Allentown Rescue Mission

Summer 2010 - Volume 20, Number 2
(download the Summer 2010 issue)

"I Was Going Down the Wrong Path"

Word about our highly successful Life Recovery Treatment Program has spread far and wide as men who've graduated from this state-licensed residential program tell others about the help they received and the major changes it has made in their lives!

That was certainly the case with Ronald, who heard about the program from a friend in Florida, and traveled all the way to Allentown to get help. "I was living a life I shouldn't have been... addicted to drugs. I needed to find the path for living the right way."

Our Gateway Center emergency shelter was Ronald's first stop. There he found nutritious meals, a warm bed, clean clothing and the encouragement he needed to take a closer look at his problems and the solutions the Mission offered.

"The Mission has been a real blessing."

Ten years of drug use and the problems underlying that addiction are not solved overnight. So when Ronald graduated from our 12-step Life Recovery Treatment Program, he decided to stay on at the Mission.

Our Christian Living and Values Transitional Program offered the additional support Ronald needed to restore himself physically and spiritually. In addition to morning devotions and daily Bible study, participants learn healthy coping skills and gain the knowledge and tools that will help them return whole and healed to their families and the community.

Instead of returning to the streets and their addictions, men like Ronald learn that there is a better path in life; a path that leads to restored relationships with friends and family and Christian relationships with others in the community through regular church attendance.

A Message from Gary - A Letter From an Alcoholic

It was a short message, handwritten on a little piece of note paper.

"To Gary Millspaugh," it began. "Sir, I wish I could send more but this is all my income will allow. I want to thank you for all you did for me. I'm a alcoholic, but I haven't drank any since I left the Mission."

He signed his name and I remembered him as soon as I read it. It was a few years ago, and it brought back memories of how he struggled. But he slowly made progress. Now, he has a local address, and it's been years since he was homeless.

It is, of course, gratifying to get a note of appreciation from a Mission "graduate." The meaning of the note is deeper. The Mission had a positive and lasting impact on his life. We try to do this for hundreds of men every year. We have many successes, and some failures. Even when our graduates leave with new confidence and happiness, we worry about them just a little, as a parent would worry when a son goes off on his own for the first time.

When I got this note, I felt only joy and satisfaction. A note like this tells me that the Mission has made a powerful and lasting difference in many lives. It is a rewarding experience to see a "client" of our services become a "contributor" in support of them. Cash contributions are important, and getting a note like this and reading it is... priceless.

In His Service,