You're helping build relationships with our homeless neighbors!
The Search + Rescue team is Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission’s first responder and outreach ministry. Led by Director of Outreach Darren Caves, this team is possible because of supporters like you. It’s comprised of both staff and volunteers who head out day and night to the greater Seattle area, building relationships with our neighbors on the streets.
The Search + Rescue team is Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission’s first responder and outreach ministry. Led by Director of Outreach Darren Caves, this team is possible because of monthly supporters like you. It’s comprised of both staff and volunteers who head out day and night to the greater Seattle area, building relationships with our neighbors on the streets.
Too often, one of the greatest hurdles for our neighbors facing homelessness is not knowing whom to trust. Beyond material poverty, people living on the streets are experiencing relational poverty. Without family or friends to turn to when the bottom falls out of their circumstances, men and women who are homeless are the most isolated and lonely.
To this end, Search + Rescue not only meets immediate needs, but also seeks to build genuine, trusting relationships. Darren shares, “I love our ministry because it’s very relationship-oriented.”
In dangerously cold weather, those relationships especially come in to play. Through the friendships Darren and his team have formed, they frequently know where our most isolated homeless neighbors are camped out — whether that’s in wooded areas or hidden back alleys.
“Search + Rescue runs from at least 10 AM to 11 PM five days a week,” Darren says. “Especially during extreme weather, we’re on call and trying to reach those in desperate need.”
“I’ve taken people directly off the streets, gotten them into our program, seen them graduate, and then start a brand-new life. It’s a blessing to be a part of that life change!”
With a rush of emotion, Christina remembers how many times she felt close to giving up during her seven years suffering on the streets.
“I used to live downtown Seattle underneath a bridge,” Christina reveals. “When you’re homeless, you don’t have anybody. You’re just so broken.” The sole bright light in her life was when the Search + Rescue team would visit her. They would deliver essentials, but even more than that, Search + Rescue offered friendship and emotional support that helped Christina make it through her darkest days.
“Search + Rescue would bring me blankets, hot cocoa, and talk to me. Those interactions with people who genuinely cared meant so much. It kept me alive,” she admits with honesty. Eventually, Christina accepted the invitation to get off the streets.
Now after walking through recovery, Christina is working as a peer counselor, helping men and women who are still active in addiction.
“I want to be a beacon of hope to others,” Christina shares with passion.
President's message
There are few things more painful than mourning the loss of a loved one. It's a pain that touches every fiber of your being, particularly if you lose someone close to you like a parent, spouse, or child. There’s a physical ache inside knowing that you’ll never hear that person’s voice. You’ll never hold them in your arms, grasp their hands, or see their smile this side of heaven.
In Jesus’ parable of the lost son, He tells the story of a father who believed his son was as good as dead. When his son returns alive, there’s rejoicing as the father calls for celebration. Today on our streets, men and women are lost. They feel alone, disconnected, and far away from those who love them. With your partnership, our Search+ Rescue team will seek out these individuals. We’ll get to know their names. We'll listen to their stories. We'll remind them that they’re loved by God and by us. We’ll invite them inside for safe shelter and recovery. This is how our lost neighbors become found.
Please join us in rejoicing as people who feel alone, disconnected, and dead inside are finding the love and support they need for a whole new life, thanks to you!
— Scott Chin, President of Seattle's Union Gospel Mission
Help save a life this winter
Winter is a brutal time to be homeless on the streets of the greater Seattle area. The wind cuts right through while the rain beats down.
Every $18.15 you give now will deliver critical essentials for survival. With more than 16,000 neighbors experiencing homelessness, every life matters. And every gift you give will make a meaningful difference in delivering lifesaving care and an invitation to find shelter and recovery at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission.
Homeless neighbors are at risk of losing their lives every night they stay on the streets, so please give generously now!
