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September 2010MissionNewsMen’s Shelter | Men’s Recovery Program | Women’s Recovery Program - Anna Ogden HallCrisis Shelter for Women and Children | Youth Outreach | Thrift Stores | UGM Motors

Children are resilient. But also vulnerable. By design, they are meant to be cared for, nurtured, protected. Sometimes, however,

the plan goes desperately wrong. The adults in their lives lose their way and become incapable of caring for themselves, let alone anyone else. In such crises, children often learn coping mechanisms that increase their chances of survival in the short term but have the potential to damage their spirits over the long haul. The ministries of the Union Gospel Mission are committed to meeting the needs of children in crisis and restoring the long-term, caring relationships that allow them to focus not on survival but on the very important business of growing up.

“My children were given a new mommy…a

mommy that was learning and growing and

finding out what real love was all about.”

– Naomi

HEART TO HEART | page 2

A Homeless Child’s Greatest NeedI’d like for you to take a moment to consider the following statement from the National Center on Family Homelessness and ask yourself what’s missing: “Children who are homeless need the same things other children need to grow up healthy and happy: a safe and stable home; access to quality schools; affordable and reliable health care; healthy meals every day; opportunities to play in safe neighborhoods; strong attachments with caregivers.” What about parents? While they may be implied in the phrases “a safe and stable home” or “strong attachments with caregivers,” they are never directly mentioned. And yet, what is the single greatest need in a child’s life? What is more essential than education, play places, healthcare, quality daycare or even food and shelter? A parent who is

Phil Altmeyer, executive director, spending time at the Anna Ogden Hall nursery.

present, loving and involved in his or her life. Parents are essential. They cannot be replaced by organizations or institutions – no matter how quality the latter may be. That’s why at the Union Gospel Mission, we believe that the very best thing we can do for children is to give them back their parents. So, while we seek to meet their immediate needs for safety and stability, healthy meals, homework help, access to our medical clinics, safe places to play, we are thinking first and foremost of their long-term welfare. When they leave our shelters, we want them to be in the care of a mom or dad who is addiction-free, healthy and whole, capable of protecting them and giving them the care they need. We offer parenting classes, along with job training, counseling and life skills training, so that when our residents return to society as contributing members, they are also equipped to be good moms and dads. Children who grow up with unhealthy parents often become unhealthy parents themselves, and the cycle continues. God created the family as the original safe and healing environment -- a place to learn what it means to be a man or a woman, a place to make mistakes within clear boundaries, a place to belong where mercy and forgiveness abound. Our recovery programs seek to re-create such grace-based environments in order to help men and women heal and stop the negative cycles of addiction, abuse and homelessness. In closing, I’d like you to consider another statement, this one from a 9-year-old girl who was staying in our Crisis Shelter for Women and Children. She had recently been reunited with her mom: “My birthday was coming up, and my dad was going to get my mom out of jail for my birthday, and that was going to be my big birthday present, but I said, no, that I wanted her to stay there so she could get clean.” Even children recognize the value of healthy parents. Friends, when you give to the ministries of the Union Gospel Mission, you are not only helping to provide food, shelter, clothing and other basic necessities to children in crisis, you are helping to give them the greatest gift possible – whole, healthy parents. Thank you for partnering with us. ●

THE HARD FACTS• Over 24,000 Washington children experience homelessness each year.• 242,000 children live in poverty in Washington.• Washington ranks 39th in the country for its number of homeless children.• An estimated 20 % of homeless children do not attend school nationally.• Those who do attend are suspended twice as often and are more likely to repeat a grade.• Only one in four homeless children graduates from high school.• Homeless children are in bad health twice as often as other children and are four times more likely to have asthma.• Homeless children are twice as likely to go hungry as other children.

Statistics from the National Center on Family Homelessness

FOR THE CHILDREN’S SAKE | page 3

Naomi came to the Women’s Recovery Program at Anna Ogden Hall from the psychiatric unit of a hospital. Dealing with an abusive childhood, an abusive marriage and a long history of drug and alcohol addiction, she had become suicidal. Looking back, her love for her girls – Kierra and Malia, now 5 and 4 years old – was never in question. In fact, their very existence may have saved her life, but “I had turned off my feelings, my heart. I was checked out. I had sunk so far into depression I couldn’t hardly eat or even barely move at times. My sweet girls would pull at me and say ‘Mommy, eat.’ But I couldn’t.” When she first arrived at Anna Ogden Hall, Naomi often hid in her closet. Even when she emerged, she would stay hidden within her hooded sweatshirt. The desire to run away was constant. “I had no trust for anyone.” Due to her instability, Naomi was separated from her daughters during her first five months in the Women’s Recovery Program. While she missed them terribly, she also needed the time to heal. When Naomi was ready, her girls came to live at Anna Ogden Hall with her. As children’s coordinator Rachel Patton explained, reunions – while wonderful – can also be difficult. “When mom’s ready to be the mom again, there’s a transitional time. She’s strong enough. She’s ready. She wants to take care of her kid. She wants to be the mom. But that is a really long road, and it’s hard both for mom to figure out how to do it and for the child. They’re really struggling with the question, Is mom really going to be there for me? So they’re angry, and they’re so little they don’t know how to say, ‘I’m mad at you for leaving,’ but they express it in so many ways.” Naomi concurred: “When my girls first came, they were out of control! They would throw horrendous fits and test their boundaries every chance they could.”

Rachel stressed again and again that trust is re-established over time. Moms often feel guilty about having let their children down. Hence, their tendency is to move in what seems like the opposite direction and give their children everything they want. What Rachel and the staff of the Women’s Recovery Program

try to model, however, is a Christ-like authority – humility, kindness and compassion – and clear, consistent boundaries. In this way, a safe, secure environment is created where kids are free to be kids. Naomi and her girls, who have been gone from Ogden for over a year, look back on their time there with great fondness

and gratitude. “Before coming to Anna Ogden Hall, we were all trapped in darkness. Each day there brought more and more light into our lives as we learned more about Jesus and experienced

unconditional love. We felt so safe and protected, probably for the first time in all of our lives. Which gave us room to grow. We learned boundaries side-by-side…But I think the biggest difference made for my children was they were given a new mommy. Not a perfect mommy, but a mommy that was learning and growing and finding out what real love was all about.” ●

...continued from cover page

Another relationship is being rebuilt at Anna Ogden Hall between

resident Ruby and her son, Hunter. Read their story on

www.ugmspokane.org

“Each day at Anna Ogden Hall brought

more and more light into our lives as we

learned more about Jesus and experienced

unconditional love.”

KIDS AT-RISK | page 4

NEw CAbINS AT TSHIMAKAIN CREEK:

Roy Croswhite, one of the long-term volunteers with the Mission’s juvenile detention ministry, is passionate about reaching kids before they get in serious trouble. “Prevention is better than detention,” he likes to say. Toward that end, Roy headed up an aggressive fundraising campaign to finance the construction of new cabins at Tshimakain Creek, and the response was incredible. The Dealers Auto Auction, local car dealers and area churches came together to raise over $43,000, enough to construct two new cabins, and those two cabins will allow 216 more kids to experience a week at camp each summer. ●

“ I keep motivated

because we are planting seeds in

hearts, and if we don’t, who will ?”– Danny

JuvENILE DETENTION MINISTRy:

This scene from a recent Wednesday night at Spokane County’s Juvenile Hall might surprise you . . .

Dressed in varying shades of surgical-like scrubs and rubber flip-flops, 23 of the 31 youth currently under confinement were gathered in the detention library for worship and Bible study with volunteers from the Union Gospel Mission. The girls sat up front, the boys in back. They held worship books in their laps, requested favorite songs and sang with apparent sincerity: “Holiness. Holiness is what I long for.” Afterward, they divided into small groups to read the Bible, talk about changing their lives, and share prayer requests with this faithful group of adults who keeps coming back week after week. Benny King, the guitarist who led the group in worship, was in juvenile detention himself back in 1977. Now, he’s a business owner committed to helping kids turn their lives around. Jill Wyrick, who played the djembe drum, is a second-generation volunteer. Her mom, June, has been

coming on Wednesday nights for 28 years. In fact, many of the volunteers in the juvenile detention ministry are among the Mission’s longest serving: Danny Beard, 28 years; Jerry McGlade, 26 years; Sherri Hopkins, 24 years; Roy Croswhite, 24 years; Benny King, 20 years; and Don Smith, 18 years. Danny Beard, who leads the group, explained the motivation behind his long-term commitment: “Jesus has called me to be faithful. We come every week and talk to the kids about what it means to know Christ and live the way He wants. Someone plants, someone waters, but God causes the growth. I keep motivated because we are planting seeds in hearts, and if we don’t, who will?”

PRAYER REqUESTS FROM JUvENILE HALL:

• Pray with me that God takes charge of my life and that I stay on track. • I would like prayer that I stay clean, that my child is born healthy, and for my family and friends. • Pray for me as there is no one to pray for me and my brother. ●

The Union Gospel Mission’s Youth Outreach Program seeks to meet the needs of at-risk children in our community in a variety of ways: Tshimakain Creek Summer Camp, which is provided free-of-charge to children from low-income neighborhoods, year-round partnerships with local youth groups, and a weekly ministry at juvenile detention.

uGM uPDATES | page 5

MINISTRy NEEDSSeptember 2010

Donations can be dropped off at the Mission (1224 E Trent Ave. Spokane)

daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sept. 8 • Meal Server Orientation, 10 a.m. at Union Gospel MissionSept. 14 • Volunteer Orientation, 6 p.m. at Union Gospel MissionSept. 15 • Meal Server Orientation, 5:30 p.m. at Union Gospel MissionSept. 20 • women’s Auxiliary, 1-2:30 p.m. at union Gospel MissionSept. 28 • Volunteer Orientation, 6 p.m. at Anna Ogden HallOct. 1 • Fall food drive beginsNov. 24 • Thanksgiving Eve Event at the Spokane Convention Center

Please call 535-8510 to register for the volunteer or meal orientations.

upcomingEvents

cooking oil pepper sugar sliced cheese lunch meat bacon salad dressing coffee

ankle socksunderwear (men’s, women’s and children’s)women’s pajamasbras

toilet papernapkins styrofoam cups diapers & pull-upsshampoo and conditionerliquid soaptamponsdeodorantlaundry detergent and softenerDVD players

backpackscomposition notebookslarge bindersdividers for binders3-subject notebooks3x5 index cards glue stickscolored pencilscolored markerstissue boxeshand sanitizergraph papergift cards to Walmart, Shopko, or Target to purchase jeans and shoes for PE

Clothing:

Food Items:

Miscellaneous:

back-to-School Needs:

“I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat.”As part of the Union Gospel Mission’s desire that every poor person in our community have a place at God’s abundant table, we are moving our Thanksgiving Eve Event to the Spokane Convention Center where the larger capacity will enable us to feed struggling families as well as the city’s homeless.

If you’d like to be a part of this exciting event, watch for details and early sign-up information on our website: www.ugmspokane.org.

MEMORIALS & HONORARIuMS | page 6

In Memory/Honor of: The Kind gift of:

Dale R barbour: Jean BarbourKen batton: Georgie Battonbyron benjamin: Edythe BenjaminTroy bennett: William BennettStuart & Marion benshoof: Carol Haskell-ByronPaul bippes: Eva May HendricksonTom blossom: Robert & Lois StraderDarlene bouck: Delbert & Barbara WilliamsIrene brinson: James FilzenAlmon brown: Heidi A PenfieldRuth bylund: Barbara FlowerRobert Caldwell: Jeanette CaldwellClarence Chafin: Dolly ChafinClint and betty Corliss: Anne MorrisDarin Crockett: Garold & Kitty ShipleyTony Culp: Terry & Carole CulpJoyce Daugherty: Richard & vicki JeffriesRay Davis: Juanita EdgerlyJoshua Dumaw: Betty A JohnstonElizabeth Earle: John & Barbara MontgomeryFlorence Eddy: Stephen & Barbara Eddy SmithKeith Ehlenfeldt: William EhlenfeldtMildred Ellis: Wayne & Evelyn RussellIrene Eneroth: Donald & Carlene EnerothNorma English: Mark & Sharon JohnsonOrville Estes: Judith Estes, Marion A Liebmanwillard G Evans: Gordon PetersonRichard Evans, Sr: Spokane Shadle Lions ClubKatherine Fendler: Corrine Becker, Walter Beyer, George & Karen Kersul, Mike Schumacher

GiVEn TO UniOn GOSPEl MiSSiOn MiniSTriES JUly 10 TO AUGUST 6, 2010

betty Fullmer: Thomas & Phyllis HoodGlenn Galbraith: Richard & Sharon MeyersLynn Gould: Paul J Greifbill Graedel: Dolores GraedelR. J. “Speedy” Gunsaulis: Clarence & Barbara Bennettbob Haraldson: vernon & Carol Scott, Thomas & Iris Wetherholt, Elwood & Dinah Widmerblaine Harbaugh: Kristin MegyElsie Holmes: Wayne & Evelyn RussellCory Hubbard: Anonymousbuzz Irvin: Evelyn M IrvinMarilynn Jensen: Gordon PetersonHarold Johnson: Ethel JohnsonAlbert & Anne Kiefer: Patricia A SeverudDoug Klages: Richard Bockemuehl, Sandra Ellersick, Douglas & Nancy Furlott, Milaine McGoldrick, Gary PetersLawrence Knopp: Lawry KnoppAlfred Larson: Larry & Kristin LargentAl Licht: Shirley CollingNevin Magnus: Pamela GailE. G. “Sonny” Marks: Nathan & Joanne MarksPatricia Matsch: Doris MatschJohn McCauley: Juanita McCauleybob McHoes: Laura McHoes, Delbert & Barbara Williamsbob McNeilly: Janice McNeillySylvia Meuler: Spokane Shadle Lions ClubNorman Mills: Everette & Jean Greeley, Derald & Donna Hampton, Phyllis Hicks, Robert & Ruth Marikle, Helen Mills, Robert & Jane Papst, Richard & Dorothy Pierce, Elwood & Dinah WidmerMyrene Mindermann: Willow Alexander, Geraldine Walsh

Daniel Mitchell: Shirley A MitchellSteven Morris: Anne MorrisRussell Oleson: Mark & Patti WeishaarArleen Ostness: Rod & Susan OlsonMarjorie Permenter: Richard & vicki JeffriesJim & Jane Potesky: John & Joann Simmonswilliam Quayle: Betty quayleEd Robbins: Ethel JohnsonFrank Rotondo: Elaine BottsMarjorie Ryan: Karin Baldwin, Kathleen Carstens, Bill & Joanie Flynn, Carol Kamm, Arnold & Mina Mittelstaedt, Glenn & Ruth WollweberMary Sawchyn: Janet ScarcelloClarence Sheldon: June SheldonElwin Shook: Alvin SchwartzRobin Schneider’s Sister: Robin SchneiderDarrell Smith: Dorothy SmithCathy Stohs: Carol McGurkPatricia Stone: Carolyn StoneDorothy Stromberger: Byron & Sandra FitchJohn & Irene van Klaveren: Karen van KlaverenMae vanek: Sandy RamseyNorm vehrs: Bonita CheyneRobert walsh: Geraldine WalshDoris weishaar: Mark & Patti WeishaarSonny westbrook: Leila StewartNick wilcox: Fred & Edna Wilcoxwilliam wilkins: Sharon WilkinsDebra williams: Delbert & Barbara WilliamsJerome williams: Regina HamacherKatherine wilson: Beverly CorneliusFranklin woods: Mary Woodsbarbara yates: Beverly J Johnson

1224 E Trent Ave. Spokane, WA 99202 | PO Box 4066 Spokane, WA 99220 | 509-535-8510 info@ugmspokane.org | www.ugmspokane.org