Yesterday morning, the Governor visited the Raleigh Rescue Mission (RRM), and Executive Director Lynn Daniell gave the Governor a tour of the day-to-day operations of the Mission’s good work. With Thanksgiving just a few days away, it was a humbling experience to hear the stories of the men, women and children who talked about how grateful they are to have shelter and food.
The Governor spoke to two women who are making great strides to overcome addiction. One woman told of her one-year progress and shed a few tears of happiness. Another woman asked the Governor for prayer and thoughts because she was approaching her third month of recovery. She discussed the difficulties she faces every day, but she also was optimistic that she could beat the addiction and turn her life around. Both women were grateful to have another chance at RRM.
The Governor visited the children’s development center and listened to the pre-schoolers of homeless mothers talk about what they were thankful for—one child was thankful for a brother and others were thankful for their mothers. While the Governor listened to the children talk about their blessings and watched them make turkey hats, she saw hope in the eyes of the children and listened to their infectious laughter as they talked about Thanksgiving.
The Governor stopped to listen to every person she met along the tour of the facilities. She heard their story and learned about their lives, both past and present. She met a young lady with four children who is determined to complete nursing classes, and working with staff at RRM, it is obvious she will complete her classes and be gainfully employed. She and the Governor talked about the example she is setting and how it encourages her older children to learn and study.
Then, we were outside where we met a gentleman from Bunn delivering a pickup truck load of collards and turnips. He said he makes deliveries from his farm weekly to the RRM and that he enjoys giving back to the community and providing food to those in need. The Governor called him an angel—she called many of the volunteers at the RRM angels. And we met the guys cooking turkeys to serve on Thanksgiving—must have been 10 turkeys on each large cooker.
The RRM helps more than 6,000 homeless and near-homeless individuals per year (men, women and moms with children) and has a residential capacity per night of about 100 individuals. About 62 percent of those served at RRM are women and children. RRM depends very heavily on donations of food, clothing, miscellaneous supplies, medical supplies, etc., and of course, volunteers are needed to supplement the work of a great staff.