October 2026:

Phoenix Rescue Mission – Transforming Lives. Transforming the Valley.

October 10 marks World Homeless Day, a day to remember our neighbors who are still waiting for a way home. Because of your generosity, our Street Outreach team is making sure they know Hope has arrived – bringing rescue, safety, and second chances to people across the Valley. Read on as our Street Outreach case managers share, in their own words, what your compassion made possible for Sarah, Anna, Monica, Josh, and Warren.

In this issue:

Thank You for Seeing Sarah

From a Park Bench to a Place to Rebuild

You Followed Through for a Mother in Mesa

You Opened a Door on the Streets of Scottsdale

In Glendale, You Gave a Weary Man a Place to Rest

From Ken: You Help Make the Way Home

Because Everyone Deserves the Chance to Come Home

Thank You for Seeing Sarah

How You Brought Sarah in from the Streets

Sarah lost her home and her safety. The first time I met Sarah, she was in tears.

Days before, she had walked away from her abuser. Then the streets added fresh wounds to her old ones. She was fighting cancer, with no way left to pay for the treatment she needed.

Worst of all, she no longer believed anyone was looking out for her.

Someone was, though. You were.

When I sat down with Sarah, she needed two things right away: a safe place to sleep and doctors who could treat her. One program for women fleeing violence had an opening for her, but that opening sat weeks out. Sarah couldn’t spend those weeks alone on the streets.

A closed door is rarely the end of the story, it just means the search keeps going. I worked the phones for hours with the rest of our Street Outreach team, until one program finally said yes.

Soon Sarah was on her way to a local hospital program, where she had a real bed, doctors who could finally treat her, and people who looked her in the eye and told her she mattered.

At the start, she was sure nobody would help her. What she learned instead is that a whole community of people she will never meet refused to let her slip through the cracks. That community is you.

Thanks to you, I can tell the next person who comes to us that help is real.

Sarah’s story is still being written. Tonight she’s safe, and she isn’t alone. She is one of hundreds of neighbors across the Valley rescued off the streets because you refused to look away.

Jesus told us about the shepherd who leaves the 99 to go after the one who is lost. Thank you for sending us after the one, day after day and name after name.

From a Park Bench to  a Place to Rebuild

A Way Back, Because of You

I noticed Anna at Maryvale Park that day, sitting alone on a bench. She was just 19.

I told her about our Changing Lives Center, a place for women to rebuild their lives in safety. She listened, and then we went our separate ways.

A few days later, we crossed paths again at our Hope for Hunger Food Bank. This time Anna was ready. We walked her through a phone screening and got her a ride over for intake.

One young woman found her way back because someone stopped to listen. You are the reason we were in that park, and the reason a bed was waiting when she said “yes.”

You Followed Through for a Mother in Mesa

You Kept a Promise Monica Was Afraid to Believe

When Monica called us, she and her two children faced another sudden move with nowhere to go. They had spent years without stable housing.

Before we hung up, Monica admitted she wasn’t sure anyone would really follow through. I met her in person the next day. As trust grew, she told me she would keep her children safe through anything.

Later that same day, a program for families confirmed a room for the three of them. I lined up a ride so they could move in right away.

Monica’s children are back in school now, and she’s gathering the documents she needs for permanent housing. She doubted anyone would follow through. You did.

You  Opened a Door on the Streets of Scottsdale

You Gave Josh Time to Say Yes

For almost a year, Josh came to the Day Relief Center for food and water.

A painful breakup knocked his life sideways, and he ended up on the streets of Scottsdale. He was worn down and not sure where to begin.

One afternoon, he asked me about services, and I told him about our Transformations Recovery Program, a long-term residential program to help men, women, and families. He wasn’t ready that day, and I didn’t push.

Two weeks later, Josh came back, ready to take the next step. You put me in his path both times. On the drive to his intake, he said how grateful he was for the chance to rebuild his life from the inside out.

Josh didn’t need to be rushed. He needed a year of someone showing up, and you helped it happen.

In Glendale, You Gave a Weary Man  a Place to Rest

You Helped Warren Find Somewhere to Belong

Warren came to our Hope for Hunger Food Bank looking for food. He was 65, and years on the streets took such a toll on his body that walking or even resting had become difficult.

What he wanted most, he told me, was a safe place to lay his head.

Our long-term residential recovery program wasn’t the right fit for his health needs, so I looked outside it. Finding a local transitional housing program with room for him took months.

When that call finally came, you had a ride ready for him. I saw him there safely.

Today, Warren has a place to rest and recover, with dignity and hope, thanks to you.

From Ken: You Help Make the Way Home

October 10 is World Homeless Day, and here in the Valley nearly 10,000 of our neighbors will face it without a home.

Behind that number are real names and real faces.

Every person on our streets is someone’s son or daughter. A precious child of God.

I think often of the prodigal son, and the father who ran to meet him while he was still a long way off. That is the God we serve.

Your kindness and support reach neighbors across the Valley, helping them rebuild their lives – changing families and communities for generations. The stories in these articles, provided by our Street Outreach case managers, are a footprint of your love, and demonstrate all that you make possible.

Thank you for refusing to look away, and for giving our neighbors a chance to come home.

God Bless,
Ken Brissa
Chief Executive Officer

Because Everyone Deserves the Chance to  Come Home

October 10 is World Homeless Day. Right now in the Valley, nearly 10,000 of our neighbors are living without a home, and more than 1,300 of them are children.

This October, you can help more of them find their way home.

From October 1–10, Phoenix Rescue Mission is standing with communities around the world to confront homelessness right here in the Valley. From water and Hope Tote hygiene kits to Street Outreach and long-term recovery, your gifts turn awareness into real help.

• • Pray: Ask God to heal and protect those suffering on the streets.
• • Give: Every gift fuels outreach and life-changing care.
• • Start a fundraiser: Invite your friends and family to help.
• • Spread the word: Share the campaign and raise your voice.
• • Volunteer: Show up in person and put compassion into action.

Hope has arrived in the Valley, and you are the reason.