We are sad to report that Steve McRee has passed away

It is with tremendous sorrow that we must share the untimely death of Steve McRee, our beloved CEO. After a brief illness over the weekend, Steve unexpectedly passed away early Tuesday morning. A passionate advocate for abused and homeless women and children, Steve served as CEO of Shepherd’s Gate for the past 21 years, along […]

Giving Children a Safe Place to Grow

By Steve and Carla McRee “But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread Your protection over them, that all who love Your name may be filled with joy.”       —Psalm 5:11 (NLT) One of the saddest things we hear over and over from women is that they wish […]

One Life Makes A Difference

By Steve McRee Our brave founder, AliceAnn Cantelow, went to be with Jesus Sunday, August 22nd at the age of 91. She passed peacefully, surrounded by her family. “We find that we need to stay close to [the women] to keep them on the right track, so we need to have a more permanent residential […]

A Life Restored: Elise’s Story

Elise* grew up in a home filled with chaos, addiction and abuse. She was regularly beaten before she turned 6. She was “hit to learn” — if she made a mistake on her spelling or her math, she was slapped. Bigger mistakes were more severely punished. Her family moved 20 times before she was 10. […]

When God Calls Your Name

By Steve McRee Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, […]

A Life Restored: Joann’s Story

By Steve McRee Homelessness doesn’t always appear as the man covered in newspapers, sleeping on a park bench; or as the person on the corner next to a shopping cart or backpack holding everything they own, asking those who pass by for spare change. According to the Department of Education and the most recent Census […]

Back to School

By Vernon Hills Our resident children in Brentwood have just returned to school, and our Livermore kids will also go back soon. Please keep them in your prayers — these kids have dealt with so much! Children who have faced homelessness, parental addiction or domestic violence face steep odds in succeeding in school. They often attend […]

In God’s Hands

By Steve McRee “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” —Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) Recently one of the women in our program was truly struggling. She was discouraged and wondering if maybe she had been dreaming to […]

The Working Women’s Program

By Vernon Hills Over the past few years, we’ve noticed another core group of women and children who were struggling right here in our area — the working poor. These working mothers are teetering right on the edge of homelessness — they struggle to make enough money to feed and house their family. And while they desperately […]

From Our Hearts – Generations of Changed Lives at Shepherd’s Gate

By Steve and Carla McRee At Shepherd’s Gate, we are constantly driven by a sense of urgency — we know women and children face desperate and dangerous circumstances each day. And to us, even one more day spent in homelessness, addiction or abuse is too many. That’s why we will be working hard to get 3 additional […]