In October, MCRM will be adding two new houses for our Bridge to Hope program, one in Livingston and one more in Los Banos.
This program meets people where they are. For more information about our programs, click here!
MCRM Welcomes Lindsay Robinson
Hello! My name is Lindsay Robinson and I am so excited to be a part of the Merced Rescue Mission. I grew up in Mariposa and trickled down the hill about 18 years ago. My husband, Blevin, and I have been married for 13 years and have three wonderful children. Daniel and Danika are seniors at El Capitan High School and our youngest, Haylenn, is in 4th grade at St. Paul Lutheran School. Our family has been active members of Gateway Community Church for the past 14 years, where Blevin plays guitar on the worship team, Daniel is a cameraman for the live stream, Danika works in the children’s ministry department and I volunteer with the tech team each week.
My accounting experience began 8 years ago when I worked as a bookkeeper at Gateway EduCare. I was hired in December 2012 as the bookkeeper for Providence Christian school which merged with Stone Ridge Christian in 2015. After the merge, I became the Business Manager, a position I held until 2018 when I stepped down to have more time to focus on my children and further my education. I am now ready to head back into the workforce and assist Bettie with all the accounting and business aspects of the Merced Rescue Mission.
-Lindsay Robinson
Through the Eyes of Grace
My name is Don Borgwardt, and I am the most recent addition to the Merced County Rescue Mission (MCRM) staff. I was hired as a Peer Navigator for the Hope for Men program.
Prior to my start with MCRM I had served in managing multiple housing authorities in the Central Valley, until retiring in 2015 as Executive Director of Madera Housing Authority. Shortly after that in 2016, the Lord called me to serve in ministry with Yosemite Church in establishing a new satellite campus for the church in Atwater.
I had served in various capacities with YC over the years, but this was to be a very different experience. I served as the Campus Pastor there for four years until COVID closed the churches. This was a great time for reflection and prayer as I began to seek what the Lord had planned for me in this season. My desire was to be in the community ministering to those in need, but I was also conflicted with serving my church body in Atwater. Then, the Lord spoke clearly and told me I was going to MCRM. I reached out to the Mission and found that they did have a position available and so I applied. Apparently, God had spoken to the Mission too because I am here.
I knew a little about what the Mission did but was soon overwhelmed by what I would experience. If anyone were to question if God still performs miracles, I will have to tell them to look at the Hope for Men and Hope for Women program.
Daily, I see His transformation in the lives of people coming from prison, out of the judicial system, homelessness, and lives of addiction. I have seen people who have served time for issues related to addiction, now clean, worshiping the Lord, and starting jobs. People who are homeless have come into Hope for Men and found a real relationship with Jesus. They are now taking care of past criminal offenses caused by a lifestyle of drugs and alcohol and reunifying with family. Day after day, God’s mercy, love, and grace works through the lives of the approximately, 23 men currently in Hope for Men.
I am impressed by the men who get jobs as they work on bikes that were donated to the program to use to get back and forth from work. I do not know a lot of people that would be grateful for a bike to ride so they could work.
Jesus worked in the streets and towns healing the sick, the broken, and the needy. Today, he still works on the streets through the love, passion, and faith of those that work at MCRM. Any of my coworkers and myself are products of recovery. God uses us to help restore lives, heal the broken, and prove that God’s grace is alive and living here in Merced County.
I am honored and blessed to be called to serve on the front lines of ministry bringing Christ to a population in need.
- Don Borgwardt
Learn more about the Mission’s programs, click here.
Introducing the new Housing Navigator for the Navigation Center
We would like to introduce Erin Thomas as the new Housing Navigator for the Navigation Center.
Erin writes, “I grew up in Coarsegold, California. I went to school there and started my family there. I held positions working for a collection agency as a bookkeeper, an office manager for an optometrist, and an assistant office manager to a busy veterinarian hospital. Although I enjoyed all those jobs, the job as Housing Navigator is the one I am most excited about. It is an opportunity to really make a positive difference in people’s lives.
At a young age, I began to struggle with a drug addiction, and it continued as I became an adult. I was able to maintain my family, home, and work-life, but in 2017 I lost my husband, and I went on a downhill spiral. The loss and grief were too much, and I relapsed after several years of staying clean. It took no time at all for me to lose everything I had worked so hard for, including my family.
My life was horrible, but like so many people with a substance abuse problem, I had to hit my rock bottom. I eventually found my way to a Rehabilitation Center. Upon my release, I was able to get into one of the Rescue Mission’s sober living homes for women, and my life has become manageable again.
Thanks to God and the Rescue Mission, my life has also been full of blessings. I am clean and sober; I have my family back; I have my own home again. I have this awesome opportunity to give back to the community through my new position as the Housing Navigator.
I look forward to working with community members and agencies to end the homeless epidemic in our area. I am excited about making a difference. I am excited about helping others find their forever homes.”
With sincere gratitude,
Erin Thomas
Introducing the Director of the Navigation Center
We would like to introduce Jennifer Carr as the new Director of the Navigation Center.
Jennifer writes, “As a child, I grew up in a drug environment together with my brother and sister. As I grew older, I became a product of this environment and I struggled with drug abuse and homelessness. During that time, I was in and out of many drug programs. At one point I was able to remain clean for about seven years and worked my way up from a crew member at McDonald’s to a Store Manager. I completed the following training in management skills: Basic Shift Management (BSM), Advanced Shift Management (ASM), and Effective Leadership Practices (EMP). McDonald’s also sent me to Chicago to attend Hamburger University. My life at this point was quite successful, but I felt like something was missing. My life fell apart and I lost my relationship with my husband, I lost my kids, my home, my job, and my freedom.
I was sitting in jail alone, broken, and pregnant, looking at prison and having to give up my baby. I had truly hit an all-time low. Little did I know that God was starting a new journey in my life. I ended up getting out of jail pending my next court appearance, and I went into the women’s program at the Rescue Mission.
It was not until I came to the Merced County Rescue Mission that I realized what I was missing in my life. I had no relationship with God. At the Mission, I began to build a real relationship with God. I was able to raise my baby, rebuild the relationship with all my children, and my marriage was restored – all through the power of Jesus Christ. I am now remarried to my husband, a wonderful man, and I have four amazing children.
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve others through the Navigation Center.”
- Jennifer Carr
New Campus Update
A groundbreaking ceremony for Phase 1 of the Village of Hope campus was held on August 11th. Through his words, Mark Mayo, board chairperson, painted a beautiful picture of the vision we share of a place where people’s lives will be transformed through the power of Jesus Christ. People without homes who are discharged from the hospital will find an inviting environment where they can recover and make plans for a place of their own. Families with young children who have been displaced will find refuge and a safe place from which they can make plans for their future. Veterans who are homeless will also have a place that will give them stability as they work towards independence. The Village of Hope will be a wonderful community where love, peace, and hope will be evident. The light of Christ will shine and illuminate the lives of people who come to this campus. Phase 1 is expected to be complete by November of 2021.
Phase 2 of the Village of Hope campus will provide space for the Rescue Mission’s faith-based ministry. In Phase 2 our Hope for Men and Women’s programs will have space to expand and meet the
needs of men and women who are seeking life-change. There will also be a facility for pregnant women who are homeless, as well as a chapel, classrooms, and office space. Phase 2 of the Village of Hope campus is dependent upon raising funds from generous donors like you. The Mission is grateful for the many ways that you provide support, especially through prayer. In the coming 2 years, the Mission will need to raise 6 to 7 million dollars to fund the next phase of the Village of Hope.
Click here to learn more about our programs.
Donate to the Mission’s Building Hope Campaign
HOPE IMPACT with Matthew Serratto
The Rescue Mission is an incredibly important Merced institution. It is on the front lines of the often lonely struggle against some of our state’s most difficult problems, especially homelessness and drug addiction. When people in our community want someone to stand up and do something about these issues, most frequently it is the Rescue Mission that does it. In response to the needs of our community, the Rescue Mission is responding, using creative ways to rapidly expand their capacity. We are only as good as our people, and the Rescue Mission helps make better Mercedians every day.
As a District Attorney, I have worked closely with the Rescue Mission for many years. As DAs, we don’t get a lot of happy news, but there is nothing more gratifying than taking a chance on someone, giving them a chance at rehabilitation, and seeing them transform themselves and their lives. I have seen the Rescue Mission do this many, many times – it is a beautiful sight to behold, seeing a drug addict who cares only of themselves and does damage to society grow into a caring adult who wants to give back, be productive, and make the world a better place. So many of us who fail in life have it in us to be wonderful people but are simply products of poor environments. The Rescue Mission provides that good environment that allows the better angels of our nature to emerge.
I support the Rescue Mission because it supports Merced. All too often our options are limited when it comes to finding drug treatment programs to help address the root causes of someone’s criminal behavior, but it’s the Rescue Mission that steps up and provides the primary path to help people get clean. It’s hard to imagine where we would be without them. They lead the way when it comes to addressing some of our toughest issues.