Dear Friend of the Mission,
The homeless men who come to the Whosoever Gospel Mission are working hard every day to rebuild their lives. You can be encouraged knowing that your gift provides our men with a hand-up from poverty and not just a hand-out.
Helping our men obtain up-to-date state-issued positive identification is one of the most important things that we do for them. Without state-issued identification, our men are stuck. They cannot get a legal job, they cannot open a bank account, they cannot get medical treatment at private or public health centers, they cannot apply for various government benefits, they cannot pick up from the pharmacy life-saving prescriptions, they cannot enroll in a vocational training program in order to get a better job, and they cannot rent their own apartment.
Obtaining their state-issued positive identification is also one of the most challenging hurdles that our men face. This costs money that our men do not have. It often requires legal expertise to help our men successfully jump through the hoops and over the hurdles in order to obtain their state-issued ID. In some cases our men are the victims of identity theft. Someone stole their identity. In other cases, our men have lost important documents such as their birth certificate which are essential to obtaining state-issued positive ID. In some cases, our men have been living under an alias for decades, and now they want to do the right thing and start living by their legal name.
Some of our men arrive at the Mission with no state-issued ID at all; we accept them into our New Life Program because a pastor, family member or correctional facility verifies that they are who they say they are.
Bob Emberger, Executive DirectorThrough your financial support, the Whosoever Gospel Mission works hard to help our men obtain the state-issued ID they need to move forward in life. Obtaining their state-issued ID is a foundational stepping stone to so many other goals that our men are working so hard to achieve. Your kind and generous gifts are making all of these next steps possible. Over and over again we have seen God make a way when there is no way. Our God is the God of the impossible!
A very familiar credit card commercial always asks the question, “What’s in your wallet?” When many of our men first arrive at the Mission, they would answer that question somberly with shame and sadness with the word, “Nothing.” With your support, our men are soon able to joyfully answer that question with the words, “My ID!”
Rebuilding lives one brick at a time,
Robert A. Emberger, D.Min.
Executive Director