And the sweet sound of a piano in a grand lobby is typical.
What's different
is that the man playing
the notes on this Friday morning
is a self-taught pianist, a homeless man named Isaac.
For the last five months, the Gospel Rescue Mission in Tucson
has been his refuge for 17.
Since the 1958 Gospel Rescue Mission has served
Tucson's neediest, in 2019, it expanded to this additional
site along Interstate ten.
This campus is known as a center of opportunity,
a one stop shop that includes everything from government
resources to housing, health care, faith and fellowship,
a blessing for Jeremy Raymond and his family.
Jeremy says this fall,
their landlord told them the lease would not be renewed.
one eviction already on their record.
The family couldn't
afford another, so Jerry put the family's things into storag
and they slept in their SUV at a truck stop to
be really good at this.
It was really difficult.
We were trying. This was the last resort and and
the last resort work on this particular day.
Mom is at work and it's fall break for the kids.
No money or place to go.
Foosball is their escape. No.
Ha ha ha ha. Their faces lit up there. Like this toys.
There's pool tables.
There's there's stuff.
There's stuff for them to do.
They're not just
we're not stuck up in here and that's really nice.
Dad shares this room with the boys on another floor
is where mom stays with 13 year old Morgan.
I was like, Oh my God, finally,
it's something that
actually sleep on instead of a hard core floor.
Yeah, home. And we lay down in the basement cast out.
That was all of them. They all the second.
They hit the beds.
It was that first night.
It was horrible, and I think it was all of us.
It's just sleeping in a car is hard. It's difficult.
No TV or refrigerator in the rooms, the decor limited
It's simple and their basic needs are met.
The experience is especially trying on the kids.
It's hard because you have to focus on both school
and the stress of actually being somewhere new.
It's just like it combines, and it just like
doesn't make sense to my brain.
But the family is together, and most of their worries
have diminished.
The food is amazing.
I just probably eat everything plus a little snacks,
one that it took about the entire time.
During the pandemic, gospel rescue mission met
the increase in needs.
In 2020, the shelter served more than 218,000 meals
and recorded about 60,000 bed stays for adults
and another 14,000 for children.
Leading the charge is Lisa Chastain.
It's been a labor of
love for her family since the beginning in 1953.
Our goal is for those people that really want to end
homelessness out of their lives
that they can come here and there's no excuses not to.
So we're not a one size fits all place.
You know, we do have requirements for you
to get here. You have to be able to take care of yourself.
You have to be you can't be
drunk or under the influence or on any type of drugs.
If you are, though,
we'll transport you
to detox, hold a bed and have you come back.
So our goal with everybody
that walks in the door, even though we're not 100%
fit for everybody who comes here, is to not say
we can't help you,
but to say, OK, this
organization can help you and actually get them.
Their support like that
makes a world of difference
for women like Gisela Apodaca, a mom of four,
a caregiver who lost her job during the pandemic.
I was homeless for a month with my kids in the car, and
I needed to change and I needed them for,
you know, a comfort for them somewhere to sleep.
Wake up. Yeah, there's two room suite known here is a
casita is their temporary home.
Balancing a new job
and school is tough for a family in transition.
My day, I wake up at four in the morning.
I give myself just four
and then I start getting everybody else just.
And then we're out the door by 5:00.
And then I stop at
the gas station to get them some food or, you know,
get a snack before they go to daycare and then a daycar
and then a clock.
And I work at 16 and then I come back 2:00 p.m.
I do community service.
And then a more like five to three hours
and then at 4:00, I go and pick everybody up, and then they
they come, they change their clothes, they put their backpac
and then they eat their dinner
and then they just
hang out in this area and they play for a little while.
And then then it's empty.
Every guest here is expected to volunteer
and utilize services like workforce development,
though permits to leave
are granted for work, school or other appointments.
Attorney services.
Maybe they don't have their ID.
Maybe they need medical services, dental services,
government benefits, all of those things
that are hindrances from them moving forward.
We provided the solution here.
We built this place based on relationships, right?
People are out in their homeless and they become hardened.
Their value system is lying and cheating and and arguing.
And so this is a place
where we try to rebuild their value system.
And the only way for us to be able to help them initially
is for them to trust us.
This is one of the few shelters that supports men,
women and children at one location.
Though some guests are felons, sex offenders are not permitted
More than 300 cameras and 70 staff monitor the site.
Safety is our number one priority safety and our guest
safety for our staff.
Safety for the volunteers.
After living on the streets, that peace is welcome for 50
year old Johnny Allen.
He's lived in shelters
on and off for most of his adult life. This is like.
To me, it feels like a
mansion like, you know, because you have more space.
You have rules to abide by, but you know who does it. I mean,
I have somewhere to sleep.
I can rest my head, I can eat.
I can wash my clothes.
I could, you know, they beat us three times a day.
So I mean, I'm so grateful this place is here because if
you're a mechanic
who makes money working on cars or pulling weeds,
he's hoping something permanent comes through.
We have a computer room to look for work.
I can check my email.
I can talk to my friends.
I have a phone that I got.
It's an Obama phone like I can.
I'm connected on Facebook.
So when people need me to clean the yard or do mechani
work, get off Facebook or I check my email here.
So far this year, more than 350 guests have found jobs.
In some cases, employers contact the mission
looking for workers
knowing people here are in a stable environment
and on the path to recovery.
It's made possible
by generosity and compassion of more than 300 volunteers
who donate nearly 30,000 hours every year.
Yes, we all need real change is wonderful in
this space, and the hope it offers is the vision
and action of Humberto Lopez,
a longtime philanthropist who made his fortune in real estate
He bought this former hotel and partnered
with Gospel Rescue Mission on a 99 year lease.
The first, the goal was to
treat these people with dignity and respect, provided
all the service would get to set up an endowment
to be able to carry the services center, provide grants
to those operating here and to maintain the property.
Born and raised in the border towns of Nogales,
his family struggled.
I grew up in welfare and I've been very blessed.
So what I'm doing is sharing my blessings
and have said for years, those much have been
given. We have an obligation to give back.
The center is privately funded over the last two years,
in-kind donations have averaged between four and $5 million.
I don't see the problem that we see today is going
to go away anytime soon.
I think it's going to be with us for a long, long time.
So as long as we have the problems, we hope to be here.
What is your personal hope for the men, the women,
the children who come in through these doors?
I, my hope is for them to get well, to go out again
as productive citizens of the community
and live a normal life
as opposed to the life we are living right now.
Why do this? I mean, you don't have to. You're
a long time philanthropist, successful businessman.
Well, you know, I've got everything I want.
There's nothing else I need and I've got more than I need. So
it it's a it's a good way to use my money
to help others with help, and it was right up
there to bring it back.
Simple as that. Well, there's no other motive behind it.
Every time we're given a dollar, I get $2, the more I give.
That's the reason I'm giving more to and keep growing
The faces will change.
The desire to help will not.
Nor will the appreciation.
Don't be afraid to ask for help
and go to God. I mean, he'll he'll help you out.
I mean, he provided this place for us and it's working for us.
So, I mean, just have faith.
It's going to get better. You can only hit rock bottom once.