The Rescue Mission is a leader and effective program to provide the basic needs of the large portion of Merced’s homeless. It strikes a balance between helping others and teaching them to help themselves. The Rescue Mission is a major contributor to relieving homelessness.
Housing the homeless is an issue of values. There are households where both parents work hard at minimum wage jobs to support their children, pay rent, utilities, car expenses who feel it unfair that homeless persons who do not work and/or abuse substances are provided decent dwellings at no cost. There are those who see a homeless person sleeping on a street in the cold or extreme heat in filthy clothes, malnourished, sick, and/or mentally ill who feel it is wrong that in one of the richest countries with a strong Christian heritage, that such neglect of our fellow human beings continues. I understand both viewpoints.
The Rescue Mission programs recognize that homeless people need things many of us take for granted. They need shelter from the weather, a shelter safe from attack/robbery, a place to securely store their possessions, a home for their pets, the stability of an address to receive mail, water with facilities to maintain personal hygiene, and training/counseling to help transition to independent living which some will achieve. The Rescue Mission is a leader and major provider of programs that fulfill these needs in a way that meets the needs of people in a Christian way without rousing the resentment of those who work hard to care for their families. Housing the homeless in leased homes, the future navigation center, the future respite care for the ill, and the future Village of Hope apartments for Veterans and families with young children are all such programs that serve our fellow human beings in time of need.
I have advocated for facilities for the homeless through the city championing the attempt to convert the California Motel into 40 studio apartments denied by the council, and by supporting the city’s efforts to develop very low-cost housing at K and 13th St., plus the large apartment project with 30 very low-cost units at B St. and Childs Ave., which has taken over four years but is underway now. The Rescue Mission is a highly valuable advocate for the homeless without which government programs would be much less effective.
