One tragedy led to another for Jose. His father-in-law passed away, leaving his mother-in-law on her own. Jose and his wife moved their family in with her… only to find out her house was under foreclosure. After they were evicted, they had to stay at hotels. “We ran out of money and that’s how I ended up at the Allentown Rescue Mission,” he shares.
“My biggest challenge before coming here was getting back to where I was,” he says. “To have a home and be able to provide for my wife and kids.”
When Jose arrived at our doors, he immediately felt welcomed. “They were very helpful,” he recalls.
Jose believes there is a reason for everything, including the circumstances that brought him to the Allentown Rescue Mission. “I met a lot of different men here. If I never became homeless, I would’ve never met many of them,” he says. “I think this is God’s way of bringing me here – to introduce me to a new family.”
“It’s good to know that I now have somebody I can count on.”
Our faith-based program has helped him be more patient and think before reacting. Jose says the most impactful thing he has learned is to “never judge anybody. You never know what your neighbors are going through. Everybody has a different situation.”
Jose is thankful for the resources and life-skills classes, including the landscaping he does as part of our workforce development program, to help him succeed. “With what I learned here, maybe one day I’ll open up my own landscaping business,” he says.Thank you for your love and support of neighbors like Jose. Your kindness has reminded him that he is not alone and that a better life is possible! “If it weren’t for the Allentown Rescue Mission, I could’ve been living under a bridge, struggling. They’ve given me an opportunity to try to move up and succeed.”
