From the outside looking in, City Union Mission is a shelter.
"I was really bad into drugs and I was trying to figure out a way to stop," said Deon Morrow-Jefferson, 22. "I could not quit on my own. Eventually one day I said, 'I can't do this anymore, I need help.'"
But ask anyone who's gone through the shelter's life enrichment programs, and they'll tell you it can be so much more.
"I have caused a lot of pain in people's lives and I don't want to do that anymore," said David Cornell, 54. "I am not getting any younger and I don't know how many more times I can do this and get back up again."
Both Morrow-Jefferson and Cornell exemplify how much life can change over the course of a year. And in 12 months, both hope their lives will be drastically different than they are today.
"A year from now I will probably be graduated from this program, and I will hopefully be working someplace, and be reconnected with my family," said Cornell.
That's why the City Union Mission said when you feel your heart strings being tugged when a homeless man or woman asks you for money, consider instead giving that amount - no matter how small - to a shelter like theirs.
"It accumulates, it keeps the lights on," explained Dan Doty of the City Union Mission. The shelter survives on community donations. "It supplies the food that is needed, and all the staff needed to help then and families get their life back together. Every donation multiplies and is extremely helpful."
-----
Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
You can also follow her on Twitter.
