Blanket Them With Hope

“I can only imagine where I would be if I’d not come here.  Sitting in a corner with a needle in my arm … maybe dead,” Karrie says honestly.  “The way my life was before, there wasn’t much I hadn’t done or been through.”

Tonight, if you hear the weatherman give the icy winter forecast, imagine for a minute what it would be like to be homeless, trying to survive outside in the bitter cold.  Karrie doesn’t have to imagine.  She knows all too well what it’s like to be freezing and hungry, living on Des Moines’ streets. 

Karrie’s earliest memories in life are a swirl of abuse and addiction.  Her father, an alcoholic and drug addict, physically and sexually abused her.  To escape her pain, Karrie started drinking at a very young age.  Barely 11, she considered herself an alcoholic, and by 14, she was doing drugs.

Things went from bad to worse for Karrie during the next few years.  By age 16, she had been kicked out of school and was pregnant with the first of her five children, all of whom were removed from her custody because her addiction was so bad, she simply couldn’t parent them. 

Through the years, Karrie was in and out of disastrous, drug-centered relationships with men, and she served time in jail on four different occasions.

“I woke up one morning and knew I didn’t want to go back out and use again.  I’d suffered so many losses with my kids, I just knew I couldn’t continue anymore.  I hated my life.  I hated myself,” she says.

When she was released from jail, Karrie knew she would need “something substantial” or she’d surely relapse as she had many times before.  That “something substantial,” she would later learn at Hope Family Center, was a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Karrie came to Hope Family Center in March 2007 and joined our H.E.A.R.T. recovery program to put together the pieces of her broken life.  Since then, she has dedicated her life to Jesus, remained drug-free and begun the journey toward healing, accountability and independence. 

 “During my time here, I’ve gotten a personal relationship with Christ—the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Karrie shares.  Through life-skills classes we teach at the Hope Family Center, she’s learned how to become a positive parent.

Her hard work was rewarded when she was awarded custody of her youngest child, 9-month-old Kayla, who had been removed from Karrie’s custody just three days after she was born.   “I knew I had it in me to be a good mother!” Karrie exclaims, thrilled to be reconnecting with all five of her children at last.

Karrie is looking forward to the future.  She wants to land a job and hopes to someday go to college.

Every day we open our arms to homeless men, women and children just like Karrie, lost souls who are cold, hungry and dispirited.  First, we meet their pressing physical needs, providing them with front-line services like hot and nutritious meals, safe and comfortable beds, warm winter clothing and urgent medical care.  In 2007 alone, we provided over 142,000 meals and 59,000 nights of shelter right here in the mission field of central Iowa.

Once our guests are safe and settled, we address their long-term needs, tackling the problems that led to their homelessness.  We offer a very unique continuum of care which includes case management and referrals, and long-term recovery and Christian discipleship programs.  We also provide educational opportunities and help men and women develop marketable job skills.

Our ministry to the homeless dates back to 1915.  The scope of our outreach leaves many people saying, “I had no idea you did so much and with no government support.” 

In order to provide and sustain these comprehensive life-saving services, we need the help of caring friends like you—compassionate souls who want to show love and mercy to those who have been battered and bruised by life … tender hearts who can’t look the other way when someone is in need.

Because we rely on private support, we need to invite people to partner with us so together we can blanket them with hope and warm them with the love of God.