How the Boise Rescue Mission helps the homeless

How the Boise Rescue Mission helped hundreds of families, individuals and veterans in the Treasure Valley.

The Boise Rescue has announced that they've helped over 600 people to move out of the Mission in the last year. Most of those men and women left after finding a job and saving money to move out, while others were assisted to receive benefits through the Social Security Administration.

“This is the sixth year that the Mission has seen over 400 people make the successful transition from staying at the Mission and moving into their own place to live. Last year close to 700 people moved out of the Mission shelters, but historically about 15% of our transitions will hit a stumbling block and return to the Mission. The good news is, about 600 people are now living on their own and will likely remain independent. If anyone does return to our shelters, we can help them pick up and move on again through our programs and services.” said Mission CEO, Rev. Bill Roscoe.

“Mission Case Managers are connected to every resource in the community that can help people find work. Case Managers also assist people in shelter who are working to create a budget and stay on course to have the money needed to live independently again” Roscoe said.

The Mission assists people seeking employment by providing for the necessities of life and the things necessary to go to work including appropriate clothing and tools. Guests have access to computers to search for jobs, have help creating a resume’ and can participate in mock interviews to sharpen their presentation skills. Bus passes are provided as are free bicycles for transportation.

Roscoe believes that the local economy has improved and jobs are more plentiful now than in the past few years. “Almost half of the adults in shelter today are working. Employers are calling us to find dependable workers and we are able to fill those requests pretty quickly.” Roscoe said.