Homelessness Has No Season
Join Us in Giving Hope

Dear Friends,

Stop for a moment and imagine with me what daily life is like for the homeless men, women and children in central Iowa. Envision them on the streets, trying to find shelter out of the icy wind, foraging for food in the trash, sleeping in makeshift camps with nothing but a pile of blankets to keep them from freezing.

Now, imagine those same homeless people being loved and cared for at Hope Ministries. Picture a homeless mother and her children eating a nutritious dinner and snuggling into a safe, warm bed. Envision a man who has lost everything because of drugs getting the help he needs to kick his habit for good. Imagine a father, out of work because of the economy, getting the education and job training he needs to land a job and support his family again.

Our guiding statement at Hope Ministries is Giving Hope • Changing Lives, and we live these words out every single day as we minister to the homeless and hungry, no matter what the season.

Each month in 2008, we provided an average of 11,600 meals and 4,750 nights of shelter! These numbers are up from 10,000 meals and 4,100 nights of shelter monthly in 2007.

The support we receive during the holiday season is such a blessing, but the needs of the homeless don’t go away once the Christmas decorations are taken down. Homelessness does not have a season. Those crippled by poverty need food, shelter and encouragement every single day.

Many of our neighbors have chosen to answer God’s call to help meet the needs of the homeless and near-homeless by partnering with Hope Ministries. Please join us in providing the poorest of the poor life’s basic necessities, restoring their dignity and improving their lives.