For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me... Matthew 25:35
I am so thankful for the food closets, the thrift stores, the safe houses, and the many volunteers in our society that get up everyday to fight against the ever growing homeless crisis we see here in America. The headlines of our newspapers ask the question "Will Homelessness End?" For us here at Acres of Hope we can answer that question positively "Yes we see it ending everyday!" Yet for many the constant cycle of seeing the same faces enter into the social services offices to receive food, clothing, and vouchers is like a hamster wheel where people are running around in circles never getting out of their destructive life patterns.
At Acres of Hope we see the hamster wheel cycles of going from program to program come to an end. At Acres of Hope we get beneath the surface of providing the basic needs of survival to getting women and children to a point of thriving. We fight hard each day to tear down every barrier preventing a woman and her children from getting out of the cycle of homelessness. Acres of Hope looks at the root issues that led a family into their state of instability, and we begin to defy each odd. It is amazing that so many helping hands feed and clothe the homeless, it shines a light into the dark that those without homes are facing. Yet at some point there has to be an approach that both meets the basic needs for life as well as breaks the cycle. Providing just the basic needs can be like a bandage which covers up the surface issue, but beneath the bandage is a growing wound that if not addressed can lead to more dramatic consequences.
At Acres of Hope we seek to get to the root of homelessness. We look at each barrier and the traumas that are creating havoc in the lives of our women and children. We seek to clean out the festering cycles bringing a family down. We look at broken patterns, destructive behaviors such as addiction, self-harm, abuse, etc., so that we can identify and address the unhealthy behaviors of dysfunction and breathe new life and hope into those areas. We then seek to administer the healing balm that will lead a women and her children into success by providing resources in the community for finishing education, job training, mentoring, recovery, church involvement, and life skills.
By the time graduation comes for a woman and her children, our Acres of Hope families have settled into their own homes. They have finished their educations, they are employed, and the barriers to healthy independence have been removed. The Acres of Hope families have broken the cycle of homelessness, and that is something only the deep surgery of transformation and renewal can do. When it comes to homelessness, we have to be more than just bandages that stay on the surface of the issue. We must be willing to go deep and heal the wounds, so something fresh and new can grow there. This is the approach that will bring healing that breaks the cycle of homelessness for women and children.
Get involved in diving beneath the surface and providing healing to the Acres of Hope families today.
Call Today 530-878-8030 or visit acresofhopeonline.org