All of the men enrolled in the Mission’s New Life Program are working VERY hard.

In the Foundations Phase of the New Life Program (the first three months), between classes, tutoring, counseling, homework, D&A recovery meetings, and hands-on workforce development opportunities, each man is involved in about 50-54 hours each week of programmed activity.

When he graduates from the Foundations Phase of the Program and moves into the Careers Phase, he begins his job search or starts attending school outside of the Mission. Right now, Jerome is at Lincoln Tech studying automotive repair, George is at the Philadelphia Technician Training Institute studying welding, Akil is at Orleans’ Technical Institute for property maintenance and repair, and Mike is in a culinary training program at Philabundance Community Kitchen. These four men will begin their job search after they graduate from school.

Once a man finds full-time work, he stays at the Mission for another 3 months so he can budget and save, mapping out a plan for the future. He graduates from the Mission when he moves out into his own permanent housing.

The 6-9 months (or longer) that a gentleman spends at the Mission in the New Life Program represents a lot of hard work with a heaping dose of perseverance!

With all of this going on, we start each day with a hearty breakfast and good coffee (with real half & half, thanks to a friend of the Mission!), followed by a spiritual feast. Right after breakfast, Monday – Saturday, we gather in the chapel at 8:00 am to get our footing for the day. It’s a time to pause before the busyness of life gets rolling again and set our hearts and minds on the Lord and his grace. It’s a time to be reminded that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, and that his mercies never come to an end. That mercy and love – they are new and available for us today, no matter what happened yesterday. And so, together, we press on!