For ten years, Eric enjoyed his job as a welder, which provided a good living to support his family and raise three kids. But slowly he began to notice the steady stream of work starting to dry up.

“Jobs became few and far between,” he says. “Money got thin, and I ended up on the streets.”

Eric worked what odd jobs he could, cleaning yards to make ends meet. “But the older you get, the harder it is to get work,” he says.

Without a stable source of income, Eric couldn’t afford rent, and for the next five years, he was homeless… sleeping next to buildings… relying on food stamps for meals. He even suffered a stroke.

To cope with all his struggles, Eric began drinking more and more. “Drinking was never a problem before… just social. But when I ended up on the streets, it got bad – big time.”

Coming to the San Diego Rescue Mission was the catalyst Eric needed to change his life. “I looked around the place and thought, ‘What do I have to lose?’”

Eric says he’d never opened a Bible before coming to the Rescue Mission. “But now I can’t seem to put it down!” Through our faith-based program and the guidance of staff and pastors, Eric has even embraced a relationship with Christ!

“I feel a lot better about myself than I did,” he says of his transformation. “Now I can accomplish things a whole lot easier than I ever could before.”

Today, Eric is working in our kitchen, has reconnected with his children and grandchildren, and is saving up for a place of his own.

This Thanksgiving season – and all through the year – your kind generosity fills hearts with hope and gratitude… and transforms lives through God’s love! “I have a clear mind and a clean slate to start over, and that’s pretty cool.”

To read this issue of Mission in Motion, click to download.