SHARE CHRISTMAS HOPE.

[00:06] Narrator: With 40 percent of california's homeless population living in southern california, brokenness meets us at every turn.

[00:14] Hopelessness is etched in the faces of those who are experiencing more pain than most of us will ever know.

[00:20] Fear, hunger, addiction, depression, abuse; the list goes on and on.

[00:28] David: Being homeless was a nightmare. I started drinking because it made all the bad comfortable.

[00:34] Nick: My life was just consistently waking up hungry, desiring drugs and alcohol.

[00:40] Elaine: I would starve myself make sure my child ate whatever: breakfast lunch and dinner.

[00:46] Mike: You're isolated so it's lonely, there's no nice warm home to go to at the end of the day.

[00:52] Narrator: and somewhere deep inside all this pain is the feeling that there must be something more.

[00:57] Mike: I'd come to a point where there's no reasons in my life anymore to do anything.

[01:03] Elaine: I was sleeping in my car and i'm like: is this how it's supposed to be?

[01:08] Nick: Two years go by homeless and still drinking, so i knew i needed a change.

[01:15] Narrator: Since 1972 rescue mission alliance has been a place where people in desperate situations like these have been able to discover something else, something different, something more.

[01:27] More than simply meeting immediate needs, we are committed to reducing homelessness, restoring lives and families and equipping those who come to us to become thriving contributing members of society.

[01:40] Every day hurting people come in for shelter and a meal, but what they find is so much more.

[01:48] At rescue mission alliance we provide a place of refuge, recovery, and restoration for men, women, and children who struggle with homelessness, addiction, and trauma.

[01:58] This happens every day at our four missions scattered at strategic points throughout Southern California.

[02:04] In Oxnard, Northridge, Santa Maria, and Victorville; plus at the valley food bank in Pacoima.

[02:11] Each mission provides a variety of services that help meet the specific needs of those within their own communities.

[02:17] These services include refuge at an overnight shelter, hot meals, food boxes, and a food bank for those experiencing food insecurity.

[02:27] It's here that over four and a half million pounds of food is distributed to thousands of needy families each year, plus we can provide mobile showers for those who live on the streets with nowhere to turn for their basic hygiene needs.

[02:42] Our missions can also offer recovery programs for men and women who've experienced addictions, abuse, or trauma. Counseling services, bible studies, and opportunities for stable housing are also available, plus restoration can come through ged programs as well as through vocational and job skill training.

[03:01] Both in the classroom and at one of our six thrift stores, in fact it's here in our thrift stores that mission residents are given a chance to develop valuable work skills in everything from inventory control to effective management. Plus each store offers residents in its community a low-cost alternative to expensive clothing and household goods, as well as volunteer and employment opportunities.

[03:25] All while generating significant income for each mission to continue its much needed ministry. And in addition to all of this thousands of people are served each year at one of our community outreach events at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.

[03:40] Our hope is that those we serve will embrace the abundant life in christ as we train, equip, coach, and provide whatever is needed to give them more than they could have possibly imagined when they first walk through our doors.

[03:53] None of this happens without the support of our community. This includes church and business partnerships, but most of our support comes from individuals who give and volunteer their time and who've chosen to make a difference in the lives of those who can't provide for themselves.

[04:09] With your help, those in our community with so much need, can experience so much more of the abundant life.

[04:16] Christ has for them more joy, more purpose, more love, more thankful, more life, more hope.