Roscoe’s Story
I was angry. I was enraged at a world that was too strict, a world with too many unfair rules — a world that didn’t treat me the way I felt I deserved. I grew up in a poor rural family that worked the fields of Mississippi. My stepfather would never let me go…
Nathosha’s Story
Life wasn’t always easy for Nathosha growing up in rural Alabama, but at least it was stable and familiar. She was close to siblings, her parents cared about her and she was an honor-roll student at school. But that all changed when her parents divorced. Her mother moved the family to Milwaukee and remarried.…
Timothy’s Story
The Apostle Paul got it right: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7, NIV). I put nothing good into my life, and I got nothing good back. By the time I came to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission a year ago, I knew I needed to…
Dustin’s Story
Like many youth, as a teenager in Cudahy, Wisconsin, Dustin thought he knew everything. In high school, he was bright, popular, athletic and knew what he wanted: At 6’-7”, he had visions of a basketball scholarship and maybe more. But a serious injury in his junior year derailed his plans. “I didn’t know what…
Marcus’s Story
Marcus has managed much of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission for years, but his life wasn’t always stable. “I used to work for Harley-Davidson,” Marcus says. “It was a really good job and I enjoyed it. But one day they had a big layoff, including me. Suddenly I…
LaToria’s Story
“Proverbs 3:5 says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,” says LaToria, a 36-year-old single mother living at Joy House. “So every day, I get up and tell God, ‘I trust you. I trust you for the clothes I’m wearing and the food we’ll eat. When…
Michael’s Story
I grew up in a Christian home. All my life, I went to church, I read the Scriptures, I sang the hymns, and I looked like a good Christian boy. But it was just a disguise. A lie. I have never been able to connect with people, not even family. I was always a…
Tenesha’s Story
”My home life was pretty crazy as a kid,” says Tenesha. “My mom chose alcohol over being a nurturing mother. But I always found a sense of normalcy at school.” From grade school on, Tenesha dove into books and homework, and she always made the honor roll. Education was her escape from home —…
Marshall’s Story
Last April, Marshall was cold, hungry, broke and alone on the streets of Milwaukee. He had just blown his last paycheck on crack cocaine. He hadn’t eaten in two days. Worse, after a 30-year addiction, he had burned every bridge to friends and family and had nowhere else to turn for shelter. “I was…
Christopher’s Story
Christmas doesn’t mean much when you grow up in a messed-up family. I learned early on that I wasn’t worth much. So I determined to make life all about me and whatever I could get. And that involved a lot of drugs and alcohol. Why not? Nothing mattered. I didn’t care about anything. So…
