We are thrilled to announce that our long-anticipated dream has become a reality! Street Life Ministries has successfully purchased and closed on our new building in Redwood City.
It is with immense joy and gratitude that we share this incredible news with all of you who have supported us tirelessly along the way.
The live building reveal broadcast, which took place on Monday, May 8th, was a resounding success.
We were overwhelmed by the support and engagement from the community, and we want to extend our deepest gratitude to all who participated.
The broadcast provided a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase the new building and shed light on our transformative Homeless to Healthy Christian residential rehab program. During the live broadcast, we had the privilege of answering numerous questions from the community regarding the new building and our impactful programs. It was heartwarming to see the genuine interest and enthusiasm from everyone who joined us.
We are truly humbled by the immense support we have received from our community. We are eager to continue our mission of bringing hope and change to the lives of those in need.
For those who were unable to attend the live broadcast, we have great news! The entire event was recorded, and we have carefully selected highlights that are now available for viewing.
We encourage you to watch the recorded broadcast to catch a glimpse of the new building and gain further insight into our Homeless to Healthy rehab program. Simply visit our YouTube playlist to access the videos and experience the excitement for yourself.
This new building signifies a significant milestone for Street Life Ministries. It not only provides us with a permanent space to expand our services but also serves as a symbol of hope, resilience, and the unwavering commitment of our community to make a positive impact on the lives of those experiencing homelessness.
As we move forward, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to each and every one of you who has supported us on this journey. Your prayers, volunteer efforts, and generous contributions have played an integral role in making this dream a reality. Together, we will continue to empower individuals, transform lives, and create lasting change within our community.
Thank you for being an essential part of Street Life Ministries, and we look forward to sharing more exciting updates with you in the coming months.
The Street Life Ministries Team
Kev’s Korner
Hey there, my friends!! Welcome to May!!
That’s right – we’re 5 months into 2023. Time flies when you’re having fun. Well, I’ve got a few things to talk about, but before I do, get that coffee topped off, find somewhere comfortable, and strap in – cuz we’re going for another ride…
So, first off, we bought a building. It’s the old Hungarian Church on Laurel Street, right off Shasta. I checked it out, and it’s not bad at all. Honestly, I’d never heard of Laurel Street in Redwood City. First thing I thought was San Carlos – but no, there IS a Laurel Street in RWC. Anyways, it looks like a good place. Parking is kinda limited, but we can get that figured out. Buying it was 1.8 million dollars. Amazing how much real estate costs these days, man. Just crazy. Now we gotta set it up for our rehab – Homeless to Healthy. The property has the church on the ground floor, and a banquet hall and kitchen in the basement. I don’t quite have the details yet on how it’s gonna be set up, but when I do, I’ll let y’all know…
At Street Life RWC, we just switched back to paper plates. One per person. Take-out containers were getting pretty expensive, and we’d switched to them during COVID.
Although the virus is still out there, for the most part, we all kinda seem to have gone back to what is considered normal, so it didn’t make sense to keep it up with the take-out containers. Amazingly enough, there haven’t been a whole lot of complaints, either.
My awesome card system had to go the way of the Dodo too, but that’s okay – it worked for us when we needed it to, and it’ll always be there if we ever need to bring it back…
So, a week or so ago, I heard some folks talking about donating to Street Life. One of them said we’re always asking for money. It kinda ticked me off, but I didn’t say anything to them. The always asking for money comment stuck with me, though, and I’d like to explain why it always seems like we’re asking for money. A couple years back, we were given an opportunity from a generous donor. He said if we raised a million bucks, he’d match it. Straight up – he’d give us a million dollars to raise a million dollars. I doubt there are many people that would turn down something like that. Anyways, we’d never done anything like that before. We knew it would open avenues to us that were previously closed, so we went for it, and the push began.
We had lawyers involved, and one of the rules was that donations to Street Life needed the words “Homeless to Healthy” on the memo section of the check in order for it to be counted into our totals for that million dollar match. Well, we told anyone and everyone that wanted to donate to write those words in the memo so we could hit our mark. We were all in, and in the end, we made it. Unfortunately, that’s when we realized that we’d had a bit of tunnel vision.
All the donations coming in were marked “Homeless to Healthy” and our general fund (the one that keeps Street Life rolling) was beginning to plummet pretty hard. Is that our fault? 100% yes, it is, but when you take it in the context I just laid out, I see it as a forgivable mistake. No one person is at fault for this – as a team, we just screwed up a little.
This also comes at a time when we are seeing a greater demand for our services due to cuts in government programs such as Covid-era CalFresh help and when our core expenses have risen dramatically because of inflation. That is why you may see donation requests on social media or in the newsletter. It certainly isn’t because we just like to put them up. We actually need the help so we can just get all the way back to normal. I mean, we help a LOT of people, and with your donation you can join us in helping folks one person at a time. It takes a village, my friends. Never doubt that…
Lord God, thanks. Thanks for another day and another chance to do better. We all make mistakes, we all screw up, but You continue to Love us despite all of our flaws. Thank You. I know we fall short of perfection, but I like to think we all try to do better than we did the day before. Even if it’s baby steps, Lord, we keep on trying. That’s part of the Beauty of Humanity. We just don’t know how to give up. I believe in my heart that You see that, God, and I hope it makes You Smile in our direction. We need You, Father, more now than ever before. Keeping our heads raised to You keeps us moving forward, Lord. Amen.
