Need Help? If you are in need of emergency shelter, please call 765-456-3838 for availability.
Resident Stories
Read the stories of some of the people you help us serve.
"I Feel OK Again"
How your support helped Deanna find new life.
Deanna knows she’s a changed woman after a year at the Kokomo Rescue Mission. She’s at peace. She’s confident. She’s happy.
But Deanna has another objective measure of how much she’s changed. And it has something to do with her language skills.
“I cussed like a sailor when I first got here,” she says, laughing. But not anymore.
Deanna, 56, says that’s partly because of following the rules, but it’s mostly due to what she calls “a deep change inside.” And she says that’s because she feels deeply loved at Open Arms.
“Having people around me going through what I’ve gone through is a blessing,” she says. “Being here has made me feel OK again.”
Deanna hadn’t been okay for a while, due to a meth addiction that started in her mid-40s — partly because she liked the buzz, and partly because it relieved chronic back pain. But the drugs ended up costing her her job, her home and most of her belongings.
She found a safe, healing place to land at Open Arms, and has had no desire to do drugs since. But she’d only been here a couple of months when she was diagnosed with cancer and went into a round of chemo and radiation.
Whatever comes next, Deanna is facing it with courage. Her housemates bought her a T-shirt that says, “This is not the journey I would’ve chosen for myself, but I love life and I choose to fight.”
“It made me feel wanted,” Deanna says. “And needed.”
"I Feel OK Again"
How your support helped Deanna find new life.
Deanna knows she’s a changed woman after a year at the Kokomo Rescue Mission. She’s at peace. She’s confident. She’s happy.
But Deanna has another objective measure of how much she’s changed. And it has something to do with her language skills.
“I cussed like a sailor when I first got here,” she says, laughing. But not anymore.
Deanna, 56, says that’s partly because of following the rules, but it’s mostly due to
what she calls “a deep change inside.” And she says that’s because she feels deeply loved at Open Arms.
“Having people around me going through what I’ve gone through is a blessing,” she says. “Being here has made me feel OK again.”
Deanna hadn’t been okay for a while, due to a meth addiction that started in her mid-40s — partly because she liked the buzz, and partly because it relieved chronic back pain. But the drugs ended up costing her her job, her home and most of her belongings.
She found a safe, healing place to land at Open Arms, and has had no desire to do drugs since. But she’d only been here a couple of months when she was diagnosed with cancer and went into a round of chemo and radiation.
Whatever comes next, Deanna is facing it with courage. Her housemates bought her a T-shirt that says, “This is not the journey I would’ve chosen for myself, but I love life and I choose to fight.”
“It made me feel wanted,” Deanna says. “And needed.”
"The Homeless Are People Too"
Mary knows it could happen to anyone. She’s grateful for your help.
This Thanksgiving, Mary is grateful for the Kokomo Rescue Mission, where she found a place to land, to rebuild and to find hope and peace.
For Mary, homelessness — brought about by joblessness — looked a little different than the stereotype. She wasn’t sleeping on the streets and sidewalks. But she was crashing on couches of family members. And she didn’t like it.
“I felt like a leech,” she says. “It made me feel beholden to them.”
When one family member downsized, there was no more couch for Mary, and she had no place to go. But thanks to your kindness, the Mission was ready and waiting with open arms.
A spinal issue causes chronic pain in her back and leg, which makes it difficult to work. But the Mission has helped her apply for disability benefits. She says when she gets her first check, she’s definitely making a donation to the Mission.
“Homelessness teaches you a lesson,” she says. “People have all these bad misconceptions about homeless people, especially the ones on the street. But they’re people too. They’ve just fallen on hard times.”
Mary says that once she’s able, she hopes to get a desk job — to keep her off her feet — find her own place and restore relationships with some family members. In the meantime, she’s grateful for the Mission.
“I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me,” she says. “Thank you.”
"The Homeless Are People Too"
Mary knows it could happen to anyone. She’s grateful for your help.
This Thanksgiving, Mary is grateful for the Kokomo Rescue Mission, where she found a place to land, to rebuild and to find hope and peace.
For Mary, homelessness — brought about by joblessness — looked a little different than the stereotype. She wasn’t sleeping on the streets and sidewalks. But she was crashing on couches of family members. And she didn’t like it.
“I felt like a leech,” she says. “It made me feel beholden to them.”
When one family member downsized, there was no more couch for Mary, and she had no place to go. But thanks to your kindness, the Mission was ready and waiting with open arms.
A spinal issue causes chronic pain in her back and leg, which makes it difficult to work. But the Mission has helped her apply for disability benefits. She says when she gets her first check, she’s definitely making a donation to the Mission.
“Homelessness teaches you a lesson,” she says. “People have all these bad misconceptions about homeless people, especially the ones on the street. But they’re people too. They’ve just fallen on hard times.”
Mary says that once she’s able, she hopes to get a desk job — to keep her off her feet — find her own place and restore relationships with some family members. In the meantime, she’s grateful for the Mission.
“I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me,” she says. “Thank you.”