Hi, my name is Jolene. After serving a 15-year sentence, I re-entered society feeling lost and weighed down by old and new challenges. With only $200 dollars in my pocket upon release, I leaned on God and found the Mission. At the Mission, I found fellow brothers and sisters with similar backgrounds and experiences which really made an impact on me and created enthusiasm in me that I never felt before. It was a lot of support to success from people who already overcame or who were overcoming the same challenges - and I thought, "If God can do that with them, then maybe He could do that with me too."

Now I'm a house manager for one of the Mission's Bridging Houses, helping women gain the same direction and foundation that I and so many others here at the Mission have found in God. I also work at the Navigation Center, which works in partnership with Merced County. I meet people in a very delicate state, and I can relate to that. I feel responsible for encouraging them and being a friendly and understanding person they can turn to. Only Jesus and His work through my past experiences could have prepared me for this role; the Mission helped fine-tune me, and now I'm here to serve and help the same way others have done for me.

Some participants will say, "You don't understand" or "You don't know what I've been through". After getting to know me, they find someone who can relate, who can sit with them as an ally and model the thought process out of their dilemma. This is important, impactful, and deeply rewarding.