As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we often take time to reflect on the things we are grateful for: our families, our homes, our jobs, and the people who make a difference in our lives. But what happens when someone has lost those things, or has gone so long without them that it is difficult to imagine having them again?

One of the most important things we can offer someone who is struggling with homelessness or addiction is hope. Hope that life can be different. Hope that the past does not have to determine the future. And hope that, with God’s help, there are still dreams worth pursuing.

Daniel’s story in this newsletter is a wonderful example. After years of incarceration and struggling with addiction, Daniel reached a point when he knew he needed to change. Through the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake, he began rebuilding his relationship with God and learning how to live differently. Today, he has a good job, is reconnecting with his daughter, has found a church community, and is preparing to move into transitional housing. He is making plans for the future and working toward having a home of his own.

These may sound like ordinary goals, but for someone who once believed his life would never change, they represent something extraordinary. They are reasons to keep working and be thankful for what God is doing.

At the Rescue Mission, we want to help people do more than get through another day. We want to help them recognize their God-given potential, establish meaningful goals, and take the steps necessary to build a better life. Through the New Life Program, Christ-centered guidance, employment opportunities, and a supportive community, people can begin to see a future beyond the misery and struggles of their past.

This Thanksgiving, I am especially grateful for friends like you who make this work possible. Your generosity helps provide the foundation people need to dream again and gives them the opportunity to build lives filled with faith, purpose, family, and hope.

Thank you for helping us restore lives in the name of Jesus Christ.

God bless you,

Chris D. Croswhite
Executive Director