You may not know it, but at Shepherd’s Gate, Back-to-School season isn’t just for the kids!

Many of our women also go back to school — whether it’s to get their GED, attend college courses, or learn a trade at a technical school. It’s a very powerful way for them to make a new start. Not only does education help women to become self-sufficient again, it also gives them a huge sense of accomplishment and confidence. After what so many have been through before they came to us, rebuilding self-esteem is vital.

Take Brandi, for instance. She came to us after living in a tent for 2 years — and she’s only 20 years old! She came to Shepherd’s Gate to get free of her meth addiction, but she found so much more than that. She now has a strong relationship with the Lord, and she’s rebuilding her connection with her family.

Brandi dreams bigger than she used to. When she was living in the tent city, she hoped just to make enough money to make it through the day. Now, she’s going back to school this month to become an appliance technician — a career she’s admired since she was a kid! She hopes to have a home and a family of her own someday.

Her transformation is incredible!

Please pray with us for the women and children at Shepherd’s Gate who are going back to school this month. Pray for them to have the strength they need to work hard, learn new things, and continue rebuilding their lives. Thanks again for loving the women and children of Shepherd’s Gate. We’re so thankful for each one of our volunteers, donors and supporters!

Steve McRee
Executive Director, Shepherd’s Gate

I cannot believe it, but children at Shepherd’s Gate are already heading back to school. They face many challenges, but because of your support, we are helping these precious children get on the road to a successful future.

We’re only just starting to understand the full impact of homelessness on school-aged children. In addition to causing severe health, behavioral, emotional and mental problems, we know that homelessness is a severe hit to a child’s academic development.

To help put it in perspective, here is some information from the Family Housing Fund:

1. Homeless children experience developmental delays that hamper schooling at 4 times the rate of other children. These delays are due to complications at birth, and less stimulation as infants and toddlers. Homeless children also suffer from constant stress. Combined with the lowered expectations of their teachers, poor school readiness and inconsistent or absent parenting, these factors make it very difficult for homeless children to develop normally.
2. The circumstances of homelessness also make it difficult for homeless kids to do well in school. They’re constantly on the move, which is terribly disruptive. Forty-one percent of homeless children attend 2 different schools in 1 year, and 28 percent of them attend 3 or more schools. They perform poorly in math and reading, and once they fall behind, they are increasingly likely to drop out once they hit secondary school.

These children face overwhelming odds, but we, along with our faithful supporters, are hard at work to help both children and their mothers get back on their feet. Check back with us next week to hear some encouraging news about what can be done to help reverse the effects of homelessness on school-aged children.

Steve McRee
Executive Director, Shepherd’s Gate

Looking back, Angela’s not sure what she would have done without the help she received from Shepherd’s Gate and all of our loyal volunteers, donors and prayer supporters. What a difference you’ve made in her life!

Angela was on the verge of suicide, and when you look at her life, it’s not hard to understand why she felt so hopeless. Her parents were 15 and 16 when she was born, and her dad was a drug dealer. She grew up surrounded by illegal drugs, and she began using them when she was just 9 years old.

Thirty-five years later, she was homeless, jobless, terribly addicted, and she had given up custody of her daughter because she knew she was unable to provide what her little girl needed. She had never felt so alone.

Holding the gun in her hand, she asked God for a sign. She asked Him to show her if she had anything left to live for.

Within moments, her phone rang.

On the other end was a friend Angela hadn’t spoken to in over a decade. Soon her friend had told Angela about Shepherd’s Gate — and Angela came to us for help. She found peace, sobriety, and a loving relationship with a God she’d never really known before. She found verses in the Bible to encourage her and help her find strength.

Angela has now been sober for over 5 years, and has been working at the same job for 5 years. Now stable, she’s able to be the mom she always wanted to be for her daughter. In her darkest moment, I’m sure there’s no way she could have pictured the life she’s living now — but thanks to people who cared for her and prayed for her, she’s a beautiful picture of God’s power to change a life.

When you’re facing difficulties, what are some of your favorite scriptures to turn to? Please share them with us — they’ll be a big encouragement to other readers, as well as our women here at Shepherd’s Gate.

Carla McRee
Associate Director, Shepherd’s Gate

It’s summer time! Kids are out of school, families are taking trips together, and the weather is gorgeous.

But this time of year can be especially tough on vulnerable families in our community, as school is out and summer programs are becoming more rare due to budget cuts. The number of families losing their jobs, and losing their homes to foreclosure, is growing. There are more vulnerable families than ever before.

According to a recent statewide poll conducted by UCLA and the University of California, the recession is taking a major toll on California’s families, especially children:

• One in four California students is living in poverty (one in six before the recession began).
• Many counties are facing deep hunger — many students don’t have food to eat when they go home.
• Homelessness among students is growing (according to a report by the Western Center on Law and Poverty, more than 288,000 California children were homeless and attending school during the 2008-2009 school year — a 27% increase over the year before).

Homeless mothers and their children come to Shepherd’s Gate with many needs — food, shelter, and a safe place to heal from homelessness or abuse. These needs don’t take a break over the summer, and neither do we! We deeply appreciate your prayers, your gifts, and the many hours you give as volunteers here at Shepherd’s Gate. Thanks to you, we’ll continue to care for precious women and children during these hot summer months.

Steve McRee
Executive Director, Shepherd’s Gate

God continues to bless us this week in extraordinary ways. In only a few days we’ve tripled the number of fans on our Facebook fan page. We have an amazing community of people sharing their stories about the power of God to change lives.

Today we have more exciting news. From now until midnight Friday, April 16th, any gift over $15 given online will be doubled up to $3,000! A generous donor is so inspired by the growth of our online community that they want to help even more. Please give today. Your gift of any amount will help homeless and abused women and children.

What a great opportunity to continue to support the women and children who need our help. And gifts over $15 are doubled!!!

I hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity while the online matching gift is in effect. Please give a gift to double your support.

May God bless you for your care of the women and children at Shepherd’s Gate.

Steve McRee
Executive Director, Shepherd’s Gate

We have an exciting opportunity! A generous donor has offered to give $5 for every new Shepherd’s Gate Facebook fan.

You can help a homeless or abused woman or child by becoming a fan of the Shepherd’s Gate Facebook fan page.

Shepherd’s Gate will receive up to $2,000 for all new Facebook fans from April 9 through April 12. Money raised will help women and children rebuild their lives.

Through God’s grace, over 90% of those who go through the program are free from their previous lifestyle. By becoming a Facebook fan, you can ensure they no longer face violence, addiction, homelessness and abuse.

If you have questions, email us or give us a call at 925-443-4283.

Become a Facebook fan today. With a click, you can help provide safety and shelter for women and children in the Bay Area.

May God bless you for helping,

Steve

Steve McRee
Executive Director, Shepherd’s Gate

We’ve had some very atypical weather here in the past two months: downpouring rain for days, hail, even snow and ice. It got me thinking of a story I shared in a past newsletter and I wanted to share it with you again.

I was at a local park recently, and it began to rain. People picked up their children and dogs and ran towards their vehicles to escape the downpour, I was one of them. As I got into my car, I breathed a sigh of relief and cranked the heater. I sat there for a moment so grateful for my warm car and for the fact that I would be driving to my warm home.

It was then, that I was struck with the thought, “What if I couldn’t escape the cold and the rain, what if I had to live, not in the safety of a home but in the danger of the streets?” It was a late afternoon and beginning to get dark, as I sat there in my car, with the rain drumming loudly in my ears, I thought about the people who would be cold and shivering tonight, tucked under bridges or up under the eaves of buildings, trying to stay dry.

Have you ever tried to think what it would be like to be homeless? Have you ever imagined having no place to sleep at night, no money to buy food, no friends and family to help you in times of need? I have, ever since I encountered my first homeless person begging on the streets of San Diego.

I remember my heart breaking upon seeing the man sitting there on the corner, dressed in layers of filthy clothing, holding out his hand to people who passed him by as if he wasn’t even there. I was about seven years old, and I remember asking my dad for some money to give to the man. My father, being a man of wisdom and compassion, surprisingly said no. He explained to me that the money probably would not go towards food, but drugs or alcohol, and that would not bee good for him. My father went on to say that he sent money monthly to a homeless mission to care for people like the man I saw.

As we walked away from the man on the corner, I remember thinking in my seven-year-old mind that I didn’t care what he would buy with the money- HE DIDN’T HAVE A HOME!!

According to the Urban Institute, 3.5 million people in the U.S. will experience homelessness in a given year. One million of those people are children, who represent about 39% of the homeless population in America!

Approximately 23% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness. (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2003)

In most states a minimum wage worker would have to work 89 hours each week to afford a two-bedroom apartment at 30% of his or her income, which is the federal definition of affordable housing. (National Low Income Housing Coalition)

The reasons for homelessness are as diverse as the population of people that are called homeless. Whether the reason is drug and/or alcohol addiction, mental illness, domestic violence or poverty, the millions of people who will be counted among America’s homeless is growing.

As individuals, it is easy to be overwhelmed with the numbers and statistics and think we can’t make a difference with such a nationwide problem. When we remember though, that behind each number and each statistic is a name, a face, a person, and a good reason to try to affect change, even if it is one person at a time.

“Home is where the Heart is.”
“Home Sweet Home”

Two very familiar quotes that say the same thing—Home is important. Your support of Shepherd’s Gate is providing a place for many women and children who have lived on the streets or in their cars. Because of your support, they now have a place they can call HOME.

Some Facts About Homelessness
• Nearly one in five children (more than twelve million) in the U.S live in poverty (U.S Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 2000 Update). The U.S child poverty rate is higher than that of most other industrialized nations.

• 46% of cities surveyed by the U.S Conference of Mayors identified domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness ( U.S Conference of Mayors)

• Recent research indicates that even mild under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods of growth may lead to reductions in physical growth and affect brain development (The Links Between Nutrition and Cognitive Development of Children Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy).

• Families are the largest and fastest growing segment of the homeless population.

Jen Harp
Director of Marketing, Shepherd’s Gate

Creative commons photo credit: Franco Folini