May
6

As you may have heard in the news, at 2am Friday May 5, two persons broke into our premises on Stimson Street Detroit and stole $90,000 worth of training equipment. Detroit Police have started investigations using footage from our surveillance cameras.  Please, call the police or local media outlets if you see the 18-ft trailer clearly marked DRMM that contains our equipment.

“(The tools are) 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 so we can teach them to do landscaping and some other things.”

Much of this equipment will likely need replaced in the coming weeks so that week can keep the ministries moving that utilize these resources.  Please help us ensure these services are able to continue by giving a gift today.

March
24

In 2016, your generosity made it possible for a great many families and individuals to receive emergency services and life-changing help from DRMM:

  •  963 people were served in treatment (men and women)
  • 143 people were provided with housing (men, women, and children)
  • 4,256 people were provided with emergency shelter (men, women, and children)
  • 235 children were provided with camp, after-school, and other special programs
  • 265 families received housing and homelessness prevention services
  • 293 prisoners received assistance with reentry services
  • 2,692 campers that were served at our day camps and overnight camping programs

TOTAL = 8,847 lives changed

Thank you for your ongoing support so DRMM can continue to help those who are hungry, homeless, jobless, addicted, and without hope in the days ahead!

March
24

Having experienced homelessness as a child, Terry Grahl knows how difficult life can be. That’s why she founded Enchanted Makeovers, a corps of volunteers and artisans who gather to create positive environments and confidence-building programs for women and children who are living in shelters.

DRMM’s Genesis House II and III are among very few places in Detroit that are able to offer housing to women with children. Thanks to the ongoing work of Enchanted Makeovers, the bedrooms and hallways of these shelters have been transformed into beautiful, nurturing, hope-filled environments for the women and children who live here. The addition of “The Sacred Sewing Room” at Genesis II this past fall provided a unique environment for women to hone their skills while healing and growing through creativity and self-expression.

Special thanks, too, to a quilting group from Northridge Church in Plymouth, led by Nancy Zieman, who made a gift of handmade quilts last September to bring warmth, comfort, and joy to the women and children who are living at DRMM’s Genesis II. The quilts, constructed in a variety of colors and patterns, are beautiful and definitely make the families feel at home.

Not only do the volunteers make a gift of their quilts, which can take many months to complete, they also share their love of quilting by giving lessons to any of the Genesis II residents who wish to learn the craft. Many residents have tried their hand at quilting and greatly enjoyed the experience, and everyone is invited to see Nancy’s talents at work on the Sewing with Nancy show which airs on PBS.

Heartfelt thanks to Enchanted Makeovers, Nancy Zieman and the quilters at Northridge Church, our many volunteers, and all of our friends who support DRMM financially. Your support is providing women with children a safe, beautiful, and nurturing home while lives are rebuilt and independence is regained.

The gift of handmade quilts by a quilting group from Northridge Church bring joy and beauty to women and children living in DRMM’s Genesis II, inspiring some of the residents to try their hand at quilting!

March
24

The day David rolled into Detroit might have been his last, if not for the compassion of a stranger who knew DRMM is a special place where help and hope can be had . . . and where no one in need is ever turned away.

The stranger saw David struggling to get off a bus, juggling everything he owned in the world, and an oxygen tank that had been his constant companion since pneumonia and bronchitis had almost cost him his life.

David was in a panic as he explained that he had come to stay with his sister, but had just learned that she was away. He had no way to reach her. He had no money to stay in a hotel. He had nowhere else in the world to turn.

“Come with me,” the stranger said, leading David to a waiting taxi.

David protested, “I’ve got no money for a taxi!”

“Don’t you worry, all right?” the stranger said, insisting the taxi would take David—free of charge—to DRMM, a safe, warm place full of wonderful people who were waiting to help him.

David had worked hard all of his life. Until his deteriorating health caused him to collapse and made it impossible to work, he’d never imagined he would find himself asking for a hot meal and a bed.

Thanks to caring friends who generously support DRMM, we were able to welcome David immediately with a good hot meal and safe shelter. But that was only the beginning . . .

We helped David get the critical medical attention he needed. We helped him find work and encouraged him to restore his relationships with family and loved ones. And we introduced him to his Savior, Jesus, who filled him with fresh hope for a new beginning in life.

David is healthy and happy today. He’s living independently and his family is a big part of his life. Not a day goes by that David doesn’t give thanks to God for DRMM and the people who support their lifesaving and life-changing work.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for these people,” David says of DRMM staff. “They helped me get on the right road. They helped me get a job, clothes for work, and work boots. They gave me a bus card so I can get to work.”

“I pray every morning and talk to the Lord,” David says. “I know He’s not going to give me more than I can handle. He’s giving me what He feels is good for me. I believe that 100%.”

David is one of many who come through the doors of DRMM each day without hope. Thank you for your support that provides the programs and vital training that help the lost and broken with employment, sobriety, independent living skills, and the courage to begin again.

A new man today, David is truly thankful for the support of DRMM’s donors who helped him to get a fresh start in life!

March
24

Every Christmas, DRMM pairs struggling families with caring friends who go the extra mile to be sure every child in our community has a gift to open on Christmas morning. Our Adopt-a-Family program broke all records last Christmas, with more than 1,000 families receiving critical items like winter coats and even a few gift items for the little ones.

Sincere thanks to everyone who adopted a family in need this Christmas, and to all who continue to give generously to support the many outreaches of DRMM.

For families who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, Christmas gifts are an out-of-reach luxury. Thanks to the Adopt-a-Family program, a lot of children received warm clothes and a new toy.

March
17

This reasoned question applies to every adult, especially state and federal law makers, bureaucrats, service providers in nonprofit organizations, and even law enforcement officials around us.

Or better put, it applies to every income earner, big or small.

I intentionally highlighted the word adult because non-judgmental generosity is a great reflection of one’s maturity and decency.

We should help because our help is needed and can positively transform lives, not just because helping makes us feel good about ourselves and our place in society.

We should readily help because the life of a poor, weak, jobless, hungry or afflicted neighbor is more precious than the beefy biases, stratifications and social engineering that can sometimes undermine it.

No Child’s Play

Of course, it is not easy to help people we don’t like, more so if they (or those who look like them) offended us in the past or fall into stretched stereotypes that present imaginary or actual threats to our sensibilities.

Anybody who says it is easy to employ a recovering drug addict or rent an apartment to a felon without credit history is not admitting the truth.

Many are more likely to help those they (know, trust and) like than those they dislike. And beyond that, many have the tendency to help only those they think can repay them in cash or kind – which, regrettably, makes their help a kind of transaction.

But our world is such that not everyone is in a position to repay our good deeds, and everyone is not bound to like our preferences, values, mannerisms, opportunities (or lack of them) and worldview – even when they are predicated on widely (and long) held traditions.

Even one’s intra-faith tradition can cause others to treat one with dislike or even disdain, thus making it hard to offer much-needed help.

Needs That Speak All Languages

Yet, the glaring needs of the poor, weak and afflicted around us speak all languages of true faith and true conscience.

A blazing humanitarian need – like homelessness or hunger in bitter cold weather – does not deeply care about the appellations, talking points or social affiliations of the person who meets it or chooses not to.

A blazing humanitarian need cries out for help from whoever can give it within the confines of extant law. And it cries with subdued expectations because – living in vibrant communities that have long rendered hermitic life irrelevant – help should never be far away.

Children of our neighbors should never stay awake at night because of hunger or untreated illness. Seniors should never worry about being alone and helpless. Able-bodied veterans should never go without good jobs that can make the best use of their skills. Teenage girls should never be dehumanized (and thus forced to contemplate dropping out of school or even suicide) because they made the big mistake of getting pregnant out of wedlock. And women trafficked for labor or sex should never remain in torturous bondage in our vicinity.

Help should come – and come fast.

Remember the much-sermonized parable of the Good Samaritan? Well … the Good Samaritan had strong cultural reasons to dislike the man who was in dire need. He had ample geopolitical justifications to ignore the man’s blazing need for medical care and go about his profitable business. Thankfully, he chose to do the right thing. He chose to become sacrificially generous to a man he could have conveniently disliked.

Good People Next Door

I am glad that there are many Good People around us today. I know that because each year, thousands volunteer their valuable skills and time at our various facilities, kindly serving people they could have easily disliked or ignored. I know that because thousands send us donations in money and materials to support our work of daily helping over 2200 men, women and children in our community who have fallen on hard times.

Sometimes, I wonder what would have become of our former clients who are now multiple award winning singers, admired law enforcement officers, and value-creating business owners if they hadn’t received the help they desperately needed.

Though probably disliked by some people (who felt unconcerned) in their time of homelessness, hunger and hurt, non-judgmental help still found its way to them.

Today, even those who may have disliked them are benefiting from the fruits of their transformation – enjoying their chart-busting songs, taking family members to savor their restaurant delicacies, listening and sharing their uplifting sermons, et al.

So, should you help only those you like?

Obviously, No!

You should help anyone in need however, wherever and whenever you can, and without expectation of any earthly reward.