Deanna remembers the day she found herself standing in front of DRMM with nothing but the clothes on her back. She understood that this was her last chance to beat her addiction to alcohol or lose everything—her ability to work or ever live independently again, the love of her children, and perhaps even her life.

How, she wondered, had she gotten to such a dark place in life?

Tending to her dying mother day after day for three long years proved too much for Deanna, over time she began to turn to alcohol to cope. By the time her mother’s pain and suffering were over, Deanna’s next drink was the only thing that mattered to her.

Help and hope when all seemed lost

“When I first came here, I was a mess. I was at rock bottom, not functional any longer,” Deanna says. “My son who is in college was looking at me like, ‘Who are you? What happened to the lady that used to help other people?’”

“When I first came to treatment, I was suicidal,” she says. “I didn’t want to be here, I just wanted the pain to stop.” But through therapy and the treatment program offered at DRMM, Deanna came to understand that she desperately needed God’s help—despite the fact that she’d been mad at Him for her mother’s long illness and death.

“I should be dead. I shouldn’t even be sitting here talking to you, but the program, it worked. It eased the pain,” Deanna says. “The people in this ministry are helping me.”

A second chance in life

Deanna knows now that God has a plan for her, and clings to his Word to guide her. “My favorite verse is Philippians 4:13, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ It took me a long time to understand what it meant.

“God made no mistake with me because when I look in the mirror now, I love myself. I can smile and it’s not painful,” she says. The process has also brought healing to Deanna’s family. “My children forgave me, my sister and other siblings, too, and I forgave myself.”

With support from caring friends and donors, Deanna has completed a nursing program and works each day to help others find the courage and support to break their addictions. “I’ve lost friends . . . they’ve died because of their addictions. I’ve been clean for two years and I don’t ever want to go back into that darkness.”

Deanna is living proof of how your support of DRMM can truly save and change lives. She is deeply thankful for getting a second chance in life . . . and a chance to help others. She encourages everyone to continue to support DRMM because the need is so great. “Whatever you give, you’re going to help save somebody’s life. Your gifts provide clothes, food, and other resources to help with school and work. You help someone like me not be discouraged.”

Help another neighbor like Deanna beat addiction and get a new beginning in life!

Maybe you are like Nisha and have a heart for the needs of others. If so, learn more about how this caring friend is making a difference in a great many lives—and in the future of Detroit—by serving as a volunteer at DRMM.

“I’ve volunteered most of my life. It’s just something you do. You get involved, you help out,” Nisha says. “So when I moved to Detroit a couple of years ago, I thought, I want something to do other than hit the mall today. After my first day at DRMM, I felt I could volunteer for a couple of hours a week.”

Her first day was in the kitchen, working alongside a teen-aged volunteer. “He asked me why I was there and I explained that I just wanted to spend my Saturdays in a different way. I asked him the same question, and he said, ‘If I don’t volunteer, who is going to be there for Detroit? It has to be people like us. Our parents did it and now it’s our turn. We have to take care of this city, otherwise it will just turn to nothing.’”

The young man’s words compelled Nisha to return, again and again, serving in many capacities. The most challenging by far was a request for Nisha to organize a job fair, where local employers can meet people looking for work. The experience was tough, but Nisha did a wonderful job and is looking forward to tackling a similar venture in the future. “I really believe that employing people in Detroit is what’s going to get our city up and running,” she says.

Nisha is making a difference in a great many lives, but she insists that the people she helps are making an incredible difference in her own life, too. “They’re not just charity cases that we’re trying to help. They’re people and they’re our brothers and sisters. We’ve got to help them. If we don’t get involved, no one is going to care. Detroiters have to care about Detroiters, otherwise it’s never going to work.

“Volunteering is food for your soul. It heals wounds and bad feelings. Volunteer and you’ll feel better. I guarantee it.”

Would you like to support DRMM with your gifts of time and treasure? Learn more NOW!

A hot meal is often the changemaker for people who desperately need help. It was the same for Beth.*

God had led her to our Mission doors, but fear and hopelessness kept her from coming inside. It was clear she was hungry, but nothing we said could get her to come in out of the nasty weather.

Then Beth turned and started to walk away. We quickly offered to bring a meal out to her and she reluctantly agreed.

Later she tried to explain how it felt to be homeless, alone, and terrified. “I was so hungry, I thought, ‘I’ll be okay if I can just taste a piece of salt,’” Beth recalls. “They asked me if I’d eaten, and I said no. They brought me a tray so I could at least eat.”

Every new beginning in life starts with the gift of a meal
That meal—provided by a caring donor—gave our staff the chance to sit and really talk with her, to pray for her, and to help her understand that DRMM is a place where help, hope, and new beginnings happen.

Beth shared that the Lord had delivered her from people and circumstances that had kept her shackled to a drug-centered lifestyle since she was just nine years old!

But once she’d made her escape, she realized she had no money, no place to go, and would need more than determination to overcome years of addiction. Fortunately, a kind bus driver gave her a free ride to DRMM where a new life was waiting for her.

“If it wasn’t for DRMM, I would be dead or beat up again . . . I’ve been safe and happy here,” Beth says. Thanks to support from friends like you, Beth completed the programs that have given her freedom from addiction and allowed her to begin a sober, productive, and independent life.

But today, tomorrow, and the next day, more hungry and frightened neighbors will turn to us for food and shelter from our cold city streets.

Please partner with DRMM now to make a lifesaving, life-changing difference in the lives of people who are without hope.

*Name/photo changed for privacy

Help more people like Beth get a hot meal and a fresh start in life!

Michael* has traveled plenty of hard roads in his life. But he knows now that even the most difficult times had their purpose. Without them, Michael might never have turned his life over to God.

“My situation was getting worse and worse,” Michael says. At his lowest point, he fell to his knees and prayed, “I want you, God, to come into my life right now. I want you to change my life. If you do this, I promise I will never go back to the life I lived before.” Within days, Michael felt and saw God working in his life in amazing ways!

An Answer to Prayer at DRMM
Michael followed God’s leading to DRMM. He was thrilled to receive the help he needed to complete his education, find work, and learn to live independently as a productive member of the community.

From day one, Michael was volunteering to do everything he could to make DRMM a better place and to be sure he was pulling his weight. He simply couldn’t wait to get into college, to please an employer, to save every penny, and find an apartment.

Today His Life is Changed Because of You
Michael’s future is as bright as his smile, thanks to support form caring donors who gave him a place of refuge and the encouragement to answer God’s call in his life. He will never forget your many kindnesses. “I came here with 63 cents. Look at me now!” Michael says. “There are a lot of things that I need to fix in my life, but I thank God for everything He has done in my life.”

With a brand-new year ahead, and so many opportunities open to him now, Michael is filled with gratitude . . . he’s grateful to God for each day and for friends like you who gave him tools for a second chance in life.

“DRMM rescues a lot of people who are in need and have nowhere to go. They come to this place, and they get a bed, they get three meals a day. They get shelter. This is like the best homecoming from heaven.”

Help more people like Michael find shelter and a fresh start!

*Name/photo changed for privacy