July
5

When Don retired, he was envisioning the “golden years” we all dream of and hope for. But then came the heart trouble that almost took his life.

Surgery saved him, but it was a long road to recovery and those years devastated the finances he’d thought would take care of him for the rest of his life.

He took a job at a local factory to support himself, but still struggled to make ends meet. Then things went from bad to worse . . .

The factory, too, was struggling, and had no choice but to cut Don’s hours until they dwindled to nothing. When they finally shut down, they not only took Don’s retirement dreams with them, they took his last hope of survival.

At the age of 66, Don was homeless, hungry, and without hope . . .

He turned to DRMM. Thanks to support from caring and generous friends, he received a much-needed meal that first day, as well as safe shelter and the tools he needed to rebuild his life.

“This place helps people. They care about people,” Don says. “I’m well-educated, I’ve worked hard all my life, and I’ve had great jobs, but I’ve learned that you can be up today and down tomorrow. Circumstances knocked me down, DRMM is helping me pick myself back up.”

Don is just one example of the thousands of people who turn to DRMM in desperate need each day . . .

4,500 meals will be served today, tomorrow, and the next day.

400+ nights of shelter are available each month.

2,300+ vulnerable inner-city children attend camp each summer.

2,200 men, women, and children are served through our life-changing programs each day!

Consider the great need and how you can help. Spread the word to your family, friends, colleagues, and church. Support from our community is critical and provides hope through emergency services, job and education counseling, substance abuse treatment, and so much more.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep the hungry, hurting, and homeless Safe Over Summer.

June
29

As you may have heard in the news, at 2am on June 27th, our premises on 138 Stimson was broken into and $25,000 worth of landscape training equipment was stolen. Detroit Police have started investigations using footage from our surveillance cameras as well as evidence from the scene.  Please, call the police if you have any information regarding this incident.

“(The tools are) used so we can train returning citizens and people who are fighting homelessness,” said Chad Audi, DRMM President. “We started a new program for them about three years ago so we can teach them to do landscaping and some other things.”

Much of this equipment will likely need to be replaced in the coming weeks so that we can keep these programs moving that utilize these resources.  Please help us ensure these life-impacting programs are able to continue by giving a gift today.

Man wearing blue shirt seeking shelter from the heat...

May
14

A crisis is brewing right now in our community—a crisis that will hit children, families, and individuals like a ton of bricks. It’s going to make the hungry even hungrier, their hardships even harder.

The crisis is summer.

Summer means children and teens are out of school and exposed to the risks that come with being vulnerable. So for parents and grandparents who were already struggling to put food on the table for their little ones AND pay the rent and utilities, school meals are no longer available to help!

My heart breaks for the children who will stand in front of an empty fridge and search through a bare pantry, hoping to find something, anything, to kill the hunger that burns within.

My heart breaks for their loving moms, dads, and grandparents, too. These neighbors are desperately trying to make ends meet—but they don’t. So they’ll turn to DRMM, hoping for what might be the family’s only meal of the day. Others will stand in a long line at our food pantry, hoping to get a bag of food that will tide them over.

The needs of the homeless are also a great concern during summer. When it’s hot, they’ll seek shelter from the blistering sun, needing a glass of cold water along with a nutritious meal. Some of these souls have addiction problems, and others have just lost their way in life. Regardless, when they come in from our sizzling city streets, we’ll have the chance to make a life-changing difference for them. I pray we’re found faithful!

Meeting the needs of all of these frightened families and individuals will have a huge impact on DRMM’s resources—emptying our pantry, too! And what’s really scary is that this deluge comes at a time when donor support is at the lowest it will be all year long. Let me be clear—it’s not because people quit caring about the suffering of others . . . no, it’s simply that many of our most generous and faithful supporters are on vacation in the summer!

As president of DRMM, my job is to ensure that we are good stewards of the donations from our generous and compassionate partners AND of our many outreaches that the hungry and hurting among us rely on when things are at their worst.

That’s why I’m sounding the alarm, at the top of my lungs, for every friend of DRMM to get involved NOW, so we can prepare for this crisis that threatens so many vulnerable men, women, and children in our community this summer.

It’s going to take all of us to ensure that everyone who is hungry and hurting gets the food, shelter, and other emergency help they need to stay safe over summer.

Please give as generously as you are able, right now. Spread the word to your friends and family, your church and coworkers. Volunteer if you can, because your time is also a very dear treasure. And please pray that DRMM can be there with help and hope—all summer long—for our neighbors in need.

Chad Audi,

President

March
20

Living in the suburbs, Terrell* relied heavily on his vehicle to make the commute to his job. So when his car broke down, he was unable to find a reliable way to get to work and lost his job. Frantically cutting expenses until he could find employment and reliable transportation, Terrell moved in with his cousin.

But the arrangement was temporary and Terrell had to move out before he could secure a new job and purchase another car.

Terrell was shocked and frightened to admit the truth—that he was without transportation, a job, and a home! That’s when someone told him Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM) was a place filled with caring people who will go the extra mile to help a veteran or anyone else in need.

He thought it sounded too good to be true, but when Terrell first came through the Mission doors, he found real solutions to his problems. He received good hot meals and transitional housing while he looked for work. And he saw other veterans getting the help they needed too, through employment and job counseling, substance abuse treatment, and so much more.

Terrell is grateful for caring friends and donors who support DRMM and our outreach to our nation’s veterans. He knows that your partnership is the reason he got the help he needed to get back on his feet. Thank you for giving generously to help those who fought for our freedoms and way of life!

Help more people like Terrell today!

*Name/photo changed for privacy

March
20

Michael* has a smile that lights up a room and it’s always there, a reflection of the joy that is within him because he knows—

“Life is good! God is great! I am forgiven! I have been given a fresh start in life and I am going to make the most of it!”

That’s not to say Michael hasn’t traveled plenty of hard roads in his life, because he has. But he knows that even those times had their purpose, because that’s where Michael 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!

Wise counsel directed him to DRMM as the special place where he could 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.

Michael’s future is as bright as his smile, thanks to support from caring donors who gave him a safe 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.”

Among the many things Michael is grateful to God for each day is friends like you who gave him tools for a second chance in life—and so many other people, too. “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 today!

*Name/photo changed for privacy

March
20

Thank you for your partnership that made it possible for families and individuals to receive emergency services and life-changing help from DRMM throughout the 2017 Christmas season:

  • 650 parents got to shop for warm clothes and gifts at our Christmas store . . . free of charge!
  • 2,023 children and families were included in the Adopt a Family program
  • 75,020 people received meals at the Mission during the holidays
  • 431 individuals received emergency and long-term shelter during December
  • TOTAL = 78,124 lives were touched by your generosity this past Christmas!

On behalf of those who were once hungry, homeless, jobless, addicted, and without hope, thank you for your ongoing support so DRMM can continue to provide help and hope.