Over the last several weeks Montana Rescue Mission has been able to restart their Outreach services to invite people living on the streets and in their cars to stay at shelter. However, what makes this a beautiful experience is seeing not just our hardworking staff reach out, but our homeless shelter guests volunteer to come with us to look for people who need help and invite them to come in.
This effort has had a tremendous success and in just 24 hours we were able to bring in 30 new guests to utilize our services. Those people would otherwise be sleeping on sidewalks, parks, and cars.
In our individualistic society, it is a heartwarming to see people come together in a collective manner to help others who are in need as well. Setting your own needs aside and worrying about people who are in trouble speaks volumes about your character.
We have been seeing this throughout our programs. Our guests are leading groups, encouraging each other, and supporting each other in their journey. There is such a strong sense of community and care, there is nothing that can stop our guests from succeeding.
Recently Montana Rescue Mission expanded services to allow those who may be under the influence to come to the shelter during the hours that day centers are closed. The new hours are 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. for the Emergency Shelter (previously 10 p.m. – 6 a.m.) with meals and showers available to any guest. The program for those who are clean and sober remains open 24/7.
Those who come in to utilize our services can find a safe place to stay, shower and eat. People need to have their basic needs met before they can start working on getting back on the right track. This gives us time to build a relationship with them and better understand how we can help them move forward.
It is a blessing to know that new people entering our services are not just supported by staff, but by our very own guests. They support each other in their daily struggles, recovery, family reunification, and grieving. People can do great thing when they come together, and we experience it every day at Montana Rescue Mission.
I am just so proud to be a part of Montana Rescue Mission and experience how God works through others.
For more information on Montana Rescue Mission, please visit https://montanarescuemission.org
Oksana Zakharchenko
Program Director
Montana Rescue Mission
