Eight years ago, Kelly and her husband, David, decided they wanted to build community and find ways for their neighborhood to serve others. Along with their nextdoor neighbors, they invited people on their street to come to a workday at our previous Women and Children’s Center location.

For much of Vanessa’s life, the holidays were anything but happy. She started using marijuana when she was 10 to numb the pain of being abused. It didn’t help. By 17, she was using meth. For years she cycled between prison and homelessness.

When Terry set out on a motorcycle trip 20 years ago, he assumed he’d have a great time. He always did. But what he wasn’t expecting was how that trip connected him to the Mission.

Before coming to the Mission, Aaron says his life was “a mess.” He was living on the streets. He was struggling with addiction. He wasn’t eating enough. His mental health was at its worst. “I was like, when’s this going to end?” he remembers. “I couldn’t stop it. I would still get drunk and sit and have conversations with people that weren’t there.”