SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A bed to sleep in and a roof over his head — it’s something Jesse Henderson got at the San Diego Rescue Mission after he was homeless on and off for four years.
“I just feel lucky to have been able to come here actually,” Henderson said. “I asked God for help, and he led me here. When I got here, so many things were offered. Classes, they gave me a lot of time to rest and reflect.”
After completing the San Diego Rescue Mission’s rehabilitation group, Henderson is now working as an electrical apprentice and is in his own apartment with his sister.
“Everybody has a case-to-case basis. So, it’s not just like one thing fixes everybody. It’s each individual. So that’s what helped me a lot they really care about your success,” Henderson said.
To help others succeed in getting off the streets and on a different path, the Rescue Mission is in the midst of a public push called the Every Heart program to help those who need it the most.
“Because we don’t take any government funding, we need the public to help us raise $5 million to finish renovating the rooms here at our main campus downtown and to launch the navigation centers in Oceanside and National City,” said San Diego Rescue Mission CEO Donnie Dee.
The donations will be used to help access to more shelter beds across San Diego County.
“We’re going to add 260 emergency shelter beds, overnight beds, triage beds to the system. And we think ultimately, we’re going to get a chance to change the state of homelessness in San Diego,” Dee said.
Henderson told ABC 10News this push for funding can be impactful for those who are in the place he was a year ago.
“One thing doesn’t fix everybody and I think it’s great. And if more people would get on board with this place, I think the better San Diego would be,” Henderson said.
To learn more about the Every Heart program, click on this link.
