Homeless-services organization operating in Merced without a home

Randy Phillips ate his corn flakes Friday morning at the Calvary Assembly of God Church in Merced and stared at a small rock he keeps in his pocket. It’s a piece of the now-razed Merced County Rescue Mission where Phillips and other homeless men and women used to get help.

The jagged piece of stucco is a small chunk of the building that once stood at 1921 Canal St. and opened as the Merced County Rescue Mission in 1991.

The building was torn down about two weeks ago, but the Rescue Mission continues to serve recovering addicts, the homeless and more vulnerable groups through existing programs that now are scattered throughout the city.

Losing the building has created some problems for those seeking help from the mission, but it also has made some things easier.

Phillips, a 52-year-old man who sleeps on the streets, said the new location for the Mission’s meal program at Calvary on R Street is actually more convenient for him.

“It’s a good thing it’s here instead of downtown,” Phillips said. “This location is better for a lot of people. For me, it’s closer to where I sleep.”

Cecilia Garza never used the meal program until it moved to the new location late last year. Garza, 30, a recovering drug user, stays at the D Street shelter for women. She leaves the shelter around 6 a.m. each morning and walks or takes The Bus to Calvary each morning.

“Without this meal,” she said, “to tell you the truth, I’d go without eating.”

Patricia Herring Meidel, who previously was homeless, now volunteers her time for the meal program. She said attendance has dropped a bit since the move and volunteers are struggling to get the word out to more people who could benefit.

“They all think there’s no more mission, but here we are,” Herring Meidel said. She and the other volunteers are working to spread the news by word of mouth and by handing out fliers.

Early this year, the fire department deemed the Rescue Mission’s 100-year-old building on Canal Street a safety risk, and mission leaders quickly began looking to relocate services to safer facilities.

Though the Mission’s former building now is a leveled dirt lot secured by a chain link fence, the programs and services are thriving, said Phil Schmauss, the mission’s marketing director.

The Mission is housing people through various programs in seven homes sprinkled throughout different parts of Merced. Some are group homes for sober living, others are for people recovering from medical issues.

A Room at the Inn

One of those programs, called “A Room at the Inn,” provides transitional housing for a family trying to get back on its feet.

“Our hope is they won’t have to repeat the process,” Schmauss said. “We create an action plan to get them into permanent housing. We lease to the family for up to one year and shadow them for a year, helping them to clean up their history and any outstanding things in their backgrounds. The program is a stepping stone.”

Cristal and Matthew Morales, both in their 30s, moved into the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Suzanne Court on June 1 with their three young daughters – Yireh, 7; Zowah, 5; and Rhema Star, 1. Cristal is more than six months pregnant with a fourth child.

The Rescue Mission purchased the home with grant money. Initially, leaders hoped to house multiple families there, but to meet funding requirements only one family can live in the home.

“It’s about quality, not quantity,” Schmauss said. “If there was more than one family here, someone might fall through the cracks.”

The Morales family will live in the home for one year, establishing a rental history, cleaning up their credit and working toward becoming self-sufficient.

Finding a home for a family of five was no easy feat, Cristal said. Child Protection Services removed the couple’s daughters from them more than a year ago. The couple needed a place to stay in order to get their children back.

“When CPS came and took the kids, that was the most devastating thing that ever happened to us,” Cristal said. “It was the most ugly feeling.”

Cristal and Matthew lived in an RV and their car for periods while putting in applications for apartments everywhere. “I was getting weary. I asked God, ‘Lord, do you remember we’re here?’ We did every little thing to get our daughters back,” Cristal said. “We said, “Phil, we need your help. We can’t find anything. If you can help us, we’d be so grateful.’ It’s been a long road.”

Now, Matthew has a construction job and is working to get his driver’s license. The family is settling into their new home just in time to prepare for the new baby’s arrival.

Matthew has started pulling weeds in the backyard before planting a lawn. He hopes to build an awning for shade. After living in the home for barely a week, the house is sparsely furnished with beds, but not yet a kitchen table.

“God opens doors for those who seek it,” Matthew said. “The Rescue Mission opened doors for us. I want to work on the house for the next family, so they can be comfortable and have nice green grass to enjoy.”

Community support

Schmauss said even though the Rescue Mission’s building was torn down, programs like this one were able to continue with the community’s help.

“People really rallied behind us,” he said. “We facilitate these services as a faith-based organization. But we believe God’s ministry is really the people’s mission.”

The Rescue Mission is working closely with city and county officials to help identify a “user-friendly” location to rebuild an overnight shelter with a commercial kitchen.

In the meantime, the Rescue Mission’s new office is at 527 W. 20th St. People can drop off food and clothing donations there, or give monetary donations on the mission’s website.

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Homeless-services organization operating in Merced without a home."