Jasmine’s Story
As a child, Jasmine was passed from house to house and never felt loved, supported or valued. The 25 year-old mother of five recalls, “I never got the support I needed. I got my first job at 15, and I've been on my own ever since.” Last year, Jasmine was working two jobs to…
Jack’s Story
“I guess, the problem is, I never really knew who I was,” says Jack, a 50-year-old guest at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission. “I didn't know it, but that's where all my problems come from.” Jack was raised by a single mom and two older sisters. He never knew his dad — and there was…
Bianca’s Story
Education My Kids Deserve In 2011, Bianca hit rock bottom. As a single mother with three children, she struggled financially. Then the unthinkable happened: Bianca and her children ended up homeless and came to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission's Joy House. Over the next several months, Bianca worked hard to get back on her feet.…
Jerry’s Story
Alcohol, violence and blood shaped Jerry's earliest memories. His father and much of his extended family were “heavy” alcoholics, and when they all got together, bloody fights usually ended the gatherings. But Jerry's father reserved his most intense rage for those closest to him. “My dad took his anger out on my mom and…
Doris’ Story
Doris, a 42-year-old mother living in Joy House, looks back at her childhood and knows she started out on a good Christian foundation — most of her family were ministers and missionaries. “I had very strong beliefs as a young child,” she recalls. “But I started to rebel when I was 18.” By the…
Ken’s Story
I've lived with shame for more than half my life — a deep, overwhelming shame and feelings of failure that I couldn't bear to face. All for one terrible reason: crack cocaine. I knew better. I grew up in a middle-class home, with parents who loved me. They raised me in the church, and…
Travis’s Story
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). That's my favorite verse. It still surprises me, though. For most of my life, I was a nihilist, an atheist who believed that life is meaningless. I lived…
Bonita’s Story
Bonita had never heard it before. Jesus died for her. God loved her, deeply, passionately and forever. And that love could transform her life. For the first time in her life, Bonita had hope. For 27 years, she lived in the darkness of unimaginable abuse no child should have to endure. Born to a…
Tim’s Story
Home for the Holidays by Tim No one should ever feel lonely at Christmas. But I did. And not just at Christmas. I've been lonely all my life. Growing up in a large family, my brothers and I weren't close, my father was distant, and my mother was too busy. I finally found love and…
Ashley’s Story
When I looked out my front window that morning in October 2013, my whole life froze in time. My house was surrounded by armed federal officers. They came in, searching for money, drugs and guns. And they found them — $150,000 cash, guns of all shapes and sizes, drugs, all stashed and hidden away.…