Imagine you’re walking along Holly Street in downtown Bellingham. Shivering doesn’t even help to warm you anymore, you’ve been outside so long. You haven’t eaten in two days. Your feet seem to get heavier with each step. You just wish someone would notice. But you feel invisible.
Being on the streets, I was very hungry.
This was Jim’s reality: “Being on the streets, I was very hungry. I felt bad, my stomach really hurt and a lot of the time I couldn’t sleep because of it. I prayed every night that things would change.”
After being homeless for six months, Jim has gotten used to skipping meals. He struggles with memories from his childhood, which he tries to ignore by using drugs and alcohol. He wishes he could stay clean. This will be his first Thanksgiving spent without family after breaking ties with them.
Sadly, Jim’s story is one of many in our community. We’ve all seen that the need is great. At least 700 people are homeless on any given day in Whatcom County according to the latest point-in-time count. And 42% of those people are without shelter.
You Can Help Someone Who is Homeless Today
Hopefully you’ll never know firsthand the difficulty and loneliness of being homeless. But you can help someone who does.
People become homeless for so many reasons – childhood trauma, mental illness, addiction, health complications, disaster, domestic violence, loss of income.
Regardless of the cause, Lighthouse Mission is there to welcome all and help however possible. It starts with a meal or the gift of a pair of socks, and develops into friendship over time.
A meal at Lighthouse Mission costs just $2.17. Here’s one way you could help:
Each year, Lighthouse Mission Ministries hosts a special Thanksgiving dinner. This year it’s on November 29th. And it’s made possible by people like you! With your help, instead of going hungry that day, Jim and others will get to enjoy a filling Thanksgiving meal with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and fresh pumpkin pie.
Your Online Gift Will Help Someone Like Jim.
And instead of spending the day depressed and alone, you can help a neighbor like Jim feel valued, and spend Thanksgiving surrounded by friends who feel like family.
Your donation toward a Thanksgiving meal will help someone start their journey towards recovery and a healthy future. Give a neighbor a reason to be thankful and signup today for a monthly donation to Lighthouse Mission.
Lighthouse Mission Ministries is a Bellingham nonprofit with the mission of healing homelessness with Christ’s power and love. This privately operated, Jesus-centered organization reaches out to people experiencing homelessness and offers helpful items, friendship, recovery programs, and a safe, supportive environment for people to get their lives back. On an average night well over three hundred adults and children call Lighthouse Mission home.
