The Miami Rescue Mission is gearing up to celebrate 100 years of service
The nonprofit organization has made its mark serving the homeless in Florida
The Miami Rescue Mission/Facebook
Logo for the Miami Rescue Mission, a Florida-based organization that provides key services and programming for the homeless.
August 4, 2021
Homelessness is a big issue going on in the world today that still tends to get unnoticed by a lot of people. The Miami Rescue Mission, also known as The Caring Place, is a nonprofit organization founded in 1922 that has helped serve the homeless and less fortunate through its various services and programs.
The Miami Rescue Mission is located in two centers in Florida: one in Miami-Dade County, and another one in Broward County. Over the many years since it formed, their mission has been to help men, women, and children who are homeless in the community. The ultimate vision is to help end homelessness for good.
The Miami Rescue Mission has led many efforts, including a highly successful residential program. In this program, homeless people can live in the building for as long as they need to and are offered services based on what they need — such as education, counseling, job training, social skills, health services, and more. This organization even has doctors on site that offer medical or psychological help.
“I wouldn’t say I have a favorite program out of all of the programs offered. What I think is most important is the assessment we give the people when they come in,” said Linanner Navarro, who works for the Miami Rescue Mission. “When the people come in and agree to be residents here, they are each assigned a case manager that follows through with them on advice with what to do as they access what they need. No one is treated the same; everyone is different and has different needs than anyone else, which is why the assessment is so important.”
Some other important efforts the Miami Rescue Mission has done are annual events devoted to helping and offering hope to the homeless. One significant event is the Mission Hope Campaign, an annual drive in which the organization collects hygiene items that they are always in need. Toothbrushes, toothpastes, first-aid kits, and hairbrushes are all simple things that the public can gather to give to the Miami Rescue Mission.
Another important effort is the Christmas In July. The goal is to collect back-to-school supplies, such as new backpacks and shoes, to give to homeless kids. This is an easy event that the public and those that love helping out kids can participate in by donating items.
Some other annual events that the Miami Rescue Mission holds are the Thanksgiving event, where volunteers are asked to donate non-perishable foods, as well as their Easter/Good Friday event, in which people make Easter baskets to give out to homeless kids.
“My favorite event is the Christmas event that we hold,” Navarro said. “In this event, we collect Christmas toys for children and this is my favorite event because I love the decorations, the children’s smiles, and the families happy because their children wouldn’t have been able to get gifts because they couldn’t afford it.”
In their 99 years of existence, the Miami Rescue Mission has had a significant impact on the community, helping homeless men, women, and children have a better quality of life. In total, the organization has accumulated 90,000 volunteer hours from those who have spent their time supporting the organization and all that it stands for.
The organization has plans to expand its efforts in the future, helping the homeless even more by improving its building so that more residents can stay and access services there.
Through dedication, ambition, and hard work, the organization has lived up to the legacy of its name. The Miami Rescue Mission is an organization that has been very successful, and has displayed amazing efforts in all it has done to help end homelessness.
(For information about how you can get involved, check out the Miami Rescue Mission‘s website.)
— Aug. 3, 2021 —
