Providing Hope To The Hopeless, Abused, and Disadvantaged Of Our Community.
(CBS DETROIT) — The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries surprised one family Monday afternoon.
It was a total surprise for Champrell Anderson as the mother of six was gifted a fully refurbished home in Detroit.
“I didn’t know any of this was happening to me,” Anderson said. “It’s important for me and my kids because now we can have a place to call our own.”
Anderson had been living in hotels with her children since October. But once her eldest daughter’s school principal found out the 17-year-old was living in a hotel and commuting to class every day to Detroit’s east side, he reached out to the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries.
“We heard the story of a displaced woman with six children, and we could not resist by trying to help her quickly,” said Chad Audi, the president and CEO of Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries.
Audi helped gift the same family a Cadillac earlier in the week for transportation. He says it’s because giving is the ultimate blessing.
“Actually makes you feel way better than receiving anything, and today to make a difference in this working family who is trying hard, but the odds went against her. So today, I can’t describe in words how happy I am,” he said.
When Anderson walked into her new home, it was filled with police, local dignitaries, members of the Detroit school district, and contributors to the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries. All of them were there to congratulate her.
“I’m overwhelmed with two emotions — joy and happiness — right now,” said City Councilman at Large Coleman A. Young II.
Anderson will spend her first night in her new home Monday evening with her kids. She has one message for anyone else who may be struggling right now: “Blessings come when you don’t think they’re going to come.”
DETROIT (WXYZ) — There are few things that say “Merry Christmas” quite like a new car. Especially when it feels like life has been driving you as opposed to you driving it.
Chanprell Anderson, a single mother of six kids in Detroit, received an SUV from Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, Detroit Police Commissioner Darryl Woods, Say Detroit, and Bishop Charles Ellis of Greater Grace Temple at Pershing High School on Monday.
DETROIT (FOX 2) – As temperatures tumble this winter season, Detroit warming centers are struggling at times to keep up.
FOX 2 takes a closer look at what the city is doing to provide more resources to people who need help.
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Lena Easley’s 2015 Black Ford Focus is not your average car. The vehicle also is a symbol of Easley’s dedication to the important year-round work performed by Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries.
Scott Talley
There was a period of time when Dailena “Lena” Easley was perhaps the most qualified person in Detroit to critique the city’s public bus service.
As Easley tells it, for close to two years, she routinely caught four buses to work in the morning and repeated the process during late afternoons and into the evening. The later trek also included some walking: Picking up her daughter from school along the way back home.
And much of the time Easley spent waiting for buses was done in the darkness.
However, the proud product of Goodale Elementary, Dorothy Fisher Middle School and Denby High School — where Easley graduated as vice president of the Class of 1995 — says her long and intricate bus journeys were more than worth it, because her work destination just happens to be a source of light to many.
That special destination where Easley goes to work — while also performing work for her community — is the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, a multifaceted nonprofit organization that has served Detroit’s “homeless and addicted communities” since 1909, while being one of the largest housing and treatment providers in metro Detroit.
“The mission has been a real important part of my life,” said Easley, who puts her “passion” for accounting and business practices to use each workday as she purchases essential supplies for 11 locations in five counties operated by DRMM that provides housing, food, treatment and other services to men, women, children and veterans. “Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries is more than just a helping hand and it’s here not just for homelessness. It’s also here for people who need recovery and it’s here for people who need a hand up and a fresh start.”
When Easley speaks with conviction about DRMM, she speaks as a native Detroiter who grew up on the city’s east side, and as a mother who has experienced some of the same daunting life challenges that have been a part of the many lives that DRMM serves each day. As Easley revealed on the afternoon of Nov. 26, she knows firsthand what it means to be homeless. Her life journey has brought Easley face to face with domestic violence as well. Easley also continues to mourn the loss of her oldest son Forest Rochon Jr. — a promising scholar-athlete, and a natural positive leader of his peers — who was the victim of gun violence in 2017.
But Easley, an orchestra member and student of modern dance while growing up, found a soothing, healing melody of sorts from DRMM even before she started working for the nonprofit — in the form of meals she received at one of DRMM’s Detroit locations during a time of need. And now that Easley is an essential part of the giving that DRMM performs, working out of an office at 150 Stimson St., she says her admiration for the organization continues to grow.
“I feel a tremendous sense of well-being every time I come to work,” Easley, who also is the proud mother of Duane Evans Jr., Daniel Davis and Lauryn Easley, said. “It’s just a great feeling and I never have to worry about going home and feeling stress. I’m surrounded by angels — everybody here is an angel.”
On Oct. 10, a room full of “angels” and other community members was brought to tears when DRMM surprised Easley with a car — a 2015 Black Ford Focus — during the nonprofit’s 115th anniversary and graduation celebration at the DRMM Banquet Center, 3606 East Forest Drive.
Easley says she still cries “every day” when she thinks about the kind, generous gesture bestowed upon her. And in the process, Easley thinks about her father, too, the late Dwight Miner, who gave her some important advice that led to her joining DRMM in 2023 when Easley also was catching four buses regularly to visit him at Henry Ford Hospital near New Center.
“My dad had been a postal clerk and he was ill with cancer and dementia. He knew I was catching all of those buses to see him and he wanted me to do something for myself, so he said: ‘Why don’t you just get a job,’ ” recalls Easley, whose childhood included being a child missionary at several Detroit churches. “So, it was like God put everything in the same structure and the same order for me to be a part of Detroit Rescue Mission Missionaries, and I followed that path.”
As the warmth of Thanksgiving fills the air, our hearts overflow with gratitude at Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM). Today, we celebrate not just a meal, but the blessings of community, generosity, and hope—a reminder that together, we can create miracles.
To our incredible donors and supporters, words can hardly express our profound appreciation. Because of your boundless compassion and unwavering commitment, countless lives are being transformed. You are the light in dark moments, the hope in despair, and the reason so many of our residents can look toward the future with joy and confidence. Your generosity turns despair into smiles, hunger into feasts, and hopelessness into a pathway toward new beginnings. Thank you for believing in the work we do and for being the backbone of our mission.
To our team at DRMM, you are the heart of this ministry. Day after day, your dedication, love, and resilience shine brighter than words can describe. You not only serve meals but also serve hope; you not only provide shelter but create a sense of home. This Thanksgiving, we celebrate you—the unsung heroes who uplift, encourage, and empower.
To our residents, today is about more than just sharing a meal. It’s about sharing stories, laughter, and dreams. As we sit together, we are reminded that Thanksgiving is not just a day on the calendar but a spirit of gratitude and togetherness that fuels us all. Know that you are loved, valued, and capable of achieving greatness. Your courage and perseverance inspire us all.
As the aroma of turkey and pie fills our dining halls and the sound of laughter echoes through our spaces, let us remember this: the true meaning of Thanksgiving is found in unity, kindness, and gratitude. Together, we are stronger. Together, we are unstoppable.
From all of us at DRMM, we wish you and your loved ones a Thanksgiving filled with love, joy, and countless blessings. Thank you for being part of our family and for making a difference in the lives of those who need it most.
With hearts full of gratitude and hope,
Chad Audi
President and CEO Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries
DRMM is a 115-year-old organization that gives much-needed hope and help to the homeless, jobless, drug-addicted, and afflicted of southeast Michigan. For more information, please visit https://drmm.org or call 313-993-4700.