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Resident Stories

Read the stories of some of the people you help us serve.

Saved by Love

Growing up, Breanna never experienced the amazing healing power of love. Her parents were addicted to drugs, and throughout her childhood she dealt with physical, emotional and sexual abuse. “My sister pretty much raised me, and I then raised my brother,” she says.

When she was 17, Breanna left home, and for the next several years she had a somewhat normal life — a job and her own home. But, at the age of 26, she was experiencing serious back problems and was prescribed pain medications. Longing to ease emotional as well as physical pain, she began using other drugs too, including heroin.

To support the habit, Breanna started dealing as well as using drugs. She had a son during these years but lost custody because of her drug use. She finally wound up behind bars for four years.

Breanna ultimately found the love she longed for at Open Arms, the Mission’s shelter for women and children. Her faith in God saved her, and she credits Open Arms for giving her love, support and hope as she rebuilds her life for herself and her son.

Thank you for supporting the Kokomo Rescue Mission and helping people like Breanna find acceptance, direction and the healing power of love.

A Whole New Future

Ellionia says she had a great childhood. She was raised by her dad, stepmom and grandparents. But in her teen years, her life took a drastic turn.

She started drinking alcohol and smoking pot with a friend and then was introduced to crystal meth. “When I was around 17, I started using crystal meth and I would hang out with the wrong people so I could get the drugs.” She admits that though she had a happy home life, her low self-esteem led her to drug and alcohol abuse.

Throughout the next several years, Ellionia was in and out of rehab. She would stay sober for several months and then relapse into drug use.

At the age of 25, she began a relationship with a man who was very violent toward her, and she moved to the Kokomo Rescue Mission to escape the abuse.

She’s been at the Mission for over a year. She’s clean and sober and she became a Christian a few months ago. “I want to thank everyone who supports the Mission,” she says. “Your support gave me the stability that I need, and you helped me find Jesus when I needed him. I have a whole new future because you support this place.”

Because of the help she received through classes and the staff at Watered Garden, Ellionia was able to get the first job she’s ever had and is on her way to becoming self-sufficient.

Through your support, you give women like Ellionia the hope and help they need for a better life.

Breaking the Cycle

Thanks to you, Tina and her kids look forward to the future together

Instability, trauma, abandonment and chaos followed Tina all her life. She rarely had anything to be grateful for at Thanksgiving.

Tina’s mother struggled with alcohol and gave her up at birth. She spent the rest of her childhood moving between her grandparents’ homes — situations that were fraught with domestic violence.

“It definitely affected me in terms of choosing the kind of men I ended up with,” Tina says. “I always dated the wrong guy who would drag me under and take advantage of me.”

By the age of 34, she had four children and was addicted to painkillers and heroin. Child Protective Services finally intervened, and she lost custody of them all. “I was so distraught,” she recalls. “But I couldn’t break the cycle. In 2020, I had my last daughter. I was like, ‘I am not losing another child. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Her hard work paid off! This year, she regained custody of her oldest son. Then she turned to Open Arms, with her son and daughter, to help her break the cycle of instability and chaos, which is all she had ever known.

“Open Arms is holding me accountable for the first time, and I follow all the rules,” she says. “I’ve actually become a leader here. I’m working and learning to save money. I’m clean from drugs. I’ve cut off contact from men in my past, I’m taking a boundaries class, and I’m becoming a better mom. I’m also trying to get closer to God. We go to Bible studies and read daily devotions.”

Tina and her children truly have something to be thankful for — people like you. “I’m grateful to the donors because they gave me and my kids the chance to be a family again. Thank you!”

Thanks for sharing the love of Christ with women like Tina.

Able and Willing

You helped restore Clay’s faith and hope in a better tomorrow

“I am disabled, and growing up, I was always told I’d never amount to anything,” says Clay, a guest at the Kokomo Rescue Mission. “So, I kind of doubted myself.” Clay says he was saved at 15, but soon turned away from God. Instead, he pursued a life filled with drinking and drugs.

“One night I went out drinking and got completely plastered,” he says. “I woke up the next morning in jail. When I got out six months later, I was homeless. But I just went back to drinking and drugging.”

Many times, he came to the Kokomo Rescue Mission for a meal, a bed and to get cleaned up. But he always went right back to his old life. When he started to tire of that life, however, he remembered the God of his youth.

“I started getting back into God’s word, going to church, and my pastor changed the way I saw some things. I wanted to change, so I came back to the Kokomo Rescue Mission.”

Slowly, the Mission began helping Clay rebuild his life on a foundation of Jesus Christ. Today, he even serves at the Mission.

“I work the Night Desk here and help answer guests’ questions,” he says. “Being disabled, it’s something I can do, and it’s my way of helping the Mission out. It’s a big confidence booster. I’m actually an inspiration for the other guys because they see how hard I’m working to better myself. I’m so happy how things are turning out.”

Clay adds that he has a wonderful support network at the Mission and at his church. His next step is to get his own housing.

“I’m so grateful for the Kokomo Rescue Mission and the donors,” he says. “It’s a great place for anyone who wants to get back on their feet, get right with God or to better themselves. There’s no other place I’d rather be right now.”

Thanks for sharing the love of Christ with men like Clay.

“Literally Changed My Life”

You helped Les escape addiction, find his faith and hope for the future.

Les has struggled with drug addiction most of his life … and it nearly cost him everything.

In fact, Les was so caught up in his destructive habits at one point that he’d moved out of state and away from family. Cut all ties. He wasn’t even talking to his kids. It was a real low point.

After getting arrested and charged with dealing meth, Les enrolled in a drug court program. “Part of the program was you moved into the Kokomo Rescue Mission,” he says. “That’s how I ended up here.”

It was a big adjustment. “When I got here, I was really depressed, feeling very alone,” he says. “The loneliness of not having my kids kicked in and it was like, ‘All right, I’m going to change.’”

With the help of compassionate friends like you, Les was true to his word! “It literally changed my life,” he says. “I’ve restored relationships with my family and my kids. I’ve found Jesus.” Les now runs Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings and is even employed by the Mission as a cook!

“It’s a really good feeling to be accepted,” he says, “To really feel as though the help you’re receiving comes from a personal, genuine place. They’ve been really good to me. All of the staff accepted me like family.”

Looking back, Les is amazed by the transformation in his life that your kindness made possible.

“I’m definitely not going backward,” he says. “Now, it makes me happy to give to people instead of trying to take from people.” Les also hopes you know just how much your support means. “Your donation will help,” he affirms.

Thank you for helping your neighbors find their way!

“You Don’t Know Who You Impact”

You helped Brandi find a fresh start when she was struggling.

“I love taking care of people,” Brandi says. Sadly, people have also been a source of pain for her.

First, Brandi’s marriage of 12 years collapsed because her husband was unfaithful. After the divorce, she moved to Indiana to be closer to her mother and sister, and began working as an assistant in a nursing home.

But once the pandemic hit, everything changed. “Watching people die within days, it just broke my heart,” Brandi says. “I don’t think I got over that.” To make matters worse, Brandi endured the death of her ex-boyfriend — whom she was still close to — when he succumbed to his struggles with alcohol.

“I got to a point of very severe depression, anxiety, and I couldn’t handle regular life anymore,” Brandi says candidly. “It got so overwhelming that I wanted to commit suicide. I finally sought help, and that’s how I ended up at Open Arms.”

Open Arms is the Kokomo Rescue Mission’s shelter for single women and women with children — made possible by friends like you! It’s a haven for people like Brandi, who are desperate to find stable ground again.

“The big thing for me when I first came in was relief,” she says. “I had a roof over my head, and a whole bunch of stress was relieved. I felt like it was coming home where I belonged.”

What does Brandi have to say to donors like you?

“You may think it’s not significant, but you don’t know who you impact. That one donation could change somebody’s life.”

On a personal note, Brandi concludes: “Everybody has a hero, and my mom is mine. I wouldn’t have come as far as I have without her.”

Thank you for helping to lead your struggling neighbors in the right direction!

“I Didn’t Know What to Expect”

Marjorie knows it could happen to anyone. She’s grateful for your help.

Not many people know what it’s like to lose their job and their home on the same day. Marjorie does.

“I was property manager for a storage facility,” she says. Why was Marjorie let go? “No valid driver’s license. I’d been in that position for about a year. That’s how I ended up losing my apartment — because it was attached to the facility.”

Suddenly homeless with nowhere to go, Marjorie was so grateful to find the open doors of Watered Garden, the Kokomo Rescue Mission’s shelter for single women. “Everybody was welcoming,” she says. “Especially the first night, because you are nervous. I didn’t know what to expect.”

The encouragement and community Marjorie discovered here has been life-changing. She’s grown by such leaps and bounds that she was recently moved up to resident leader! “Ever since she’s come, she’s been extremely helpful and proactive,” her case manager says.

Marjorie hopes friends like you understand just what your support of the Mission means. “It’s people helping people through Christ,” she says. “The staff and everybody here, they encourage you to make the changes you want to make. They don’t push. They nudge, but they’re very patient.”

Watered Garden has helped Marjorie rediscover her own faith, too, which has become “a much more concentrated part of my life. I guess God never really left me.”

As for the future? “My goal is to go into the Peace Corps,” Marjorie says. “As long as I keep learning, I’m going to enjoy where I am on the way to where I’m going.”

Thank you for helping your neighbors find their way!

“Everything That I Could Ask For”

Angela never saw her crisis coming. She’s grateful for your help.

Angela is a survivor.

But sadly, like many women who find refuge at the Kokomo Rescue Mission, her story begins with an escape. “I came to Open Arms due to losing my home to an abusive ex-boyfriend,” she says. “It was a very terrible experience.”

Even more heartbreaking, Angela wasn’t alone. Her two little kids also needed a safe place to sleep. So, when the Department of Child Services told Angela about Open Arms — our women’s shelter for mothers — she made the move.

At first, it was hard on the kids. “They were scared, crying, telling me that they didn’t want to be here,” Angela recalls. But now? “They feel like they’re home.”

Angela has found the support and resources she needed, too: “I really enjoy the staff here. They’ve encouraged me to move forward. They’re helpful in all types of ways. Just everything that I could ask for.”

Most important was the moment Angela learned where to put her trust. “I went to church, and I got right with God,” she remembers. “Me and my kids, we pray every night before bed. I could see a big change in them.”

Angela says her whole perspective has changed through this experience. “Almost losing my kids opened up my eyes and made me realize you got to just keep pushing and leave all that behind you. The abuse, it’s done. The homelessness, it’s done. And me and my kids can just be here.”

Angela also hopes her story inspires and helps others. “I just want people to know that they’re not alone and to be kind,” she says.

What’s next for Angela? “My happy ending is mainly to see my kids go through high school, go through college, something that I never got to do,” she says. “I want to lead them in the right direction and make sure they don’t end up where I’ve been.”

Thank you for helping to lead your struggling neighbors in the right direction!

"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.”