Rescue Mission has aided Valley 119 years; now it needs our help

Since 1893, The Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley has shined as a beacon of hope for tens of thousands of hungry and homeless individuals in our community, providing a needed leg up for them through food, shelter and guidance toward renewed dignity and a fresh start.

Today, as the Rescue Mission responds to a rapidly increasing population of destitute and suffering residents in our Valley, it faces a deficit of about $100,000 at the end of its fiscal year Sept. 30. To avoid that red ink and the devastating impact on its critically needed services, this time the mission is asking the community to provide it a needed leg up through contributions to its $100K in 100 Days Summer Relief campaign.

The worthy campaign warrants widespread community support.

In Youngstown, Mayor Charles Sammarone has declared Sunday “Summer Relief Day” to highlight the Rescue Mission’s financial crisis and to promote the fund-raising campaign. A growing number of local churches plan special collections Sunday to assist. We urge all churches, places of worship and community groups to do likewise Sunday or in the coming weeks. Individuals also can act independently by sending donations directly to the mission.

Numbers are growing

The reason for the mission’s financial downturn rests squarely on our community’s ongoing economic downturn. It can be seen nightly this summer at the mission’s residential facility at 962 Martin Luther King Drive where nearly 100 people seek shelter, compared with about 60 people during summers of recent years.

Behind these disheartening statistics, however, are the real faces of homelessness and helplessness in our Valley. According to the mission, a few of the many include a divorced dad of two who lost his job and can’t afford rent in Austintown, a mom and dad from Boardman, both with minimum wage jobs, facing foreclosure and a Youngstown retiree living alone who isn’t old enough yet to collect Social Security.

In addition to reaching out with immediate food and shelter needs, the mission also gives its residents and beneficiaries a hand up through guidance and training to restart their lives. It does so without any governmental support or United Way funding. And it is a responsible steward of its gifts. Financial records are audited annually by an independent accounting firm and are available upon request. The mission has been certified excellent by the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, meaning it serves as a model for about 250 other Rescue Missions in the nation.

A matter of faith

Clearly Mahoning Valley residents and institutions can place their faith in the faith-based work of the mission. As a result, they should have no qualms in placing their dollars — and no amount is too small — into the Summer Relief drive. They can do so in several ways: through special collections at churches, through checks sent to the mission’s warehouse and offices at 2246 Glenwood Ave., Youngstown 44511, through its website at rescuemissionmv.org or in person at the Glenwood Avenue warehouse or the main resident facility at 962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

The need is so strong and the recipient so worthy that we’re counting on our community to respond just as it did a few months ago when our compassion and persistence reaped $1 million through a national foundation to fight hunger. We’re confident that Valley residents and groups will rally around the $100K in 100 Days Summer Relief campaign in similar fashion to produce similar stellar results.