Making A Difference That Matters
Stories that Inspire.
Victories to Celebrate.
Stay connected with all the good work the Mission is doing!
A Fresh Start
“I’ve always been a heavy drinker. After a while it was getting old,” says Jim. He continues, “I was a construction worker until the economy went under around 2008. I pulled out all my savings and ended up spending all my money on partying. After the party was over, I realized it didn’t satisfy. My…
Quit Thinking and Start Listening
“I went through life raising kids, then, when they were all grown up, I decided to drink,” says Mike. “Alcohol ran in my family. I had the choice to pick it up or leave it and I chose to pick it up. I enjoyed the taste of it. Once I started drinking, the alcohol made…
Working on Faith
The youngest of four, Rebecca’s mother was single and ran a daycare. They moved around a lot. She had a stepfather at one time. It wasn’t a terribly inspirational time for her. Desiring to be cool, she started smoking and doing drugs around 13 or 14 years of age. By 18, harder drugs had taken…
Sowing and Reaping – A Mother's Giving Comes Full Circle…
“My mother has been donating to the rescue mission for many years,” recalls Chris. She was participating in the idea of ‘sowing and reaping.’ As she gave to the mission, Chris’ mother was planting seeds of blessing that would produce a great harvest for her son later in life. Prior to this Chris, experienced his…
Rebellion, Ruin, Rebuilding, Recovery
Rebecca told us, “I didn’t have a childhood. I took care of the house because my mom worked all day. Most of my childhood years, it was just my brother and me. My brother’s dad was in the picture but he was abusive to my mom and sexually abusive to me. I was robbed of…
It All Starts With a Meal
Imagine your hunger if you had just walked from Canoga Park to Oxnard. That is roughly 40 miles! It would take you about 14 grueling hours over several long days. For Ralph, it consumed three and a half days. Having his world ruined by alcohol and living off only what he could glean from fruit…
Experiencing God’s Unconditional Love!
When I came to the Lighthouse for Women and Children, I was a mess. I had just gotten out of Hillmont Mental Hospital and just got my two boys back. I had nowhere to go with my children. We were sleeping on my friend’s couch and had all our things in my car. We had…
The Life Recovery Program in Action
Jake grew up attending church and had spent time volunteering with his youth group at the Ventura County Rescue Mission. He never thought he would one day be one of the residents of the recovery program. His addictions caused him to lose his wife, lose his job, and spend time ‘couch surfing’. He was strung…
Finding Love
Although Matt grew up in a Christian home in Orange County, he experienced physical and verbal abuse as a child. He was introduced to drugs and alcohol in high school and thought he found the perfect escape from his painful reality. What started as rebellion, turned into destruction. He went to rehab for two months…
