Sponsor a Senior Meal

The Merced County Rescue Mission has been contracting with Merced County for over ten years to provide nutritious meals for seniors five days a week. These meals are provided in seven locations throughout Merced County. Over 2,300 meals are served every month. Many of the seniors are not able to contribute the full amount of the suggested daily contribution towards their meal.

We would like to ask for your help in covering some of the cost to make sure our seniors receive a nutritious meal every day. Our fundraiser to help provide meals for seniors is taking place during September and October.

Contributions can be made out to Senior Meals and sent to P.O. Box 3319, Merced, CA 95344.

THANK YOU!

Holiday Toy Drive

Every year our Christmas Eve Banquet serves hundreds of individuals and families in need. We provide traditional holiday meals and Santa is there to give toys to children ages 0-12. We invite you to help us collect toys to ensure we have enough for those in need. All donations are appreciated!

Please drop off new, unwrapped toys at the Mission office, 644 W. 20th Street, Merced. If you have any questions, please call Boone, (209) 819-0907.

Nila's House

Nila started volunteering at the Merced Rescue Mission in 2017, helping where she could. In 2019, she began volunteering in the Respite Care program. She spent most of her time working with participants who needed that little extra care due to their health issues. Nila had her own health concerns, so she was able to approach them with understanding.

For most of our participants, the medical field can be hard to navigate, and their health is the last thing on their minds. Nila spent most of her hours helping them understand the importance of a healthy diet, healthy numbers for blood pressure, mental health, and managing their diabetes. She would meet the participants where they were and help them get to a place of self-sufficiency. Nila loved going to commencement nights and seeing the Respite Care participants receive a certificate for completing health courses. As Nila watched many participants suffer in their last days, she served as an advocate who fought for their dignity.

On January 2, 2020, Nila became an employee of the Rescue Mission, and that is when her light shined even brighter on our participants who needed a little more time for recuperation. On January 13, 2024, Nila went home to be with the Lord. Many employees and participants were affected by her passing. Today, 9 months later, participants still walk into the Respite Care office and see Nila's hand in the things we do and the way we approach the participants.

When the Rescue Mission opened a new house for Short-term Post Hospitalization, it was named Nila’s Place in honor of her work and her life of dedication to those she served. We continue helping participants who need that extra little help and assistance with the medical field and their health issues. Since Nila’s Place opened, we have received many compliments on how the house feels when you walk in. A few of the participants knew Nila and said they could feel her presence and love there. We hope that we can continue to serve others the way Nila did.

Focused on Christ

A message from Dr. Bruce Metcalf, CEO, Merced County Rescue Mission

Life transformation and discipleship in Christ are the primary goals of the Merced County Rescue Mission. Hope for Men and Hope for Women are the Mission’s 9 – 12-month residential programs that provide an environment where lives can change. Centered on Biblical teaching and striving to love people in Jesus’ name, the programs offer men and women the opportunity to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus, while also addressing issues in their lives such as addictions, anger, and the need to develop life skills and rebuild relationships. Hope for Men and Hope for Women are donation-based programs. All your contributions to the Mission go directly into supporting these important programs. Your support is essential in changing lives! Thank you for your prayers and financial support!

Holiday Food Drive

Now through December 18


Merced County Rescue Mission's Annual Holiday Food Drive

Please join us in collecting canned goods and non-perishable food to help us feed low-income families and the unhoused. Food from this drive provides food for Mission programs throughout the year and provides a traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for 1,000+ people at our holiday banquets.

Most needed items for our banquets - Stuffing mix, large cans of cranberries, #10 cans of corn, and #10 cans of green beans. All non-perishable food donated is appreciated!

Collection site - Merced County Rescue Mission office, 644 W 20th Street, Merced.

If you are a business or a church interested in helping us collect non-perishable food, please call Anthony Choza, 209-947-8493 to arrange a barrel at your location.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

Pathway to Housing - New Unincorporated Bridge to Hope Program

The Mission’s Bridge to Hope has proven to be a successful program that provides a safe living environment for unhoused individuals. This program also provides an alternative to the Navigation Center. Both programs are essential in helping people build a base and move toward future independence. While the Navigation Center provides a dormitory-type setting, the Bridge houses accommodate six to eight residents who live in a group-home setting.

The goal of the Bridge to Hope program is to provide permanent and stable housing for participants. It offers funding for application fees, security deposits, and the first month’s rent. Recently, the Mission was excited to expand the Bridge to Hope program from city locations in Merced and Los Banos to unincorporated areas. Unsheltered persons who are in our unincorporated areas of Merced County now have access to services that provide temporary shelter and permanent housing opportunities.

Case management services are provided to participants while in the shelter to prepare them for housing readiness. Service Coordinators help participants acquire necessary documents, obtain employment, recovery and mental health services referrals, and transportation services. Through ECM (Enhanced Care Management), they are guided to help prevent further homelessness. On-site House Monitors supervise and support participants to ensure safety and wellness. Along with some food supplementation, necessities like toiletries are provided free of cost.

Despite the negative stigma associated with the unsheltered population, landlord engagement, developed through the Distributive Bridge Housing program in the cities of Merced and Los Banos, has helped to open the eyes and hearts of our community and to expand this program into unincorporated areas.

We continue to search for more rentals in unincorporated areas to continue expanding the program to provide additional shelter and affordable housing for our participants and build the Bridge to Hope!

Read stories from the Unincorporated Bridge to Hope program below.

NATHANIEL’S STORY

I came to the Rescue Mission’s Unincorporated Bridge program in the middle of February. When I came into the program, I was not sure which route I wanted to take. Do I want to get a job? Or do I want to go to school?

One of the first things that I did was get all my documentation--ID, Social Security Card and my birth certificate. I was also able to get food stamps and an Alliance card.

Shortly after, I chose to apply for JobCorps, a free program for youth from 16–24 years old where you can choose between many career paths or trades. I have been accepted and have enrolled to take Electrical, Carpentry, and Landscaping with high hopes of being able to take Welding. My first day at JobCorps Inland Empire is scheduled for September 3rd of this year.

I am very thankful for all the help I have received while being in this program. I have been around the Rescue Mission for many years, and I have seen all the work that everybody in the organization does for its participants. To be on the receiving end of it has been an amazing experience.

GREGORY’S STORY

I am a participant in the Unincorporated Bridge Program. Before coming to the Rescue Mission, I was homeless on the streets in Merced. Since coming into the Rescue Mission, I have been able to obtain all my documentation and have been given rides to appointments and job interviews.

I have now gained employment, and I plan to get my own apartment. Two goals that I have for myself are to continue to work on staying sober and to pursue my passion for music.

At the Rescue Mission, I have received nothing but great advice. Their continuous encouragement has kept me moving forward with applying for employment when the job hunt was taking its toll.

I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to have a second chance at life. Thank you for all your help.

RUDOLFO’S STORY

I was dealing with homelessness when I decided to get help. I decided to enter the Rescue Mission’s Unincorporated Bridge Program.

Since coming into this program, I have been able to get all my documentation ready so I can get work and find a place live when I’m ready. I have been on a strict plan with Child Protective Services to reunify with my kids. I have attended all the parenting classes I needed to complete. I am now in the process of reunifying with my two beautiful children.

Recently, I began working for the Pathway to Wellness Program with the Rescue Mission. I work with Mental Health clients who are struggling in this time of their lives in a similar way that I am. It’s a very humbling experience to work with these individuals, and it’s a position that I am happy to have. I strive to offer them the encouragement they need, just like me, so they can have the motivation to adjust to being productive members of society.

I am thankful for my support group which has stood by my side during this difficult time in my life. If it wasn’t for the Rescue Mission, I would not be in the position I currently am in. I would be in a much worse position in my life. Thank you to everyone, and I am forever grateful.

ROMAN & NEYA’S STORY

Before entering Merced Rescue Mission’s Unincorporated Bridge program, we were homeless. Our children had been removed from our care a little over a year before. As a result, we lost our Section 8 benefits which caused us to fall behind in rent. Ultimately, we had to leave our home.

We stayed under the Childs Avenue Bridge. It was not easy. We were constantly fighting hunger, thirst, and being dirty. We struggled with drinking. A strain was put on our marriage. Trying to comply with CPS visitations and everything else we needed to do was even harder while being homeless and living under the bridge.

We grew tired of our lifestyle and wanted to turn ourselves around, not only for ourselves but also for our children. It all started by reaching out for help. We realized that we could not do it on our own, and time was going by faster and faster.

Since coming to the Rescue Mission’s Unincorporated Bridge program, we have been able to live normally, and we have all our basic needs met. We have a place to shower, food to eat, a safe environment, and a roof over our heads. Just the opportunity we needed. We have also been provided with transportation services to get us to and from all our CPS visitations and court appearances. Everything we have been doing is to help speed up the process to get our children back into our lives.

We are thankful to the Rescue Mission for giving us this opportunity and for being there for guidance. If we had known that such a program existed a year ago, we would have come to the Rescue Mission’s Bridge to Hope program a lot sooner.