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Poverty and homelessness are complex. There is no blueprint solution to "fix the problem," and the more we hunt for one, the more likely we'll miss the individual complexities that deserve careful and compassionate focus. Those individual complexities mean that each person's route out of poverty is no less unique than a set of fingerprints.
There is, however, one common denominator to every person's story of escape: a job. No one gets out of poverty without a job. That's why employment is one of our three primary outcomes at the mission, and it's why we build partnerships with local employers. We know they need workers, and we know people who need work.
One of our programs serves as a temp employment agency for a manufacturing firm. We test our guests out, making sure they can do the work, then provide the transportation to and from the job every day. This has been one small but important part of Christian's journey out of poverty.
“I didn’t want to come to Watered Gardens, but God put me here because it’s where I needed to be, and I’m not done yet. I already knew God but had been losing my way. I was looking for someone to help me really change and not fall back into old patterns. I’ve found them through Watered Gardens—people to help mentor me, a new church family, and even a job with a much healthier work environment. God is my father, but I’ve found a family here.”
Christian's story is unique with a very dark and abusive background before he ran away at age 15 and made a series of poor choices that finally landed him at the mission. Not falling "back into old patterns" has been the outcome of church, relationships, and yes—a job. Your support is helping provide work opportunities and paving the way for unique routes out of poverty.
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