Dear Friends,
Jesus cares deeply for children. When he was on earth the culture of the day did not value children at all. They were less than. It is in this culture that Jesus says some pretty important things. He takes children in His arms and blesses them. He tells His listeners that unless they have faith like a child, they cannot enter the Kingdom of God. He even says that if anyone causes harm to come to a child it would be better for them if a stone was tied around their neck and they were thrown in the river. Jesus cared about and valued children and He still does.
According to the latest HUD report, family homelessness increased 39 percent in 2024. During the 2022-23 school year, 1.4 million children and youth experienced homelessness in America. Forty percent of all people evicted in America are children. Finally, we know that at least 44 percent of the adults experiencing homelessness first experienced it as a child.
What if we could get upstream? What if we could do something to keep families with children in their homes and not become homeless? The great news is that we can. Many Missions around the country have had great success launching prevention programs and keeping families in their housing. Last year the Mission I used to lead prevented over 300 families on the verge of becoming homeless from ever losing their home. In 2025 Denver Rescue Mission will launch a Prevention Program pilot to get upstream, keep families with children housed and impact the number of adults experiencing homelessness we see years from now. We want to try to break the cycle.
Helping a family remain housed makes sense. It makes economic sense. One of our partners who works with families on a national scale reports that we can prevent a family from becoming homeless on average for a one time help of $1,400. It is far more expensive to help them leave homelessness once they have entered the system. It makes sense from the perspective of breaking the cycle of homelessness and impacting future homelessness. It also makes sense spiritually. Jesus loves the little children. These kids did not ask to be in this situation and did nothing to cause it. At DRM we are excited to bless children and families and help them out of their current situation, one life at a time.
In coming months, you will hear much more about this exciting program. As always, we cannot do this work without you. It will take extra resources to launch this pilot program. I would humbly ask you to prayerfully consider helping this become a reality.
Grace and peace,
Dennis Van Kampen
President/CEO
This post is part of March’s Changing Lives Newsletter. This month, we’re sharing how we work to help individuals maintain housing and prevent homelessness in: Can We Stop Homelessness Before It Starts?
