Collaboration: The Key to Success in Housing Unhoused Individuals

During the past several years, the collaborative efforts of government agencies, the Merced City and County Continuum of Care, and many non-profit groups have created HOPE in Merced County for a better future for unhoused individuals. County, City, and State agencies have developed programs to provide help for the unhoused.  Along with these agencies, non-profit groups such as the Catholic Charities, Community Action Agency, Healthy House, Merced Rescue Mission, Mission Merced, Salvation Army, Sierra Saving Grace, and Turning Point Community Programs are also helping. Due to the collaboration of these government agencies and non-profit groups, providing a bed for every unhoused person in Merced County within the next few years is now a possibility.

The County, through the Human Services Agency, the Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, the Probation Department of Merced County, and the Merced County Housing Authority are all working to help unhoused people. Expanding the number of available beds began just over two years ago when the County of Merced opened the Merced Navigation Center.  Operated by Mission Merced, the Navigation Center provides 76 beds for unhoused people and is a low-barrier, service-rich environment that accommodates a person, their partner, pets, and possessions.  The Navigation Center operates at capacity a good share of the time and is exploring a way to add an additional 25 beds.  The “D” Street Shelter also provides services for up to 60 unhoused people utilizing a similar “Navigation Center” model.

There are also other programs and efforts to provide beds for the unhoused.  Merced County’s “Bridge Housing” program, operated by Mission Merced, has houses with services for unhoused people.  This program provides housing for people in the cities of Merced and Los Banos and is also expanding to the unincorporated areas of the county.  The City of Merced has also helped with the completion of its “Retreat Affordable Housing” program just over a year ago which added 119 units of housing to our community.  Of these units, 30 of them were designated for people experiencing homelessness and high utilizers of health care services. 

The State of California’s “Home Key” program has also been a great help in providing funds for two projects.  The first project consists of 96 units of housing on “V” Street where a motel is being remodeled into studio apartments.  The second project is on “R” Street near Childs Avenue and will provide 20 studio apartments for unhoused veterans.  The “Home Key” projects are expected to be completed in the fall. Other projects which will provide more housing are also being explored. 

The Merced Rescue Mission has provided housing for unhoused people in Merced County as well.   In March of 2022, the Mission’s Village of Hope Campus-Phase One began serving the community. As part of Phase One, the “Hope Respite Care” program provides 32 beds for unhoused people being discharged from Mercy Medical Center Merced (Dignity). Phase One also includes ten apartments for unhoused veterans and ten apartments for unhoused families with young children. The Village of Hope Campus-Phase Two, the faith-based side of the campus, will provide 32 beds for the Mission’s “Hope for Men” program and 32 beds for the “Hope for Women” program.  Additional space for a computer lab, classrooms, a chapel, and offices will also be included. The Merced Rescue Mission also serves in Los Banos with a “Respite Care” home that provides 9 beds for unhoused people being discharged from Sutter Memorial Hospital.

Collaboration is the key to success in providing HOPE for a better future for residents of Merced County. No government agency or non-profit group can meet the needs of the unhoused by itself, but as agencies and groups work together, more opportunities to help the unhoused can be created. The total existing and proposed projects make it possible, if even for a moment in time, that we will have enough resources to provide a bed for every person experiencing homelessness in Merced County. It is great to see what can be accomplished when government and non-profits all work together.  Merced is on its way to a brighter future for all our residents.

Serving the Mission

My name is John and I work for the Merced Rescue Mission as a Peer Navigator at the Hope for Men program. I would like to share how good this program is if you stay connected. Prior to coming to the Mission, my life was a mess. I went through the Hope for Men program and then went on to work with Restore Merced. One day, while working with Restore Merced, I was helping to clean up a homeless encampment. As I was working, I came across a person who was camped there. His name name was Larry, and he asked me how I got my job with Restore Merced. I told him, “from God, through the Rescue Mission.” Then he told me that he was alumnus from the Mission.

After telling me that, I told him that he had the necessary tools, and he knew what to do in order to get his life back on track. I told him that i hoped he would come back to the Mission. I prayed with him and we parted.

About four months later, I came upon Larry at Jesus Saves Men at Yosemite Church. I asked him if he remembered me, and he did. I told him how glad I was to see him back at the Mission and how much better he looked. I asked him what brought him back, “Was it my talking with you or the Spirit?” He said it was a little of both and that he had never let go of God. Being homeless and sick, he prayed and he contacted the director of the Mission and then David Carr, the Chief Operating Officer who helped get him into housing.

The power of prayer and connections with the Spirit of God kept him connected and helped to bring him back into the Mission. When he was out on the street, he was hurting and had a spirit of despair, living under a bridge. Now, he is connected with the Mission, looks great and goes to church and many meetings that are helping him. Every day, he is pushing forward, doing the right things that are helping him stay focused and connected.

Giving to the Mission

Lucinda Zimmer loves people and, of course, pets. Every month she stops by our office to bring her monthly contribution to the Mission, and, over the course of time, she has developed a great relationship with Bob, our front desk receptionist. Their conversation often centers on their love of dogs.

She retired in 1980 out of Castle Airforce Base from the United States Airforce where she served for many years as a nurse. During her years of service, she saw a good share of Europe as well as the Philippines.

When asked about her motivation for giving, Lucinda responded with a quote she heard many years ago. It stated that “the more generous you are, the happier you are,” and she affirmed the truth in that statement. Lucinda is a happy person, and she certainly cares about others. She said, “When I think of the lives that drugs have ruined, I am grateful to be able to help others change their lives.” Upon reflection, she shared that she has “a real feeling of satisfaction” when she can help others.

Lucinda remembers hearing about how Judge Quall worked with the men in the Rescue Mission and how he put together a choir that would sing at churches in the community. She appreciates that the Mission is faith-based as it works to help people put their lives together. She said that since she retired in Merced, she gets a couple of retirement checks, and one is for the Mission. She feels the Mission is doing a lot to change lives, and she is happy to be a part of it.

Feeling Powerless and Marginalized

Children may feel powerless as adults talk about them and make decisions for them without allowing them to participate in the conversation. This also happens to patients in the hospital when doctors and nurses discuss their case as if they weren’t even there. People who have lost their housing, their jobs and their families can also feel powerless and marginalized by society.

Instead of dismissing and ignoring people who feel powerless and marginalized, Jesus calls us to listen, to love and bring about healing in their lives. When the disciples were ready to shoo the children away because they were a disturbance, Jesus said, “Let the Children come unto me and do not stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” When the blind man, the leper, the Gentile women, the paralytic, and so many others came to Jesus seeking His help and healing, Jesus made time for them, brought healing and made them whole.

Feeling powerless is a strong, motivating emotion that causes people to respond in a variety of ways. One person may act out inappropriately or with violence while another person may seem to hide or become invisible.

Recently, I attended court to advocate on behalf of some of our participants. As I observed the court proceedings, there was a discussion between the judge, the defense attorney, and the prosecuting attorney as they determined the consequences for the defendants. At different times, the defendants were given the opportunity to speak. When this occurred, the bailiff ensured that decorum was maintained and that they did not overstep. On one occasion, I witnessed a defendant become agitated because he felt he was not being heard. He continued talking and pressed his own case, claiming that he could speak for himself and did not need someone else to speak for him or decide for him. It was apparent that he felt attacked and threatened by those in power that were deciding his fate.

These experiences helped me realize just how important it is to listen to those we might otherwise ignore or dismiss. Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Because Jesus first loved us, we are empowered to listen with love and allow Christ’s love to flow through us to bring healing into the lives of those who feel powerless.

Dr. Bruce Metcalf
Executive Director, Merced Rescue Mission

The Power of God Lives Within Us at the Mission

I am a Service Coordinator at the Rescue Mission and a grateful believer in Jesus Christ. I graduated from the Addiction Studies class held at Merced College with honors, have served countless volunteer hours, and have now been a drug and alcohol counselor for nine years.

My first counseling job was at Lifestyle Management which holds two-hour classes for first, second, and third drunk driving offenders. I can honestly say that this was a very rewarding position, I am still being stopped by many of those I counseled who thank me for my guidance, help, and for sharing my testimony with them. I am overjoyed to say that many of those I served are still clean. My second counseling job was at Aegis, a methadone clinic. I was not happy there.

In 2021 two employees from the Rescue Mission told me to go see David Carr, and I did. I was hired as a Service Coordinator and discovered that my thirty-one years of being in and out of prison, nine drunk driving, as well as my 12 years of clean and sober time was an asset. Because these men that I case manage can see fake and phony people, my dark and ugly past has become something I am able to use to help and guide people in their recovery and life skills. I currently case manage 40 men and have 8 Residential Assistants who assist me when I am not present.

In the everyday challenges of life, I am a normal, recovering addict and alcoholic who, upon occasion, will still find myself struggling with things. On those days, I will go to one of my houses and just sit with my fellas. They have no idea that just being around the men from 3 days sober to 3 years sober is helping me just as much as my being in their life and being able to be a positive influence in their life is helping them. The feelings that I get serving as a Service Coordinator at the Rescue Mission are very rewarding. I feel privileged and honored to see clients get their 24-hour-and-up chips. Seeing a man hold his children after years of seperation and move into a place that he can now call his own is priceless.

In our profession, we see many who are not truly ready, and they leave the program. All we can do is hope and pray that good seeds have been planted and that they know that when they are ready, we are here. But then there are those who are successfully working the program. One such success story I’d like to share is about a client of mine who was hurting. He believed the garbage he had been told as a child and felt he was stupid and hopeless. Together we tackled and worked through his struggles, which included some mental illness. I watched him make healthy choices knowing that his past life was not what he wanted. This man, who insisted on becoming a good father, would walk miles to be with his children every morning before he had to be at work. I will never forget the day he went to a class and earned his first certificate. Reality set in that he was far from the horrible things he was led to believe. This man holds a special spot in my heart as I watched him grow into the man he is becoming. He now shares the same job title as I do as Service Coordinator, I am so proud of him and respect him greatly.

Being a Service Coordinator is not a job to me. It has become a lifestyle that involves the lives of men. I am honored to be a part of the Merced Rescue Mission and the power of God that lives within us at the Mission. I feel every person employed at the Mission is a part of my family. Together we all have different strengths, and with that and God we are a great team of people.

Inspired to Share God's Word and Love

I remember as a young kid my grandpa being involved in outreach ministry. He felt everyone he encountered on a daily basis was put there as an opportunity for him to share God’s word and love. He would take me to the convalescent homes to sing Christmas carols, visit and pray over patients, and at that time, would go to the prison to do the same. What an impact that had on my heart to continue to serve those in trying times. My grandpa went to be with Jesus in 2016 and left not only a hole in many hearts, but an open position on the MRCM Board. In 2017, my work led me to meet Mark Mayo, President of MRCM, and In 2018, I was asked to join the board in an attempt to fill some very large shoes left by my Grandpa. We serve a God that is resourceful. It is my joy to continue his legacy, to serve those less fortunate, to live out the commandment to love our neighbors and grow towards Jesus’s heart for the lost and broken. I want to share the love of Christ as I serve and connect with this community.

Kerry Yanez,
Board Member,
Merced Rescue Mission

Meeting Participants Where They Are

I began working with the Merced Rescue Mission two years ago as a Peer Navigator in the Bridge to Hope program. Since then, I have been a Service Coordinator, and now I am a Program Manager. During this time, I have witnessed many blessings through this program. The Bridge to Hope program is a harm reduction program. We meet the participants where they are with their struggles and help them overcome those obstacles and succeed in life. The staff work with participants according to their individual needs.

One participant that stands out came into our program broken, lost, and without hope. He had been through multiple programs without success prior to coming to us. His struggles were very severe, and he was about to lose custody of his children. He had been shot and his brother had been murdered. Homelessness and drug issues, along with his poor health, made it difficult as a single parent with no social support or income to provide stability for his children. This extremely traumatized, yet headstrong, young man was able to accept the love and support that was given to him by the staff. Through challenging work and taking suggestions, he has stayed clean, gained employment and housing, and regained custody of his children. He fought hard for all his achievements. Today, he is the proud father he always wanted to be!

The staff at Bridge to Hope witness progress on a daily basis. Our goal is to reach participants and help them face and overcome their obstacles. We are encouraged by the HOPE we continue to see as the participants achieve their goals.

Mark,
Service Coordinator,
Merced Rescue Mission