San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission

Our mobile shower program doesn’t just provide a refreshing shower in the blistering summer, it also provides community & connection. Together with our church partners, our guests receive a meal, a shower, & a chance to be truly seen.

For our unhoused neighbors, it’s easy to feel isolated & dehumanized. The mission strives to be a tangible expression of God’s love to the most vulnerable in our community.

DM us if you’d like to visit one of our mobile shower sites & learn more about the mission’s programs.

Waiting for fall & some of our most urgently needed items! Top 4 items on our list are urgently needed. Donations can be dropped off Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

You can also purchase from your favorite retailer & have it delivered to us directly at 8756 Canby Ave. Northridge. Thank you to all of our wonderful community partners for donating!

From home items to gently used clothing & shows, shopping with a purpose never felt so good.

Do you know that when you donate or shop at the mission’s “Super Thrift” stores 100% of net proceeds go directly to our programs?

This means that you’re partnering with us to provide clean beds, hot meals & showers to our most vulnerable in the community.

Come by Monday-Saturday 8am-8am to Super Thirft North Hollywood or Super Thrift Reseda.

Our graduation ceremony is just 3 weeks away! We are so excited to celebrate this milestone for the men in our Life Recovery Program & the families who have moved into their own homes!

Join us in the celebration & lite bites after the program. DM us if you’d like to attend.

Emily started running away when she was 15. She’d be gone for sometimes months at a time, and then return, only to take off again. “I’d go to my friend’s and she would find me places to stay by texting guys in her phone.”

The trauma did not end there. At 15, Emily ended up living with a 21-year-old in his truck. “I lived with him for months, although it felt like years,” she said. “He would have his way with me on a daily basis. “I was always crying. I just wanted someone to come find me and take me away from there. But no one cared I was there.”

Emily resented her mom for not helping her. She was crushed when she returned home and all her things had been discarded. “My mom did the best she could,” Emily said. “The more I went through, the more I would act out. My family couldn’t see it. They just saw me as misbehaving and that I was a bad kid. She does love me. She just didn’t know how to help me.”

By 16, Emily said she was “drinking vodka like water to numb the pain.”At 18 and pregnant, Emily summoned all her strength to overcome her circumstances.

To read Emily’s full story click the link below

https://sfvrescuemission.org/emily-believed-in-god-and-herself-to-overcome-trials/

Last week, we were invited to share about the mission’s programs on radio Nueva Vida. Josie was able to speak about the mission’s vision & values & share about the vital services offered at no cost to those experiencing homelessness or addiction.

It is always a joy to get to share about the mission’s transformational work & services in our community & beyond. If you’d like to learn more about our programs, volunteer opportunities or how to partner with us, DM us to learn how.

We had a great time at our first Summer Family Picnic! Our guests, & their family & friends were able to gather for food, fun & games!

The heat didn’t stop us from eating, laughing & playing. Even the big kids got in on the action & played a competitive round of musical chairs!

We want to thank our host Pathway SFV & Pastor Evert, Jair for Jersey Mike’s Subs & our team for serving & getting in on the fun!

Once bound, now set free…

After a drunk altercation, Felix was arrested on a weapons charge and placed on house arrest. Although the altercation did not involve Felix’s family, they filed a temporary restraining order against Felix. With nowhere else to go, Felix resorted to sleeping in the streets.

“I slept in the park and under cars when it was raining. I had no money, no job, no car. I was just wasting away in my addiction,” Felix shared. “I thought that using drugs was just going to be for a moment. But then it was one year, three years, five years, then10- plus years. What I thought were just moments were actually years of my life flashing by.”
Felix heard about Renewed Hope during a recovery meeting, a requirement of his parole. “A (program resident) recommended this program .. he said I would have to follow rules, change my way of living, and that I would need to turn to Christ, but that my life would change. And I said, ‘You know what, that honestly sounds like a really good idea.’”

In March 2024, Felix entered the men’s Life Recovery Program at the mission. “It’s a really nice place. They have actual beds here,” Felix laughed. “They immediately helped me get this program approved by the courts and my parole officer. Now I can go do all the activities, like work therapy, church, life classes.”

To read Felix’s full story click the link below

https://sfvrescuemission.org/felix-has-hope-after-wasting-years-to-addiction/

Congratulations to our very own Alejandro for receiving a certificate of appreciation from CD7 for his volunteer work. Alejandro is a wonderful example of service & community building.

We are so grateful to have him on our team as he leads our men in our recovery program & is an exceptional teammate to all of us. Way to go Alejandro!

Thank you Leroy & Steve from Senator Henry Stern’s office for touring the mission. We enjoyed our time with you & look forward to collaborating soon.

If you’d like to tour the mission, DM us to schedule!

We are so overjoyed whenever one of our families moves into their own home. Congratulations Latay on a job well done!

We are also so grateful for our partners, Deed & Truth who furnished Latay’s home this past weekend. Because of their partnership our program graduates are able to keep their savings for a “rainy day.”

Also big shout out to our Renewed Hope guys for volunteering their time to make this a wonderful day for Latay & her kiddos. This is community coming together to break the cycle of homelessness in the lives of our families.

If you’d like to learn more about the mission’s programs or volunteer with us, DM us to learn how.

Thank you for coming to the mission to teach our kids money management & meal hosting.

Our families enjoyed the delicious dinner. If you’d like to meal host at the mission, send us a DM to learn how.

Summer is heeeeeeeeeeere! Help us meet our families immediate needs by donating some of our most needed items! Top 4 items on our list are, urgently needed. Donations can be dropped off Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

You can also purchase from your favorite retailer & send them to us directly at 8756 Canby Ave. Northridge. Thank you to all of our wonderful community partners for donating!

We love all of our dinner host’s but it was extra special to have some of our program graduates return to prepare a delicious meal for our current families. It speaks to how grateful they are to their time with us & is a tangible blessing & encouragement to us all.

If you’d like to meal host with the mission DM us to learn more.

By 13, Javier was using drugs. By 17, Javier was a gang member. “I was hurt and angry at my stepdad, my family, at everyone. I was looking for somewhere to belong,” Javier shared. At 18, Javier had his first child, quickly having two more children. “I was a young father. I was a kid having a kid. I didn’t know what to do, I never had a relationship with my dad. Instead, I became more active in drugs; I went to jail more often.”

After nearly 30 years of drugs, jail, gangs, homelessness, and “selfishness,” Javier had become hopeless. “I didn’t have my kids, I didn’t have my family, I had nothing,” he said. On September 10th, 2023, Javier attempted to kill himself, twice. “I jumped in front of a car. I was hit and injured, but I was high, and I didn’t feel anything. So, I got up and limped in front of an 18-wheeler. It stopped right before hitting me. I remember being angry at God for not letting me die.”

“Here, (at Renewed Hope) there’s a concrete foundation, which I needed. There’s so many different tools and classes, like the Genesis Process. It makes you uncomfortable, but it gives you a chance to learn about yourself. It’s scary but the case managers here help guide you through it.”

To read Javier’s full story click the link below.

https://sfvrescuemission.org/life-is-more-beautiful-this-side-of-recovery/

Summer is almost here! Help our families by providing our most urgently needed items.

Donations can be dropped off Monday-Friday between 9am-5pm.

Items can also be purchased from your favorite retailer & delivered directly to us at 8756 Canby Ave. Northridge

For the past six years, Nourishing Neighbors has supported the Rescue Mission Alliance by filling our food pantries and providing hot meals to hungry men, women and children in Ventura County and San Fernando Valley.

As Nourishing Neighbors celebrates their 10-year anniversary, we are proud to call them our partners and friends. For more information about our free programs and services, visit: sfvrescuemission.org

Jose said that when he was a kid, he was diagnosed with Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I started getting in trouble. I was always smart, I just didn’t know how to apply it.” I’d just react on energy. I was always the funny one, the attention-getter.

Jose started drinking and getting into fights. The next year, he got in trouble with the law and the school expelled him. He went back to school briefly but dropped out.

Jose got married young and had two children. Jose experienced “a pull, a sort-of tug o’ war” between being a family man and succumbing to a lifestyle of drugs and criminal activity. At 23, Jose was arrested for robbery with a firearm and went to prison for 13 years. “Prison was a whole different ball game,” he said. “It was not a nice place.”

Last October, right before he was released from another stint in jail, Jose reached out to God. I got on my knees, and began to pray. I cried out to God and told Him I was ready to surrender and submit my life to Him.”
Jose came to Renewed Hope and he hasn’t looked back.

To read Jose’s full story, click the link below 👇🏽

https://sfvrescuemission.org/as-jose-nears-50-he-commits-to-growth/

Summer brings heat, sun, and a surge in people who need help. Partner with us by visiting sfvrescuemission.org/campaigns/summer-2024

Thank you Senator Caroline Menjivar & team.

It’s not too late! We are almost at our goal to have every dollar matched, dollar for dollar up to $51,500.

Three days left to donate & double your impact through the month of May! Link in bio.

https://sfvrescuemission.org/campaigns/matching-2024/

We are running out of time, please help us meet our goal!

Thanks to a generous matching challenge gift, every dollar you donate in May will be doubled, up to $51,500.

Learn more at sfvrescuemission.org/matching-2024

Thank you to all of our sponsors, community partners & friends for making our 25th Anniversary Celebration a smashing success!

We are so grateful to our awardees Councilmember John Lee, Wade Trimmer & alumni speakers for sharing their stories of transformation.

If you weren’t able to make it, there’s still time to give! Every dollar donated through the end of May will be doubled up to $51,500!

https://sfvrescuemission.org/campaigns/matching-2024/

We are making progress! We only have about half the month remaining, so please help if you can!

Thanks to a generous matching challenge gift, every dollar you donate this month will be doubled, up to $51,500.

Learn more at sfvrescuemission.org/campaigns/matching-2024

April showers bring May flowers & we’re hoping it also brings some of our most urgently needed items!

Donations can be dropped off Monday-Friday between 9am-5pm.

Items can also be purchased from your favorite retailer & delivered directly to us at 8756 Canby Ave. Northridge