What's the most important New Year's Resolution you will make? What about changing a life?
Stories that Inspire.
Victories to Celebrate.
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I Want To Help
Donate, volunteer, spread the word, involve your school or church. Find out all the different ways you can be a part of the solution.
I WANT TO SHOP
Every purchase made from a San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission Super Thrift Store helps improve the lives of those in your community.
Mission Impact
Every day as the sun rises and sets over the valley, the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission is changing lives for good.
17,807
Nights of Shelter
EMERGENCY SHELTER
Last year we provided more than 17,000 nights of safe, warm and comfortable sleep at our family shelter.
26,495
Meals Served Last Year
FEEDING THE HOMELESS
A warm meal nourishes the body, mind, and soul and can make all the difference in the world. We serve hot, nutritious meals on-site and around the valley.
2,688
Articles of Clothing
FRESH CLOTHING
In conjunction with our SOS mobile shower and our thrift program we are able to offer guests the option of selecting fresh clothing when they stop in for a shower.
5,180
Hot Showers
SOS SHOWER TRUCK
Sometimes something as simple as a hot shower can restore an individual’s dignity. The SOS shower truck reaches individuals throughout the valley.
You can help us change lives for good.
Your donation supports people in need and helps them lead healthy, self-sufficient lives.
Lives Changed For Good.
Cindy is getting stronger, becoming a better person at the mission
Cindy was born in Colombia, but came to the United States with her mom and stepdad when she was 9. Their relationship ended, though, and Cindy was raised by a single mother. “Everything changed,” she said. “After that, I wasn’t really focusing in school. At the time, I didn’t really think it was that important.…
Joe: ‘I’m here to change my life’
Joe remembers when he was 8 years old, and for a couple of years after, learning about becoming a deacon. “I was a Christian and I’d go with my uncle and study,” he said. “I planned on being a deacon in the church.” But when he was 12, his parents divorced. “Neither of them really…
Maria returns to the Mission more than 15 years after first seeking help
Maria and her four siblings had a nice childhood with supportive parents, an active church life, and a strong education in Mexico City. “We had a good and healthy relationship with our parents—we were very lucky,” Maria said. “We had a comfortable living—my dad had several businesses, and he taught us how to be hard…
[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.
[00:00] Elaine: I will stave myself make sure my child ate whatever. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I do what I had to do to survive, and make sure my child was living a normal life.
[00:24] Jordan was 7 years old when we started to live out of my truck. I would park up under a tree, it was dark and we will say our prayers and we will lay down.
[00:35] Jordan: We pretended like we weren't there. We had to sleep on the ground of the truck. And they used to look in the car, and they couldn't see us cuz we're too dark.
[00:52] Elaine: And I would get him dressed just like any normal parent. Make sure we had water, soap, and everything I did like I went back to converting to camping.
[01:00] Jordan: Well, the only thing I had was water but most of the time I'd pretend like the waters food.
[01:07] Elaine: My heart broke, I would cry and it's like man and I'm like, "Is this how it's supposed to be?". You have a lot of time to pray because that's all you can do is pray. I pray for home, shelter, food, just anything Lord. What is it that you want me to do?
[01:35] I feel when I stepped into my room to the mission, I felt excitement, I felt that it was a dream come true. It was two full-size bed and a closet. It was a blessing and I felt God you answered prayers. That's you know, wow.
[01:58] Jordan: It looked like a real room, and it was clean. I could go under the bed and explore. And it felt amazing.
[02:16] Elaine: And the first time we're going down there to go eat, you know, dinner; it's just like a dream come true, it's the best. I've been reading my Bible and they've been having devotion morning and night, it's been blissful.
[02:27] Jordan has really matured, and he lives like any other normal child. Just because we had a setback, it put our spirit and our love back in where we was missing it. It made this family.
[02:43] Jordan: It's like a dream that came true. My heart, my Mom's heart. Yeah, it's a dream come true.
[02:50] Elaine: It's the brightest thing that ever happened to me. It's a step up. All you need someone to believe in you. And once you find somebody believe in, you to shine. That's it, and me and Jordan is shining bright. Thank you!
WEEKLY WINS
We Love our Volunteers!
These two lovely ladies help us keep our pantry organized, clean, and sort endless donations! They are also spreading awareness through their friends, family, and church networks. These ladies are changing their community one pantry item at a time. Thank you!
