As soon as he graduated hemoved to Hollister Ca, en-tering into full time home-less outreach ministry withhis local church. Charleswas a joy to have at our pro-gram and always had a smileon his face.

Tom Burnsgraduated on12/12/2018. Tomwas a hope to die heroin addict,probably one of the worst we have seen at theMission. Tom had also been in our programpreviously but never finished. Tom is currentlystaying at the Mission and volunteering for justabout everything that needs to be done. Tom issomeone that you can instruct to do a certain taskand then leave with the confidence that it is goingto get done. Tom suffered a stroke but thankfullythe doctors were able to administer the right med-ication which minimized the effects. We didn’tthink that he was going to make it, he actually flatlined while in the emergency room as a result ofthe powerful medication but by the grace of God,the medical professionals were able to stop themeds and bring him back. Tom is a real miracle!

Almost Finished! Renovation Update

Eureka Rescue MissionP.O. Box 76

Eureka, CA 95502

Phillip Owens graduated on 1/30/2019. Phil-lip graduated the program a few years ago anddid well but alcohol crept in and before he

knew it, he was powerless over it once again.Rather than spending a few months of restora-tion in the program, Phillip decided to stay forthe full year. Now he is a full time employeeat our Thrift Store, receiving donations at theback door.

This newsletter is produced and published entirely by staff and volunteers.

Seasons of Growth God is Good

Katie Reid was born on a mili-tary base in Ft. LeonardWood, Missouri. She wasadopted at birth and a year and

a half later, her adoptive parentsalso adopted her biological sister.

Katie’s mom was very loving to-wards the girls but was always strug-

gling with an addiction to pain pills prescribed to her.Katie and Amber’s adoptive father was a raging alco-holic and would come home and beat the girls on aregular basis. She suffered much trauma in her child-hood including being violated by a friend of the familyat age 4. Katie’s father was a drill sergeant in the AR-MY and her mom was a stay at home mom due tomultiple back surgeries. Her mom passed away whenshe was 8 years old and she and her sister were left inthe care of her abusive father for 7 years after theirmothers passing. Eventually the girls escaped the abusedue to their older sister’s intervention who was grantedfull custody of both girls, relocating them to Coloradoto get a fresh start in life. Katie first experiencedhomelessness in 2010 and stayed in a shelter in Den-ver. That went on for about six months before she wasable to get into her own apartment. Fast forward abouteight years and Katie had three beautiful children butunfortunately in 2018, Katie, her three children andher fiancé became homeless. They needed a fresh startso they relocated from Wyoming to Eureka eightmonths ago and eventually came to the Mission. Katiesaid that they were tired of sleeping in the car and thekids needed more than they were getting. They are allvery thankful that they have been led to Christ at theEureka Rescue Mission and now have Jesus in theirhearts. Katie states, “I have built strong and healthyrelationships at the Mission and have found a sense offamily in my church. I now have hope that we can riseabove our circumstances of homelessness. I now havefreedom in Christ and have surrendered my life toHim!” Katie wanted to relay this to our supporters,“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every-thing. My kids have a loving environment and a warmbed to sleep in every night. They have healthy andwarm meals in their bellies at all times. The ladies andstaff here have become our family. I am happy to rep-resent the Rescue Mission. Kristen (Women’s ShelterDirector) welcomed us with open arms and has beennothing but supportive. She’s not only my sister inChrist but a dear friend close to my heart.”

Ricky Wrightcame to Eureka with thehope of starting a new lifebut unfortunately afterarriving, that hope was de-ferred. Ricky found him-self homeless, living in his caron the streets of Eureka. InApril of 2015 he came tothe Eureka Rescue Mis-sion seeking help and im-mediately sensed a lovethat he had not felt before.Ricky worked and savedand finally found housing inApril of 2017 at the Lodgewhich is affordable low incomehousing for seniors. Ricky said, “I didn’t have agood outlook on life at the time when I came tothe Eureka Rescue Mission, but my outlook haschanged dramatically since then and everything inmy life has gotten a lot better.” He gives all theglory to God! The love that Ricky experiencedwhen arriving at the shelter has created an over-whelming desire to give back to the Eureka Res-cue Mission. Several times a month Ricky bringsfood and treats for the guests at the Mission andin addition he brings his own trash picker andbucket to clean up trash and cigarette butts fromone end of the block to the other. When finishedwith his cleanup, he comes inside and visits withthe guests, encouraging them to not give up hopeand to press on toward their dreams and goals.Ricky is a great example of what it means to staythe course, not give up and trust in the Lord!

Ricky Wright

Robert Hager and his wife came tothe Mission in September of 2015,he stayed at the Men’s Shelter andshe at our Women and Children’sShelter. After a month or so he and

his wife moved to the Veterans Cen-ter and then on to the Budget Motel.

Robert’s wife became sick, her healthcontinuing on a steady decline, in July of

2017 she unfortunately passed away. The trauma oflosing his beautiful wife pushed Robert over the edgeslipping deep into alcoholism for over two years.Robert stayed as drunk as he could get in order tonumb the pain of his loss, camping out in the woodsuntil he couldn’t live in those conditions any longer.He came back periodically to the Eureka Rescue Mis-sion for food and shelter, knowing that he could notstay at the Mission while intoxicated, he decided toget sober. Robert was serious about his sobrietyalong with finding permanent housing. In January ofthis year Robert finally found an apartment and isslowly acquiring all of the comforts of home, onepiece at a time. Robert said, “I am so grateful for theEureka Rescue Mission and the rules, the Missionwas there for me at the most difficult time of my life,helping me get sober and now, finally in my ownhome.” Robert is so grateful that our program mem-bers had reached out to him in his time of need.They saw him suffering and started loving on him andpraying for him which encouraged him and blessedhis heart beyond measure. Robert also writes shortstories and poems which have been published in TheNorth Coast Journal. Please pray that the Lordwould continue to comfort Robert through the painof losing his wife and that he would remain soberfrom alcohol.

Robert Hager

Scott Dean came to the Eureka Rescue Mission in April of 2017after being incarcerated. Scott had nowhere to go upon his release, so he came straightto the Eureka Rescue Mission and stayed with us for over three months. Scott was apleasure to have around and was always encouraging the program members by sharinghis personal hopes and struggles. We were all very excited when Scott told us the greatnews that he was able to secure housing at the Veterans Center here in Eureka. Scott comesback often to visit with the program members and feels a deep desire to give back to the Eureka Rescue Missionby helping serve our guests during dinner time. Scott said, “I feel a deep gratitude for the Eureka Rescue Mis-sion because when I had absolutely nothing upon my release from incarceration, I was able to come to the Mis-sion and have a safe place to get back on my feet. The Mission provided everything I needed so I could focuson finding employment and housing.”

Scott Dean

Cassidy was born in Eureka andfrom the age of 8-17, she lived in a

half built house with no electricity, noheat and a water line that was sourced about a mile upthe mountain. The water line was constantly havingissues. It was a difficult situation especially with all thisbeing in the middle of the woods. Her mom cookedat Burnt Ranch Elementary School and her father wasthe maintenance man. He is the hardest working manshe has ever met and instilled good morals and valuesinto her at a young age. Her childhood dream was tobe a NASCAR driver like her hero Dale Earnhardt.At the age of 15, she started experimenting with drugsand alcohol. Cassidy has a college education and haswork experience at two different production compa-nies as a disc jockey engineer. She also has experi-ence as a cashier, tomato picking and assistant manag-er at a Chinese restaurant. 2018 was a rough year andshe became homeless for the first time in her lifeseeking shelter at the Annex in Arcata. She stayedthere for a couple of weeks before returning home toher parents’ property trying to work out the differ-ences between them. Their differences were not re-solved and as a result she made her way to the EurekaRescue Mission. Cassidy did not want to live on thestreets or use someone for a place to stay. Since com-ing to the Mission, she feels very positive for the firsttime in a long time. She states that she was so de-pressed and wanted to give up but while at the Mis-sion that changed. She said, “The combination ofother ladies, loving staff, structure, good meals and afully stocked kitchen gave me the feeling of what ahome should be and that is why I now feel hopeful.”Since coming to the Women’s and Children’s Shelter,she says that she has true peace, is getting to knowherself and Jesus and isn’t afraid. She is also learningto trust people, which has never been easy in the past.Cassidy said the following to the supporters of the Eu-reka Rescue Mission, “You are life savers, like angelson earth and you are helping save countless lives,thank you so much for helping me.”

Visit us at www.eurekarescuemission.org

Katie Reid

Cassidy