Sunni

Like a growing number of women with children who seek refuge at Orange County Rescue Mission, Sunni was fleeing an unsafe marriage. Worried about their safety, unable to find an affordable place to live, and overwhelmed with anxiety about their future, Sunni and her two daughters came to us for help to get through the crisis.

Jodie

For Jodi, it was a long, terrible road to the Rescue Mission. She grew up in a home where drugs were used openly. She used them in front of her own kids. And worst of all, she wasted years on one thing: feeding her addiction.

Drugs finally took over her life, bringing the loss of her children and a long, agonizing year of homelessness. With no place to go, and her kids in the care of a relative, she slept in the back of a broken-down pickup truck parked in a driveway. Finally having reached absolute rock bottom — and desperate to get her kids back — Jodi accepted a family member’s referral to the Rescue Mission…

Sam & Jason

Looking back with clear heads and new faith, it’s easier for Jason and Samantha to see how God was watching over them. But, in the midst of their addictions, they cared only about the next high and the next paycheck that would make it possible.

But today, having found sobriety, stability, and God’s grace, they’re eager to put the past behind them and start their next chapter. “We’re looking forward to the future, which we didn’t have before,” says Jason.

Sam

“This love slammed into the center of me.” Sam remembers the exact moment God grabbed a hold of his heart. He was doing the most ordinary of things
— taking a shower.

“This feeling flooded into me,” Sam remembers. “It felt like being high, like being in love . . . I heard a voice say, ‘I needed to take you away from all those other things you love . . . the drugs, the girls . . . all the distractions . . . I am all you need.’”

Kara

“I was scared,” Kara admits, and she had reason to be. She was in an abusive relationship and felt trapped by it. The area of town where she lived was plagued by drugs and violence. “I was tired of looking back over my shoulder, tired of worrying that something would happen, or that I was going to get kicked out of the house in the middle of the night,” she says. But because she was desperate, Kara quieted her fears. She gathered her daughter into her arms and walked through the gates of Orange County Rescue Mission.

Miguel & Desarae's Story

Miguel remembers his uncles blowing marijuana smoke in his face when he was as young as 4. Desarae’s parents were only 15 when she was born. They struggled with their own addictions.

Growing up around drugs, both Miguel and Desarae easily fell into the lifestyle.

They were each deep in their addictions when they met. Over the course of 14 years, they became parents, even as they struggled to find stability…

Tony's Story

When Tony first arrived at the Rescue Mission, the biggest burden he carried was regret. “The most hurtful thing about being an addict and an alcoholic was how can I make up for my past? How can I make up for my past mistakes and failures?” Tony shares.

As a child, Tony just wanted to belong, especially after his parents’ divorce. So he began spending time at a friend’s house, including time with his friend’s father, looking to fill the void his own father left behind…

Stephanie’s Story

Stephanie can tell you just what hope for a new life means to her.

Before she got married, she was independent and stable with a good job as a dental assistant.

But soon after her marriage, she found herself in an emotionally unstable relationship, which soon escalated to physical abuse.

Once so full of confidence, Stephanie began to lose her sense of self-worth.

Just save my kids…

Ricky & Lisa’s Story

Not so long ago, Ricky and Lisa were facing the real possibility of losing each other forever. But today, each smile they share is a silent prayer of thanks. For their health. For their sobriety. For their rock-solid marriage.

Lisa’s shaky health had brought her to the brink of death too many times.

At the age of 11, she was involved in a near-fatal car accident. She received a blood transfusion that saved her life, but because of contamination, she contracted a virus that shut down her pancreas and caused serious dips in her blood sugar. Eventually, drugs became her way to numb the pain and chaos of her life.

Sarah’s Story

The only way out was to pick up everything and leave. So Sarah and the kids left and didn’t look back. But they had nowhere to go.

“It was really hard and traumatic for them,” Sarah says about her kids at this time. “There were some really chaotic times like not knowing where we were going to sleep. There were times when we would sleep in my van.”

Sarah heard about a “Christian shelter” from a friend, but she didn’t think such a place existed. Sarah called Orange County Rescue Mission…