Sheila’s Story
On the surface, Sheila always “had it together.” She was intelligent, ambitious, a loving mother and enjoyed a successful career as a Certified Dialysis Technician. But lurking deep beneath that surface lived a frightened little girl. “Growing up, I had trouble trusting anyone,” she says. “And I was always afraid — afraid of success,…
Robert’s Story
Most of my life, I wondered, “What use is love? What use is prayer or God?'' It didn't start out that way. My mother was a loving woman who believed in God. But life treated her cruelly. My father abandoned us when I was quite young. Mom struggled to feed me and my siblings,…
Melanie’s Story
I can't remember a time I wanted to live. I never knew my father, and my mother was an alcoholic prostitute who wanted to abort me. For much of my life, there were times I wished I hadn't been born. When I was a year and a half old, authorities took me from my…
Michael’s Story
People used to ask me what I'd change if I could go back in time. That was easy. I'd make sure I was never born. Life was meaningless and hopeless, I thought, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's just a big endurance test that only alcohol could get me through. I…
Larry’s Story
Here at the beginning of a brand new year, I have one simple New Year's wish: I want a new chance at life. I want a new beginning. I want to learn to read and write. Growing up in Chicago, I made it all the way to seventh grade — and I was illiterate.…
Semajia’s Story
Some gifts come and go — but sometimes a gift can change a life.Semajia is an 18-year-old youth who lives with her mother at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission's Joy House — an experience that has given her a second chance at life. That's a gift, she says, and she's determined to make the most…
Jody’s Story
Twenty years ago, Jody received the “education”of a lifetime when he came to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission and learned all about his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “Back then, I drank a lot and I was in pretty bad shape,” says Jody, now 44. “No one wanted me around, not even my dad. So…
Neal’s Story
Sometimes it seems like I've been struggling all my life. Growing up with certain physical limitations, I've always felt like I had something to prove —to others and myself — that I could do anything I wanted. But no matter how hard I worked or what I accomplished, I never felt it was enough.…
Michelle’s Story
A Family Blessed Through Your Compassion Whenever Michelle talks about her kids, her eyes light up. A married, dedicated mother of three, she's trying her hardest to keep her family together. About a year ago, she came to Joy House after her husband started using drugs. She knew that she couldn't raise her children…
Carl’s Story
A New Creation Carl has spent much of his life in prison. The youngest of nine children, all of his brothers and sisters are either dead or in prison for the rest of their lives. Growing up, he was surrounded by violence. He had an abusive father who put his mother in the hospital.…
