At a recent Agape House administrative meeting, we were working on how to communicate to the public what Agape House does, why we are different, and why we are experiencing an 86% success rate in the lives of our residents. We needed to create a clear unified message to send out into the community.
Our Goal: Communicate what Agape House does, how they do it, and who they do it for.
Agape House is NOT a Shelter
There are numerous homeless shelters in the Prescott area that are available to give a temporary reprieve to the homeless by giving them a bed and a meal. Agape House is happy to work alongside these shelters and are grateful for their impact on the homeless people in Prescott.
However, the challenge we have on a communication level, is letting people know that Agape House is not a shelter. They don’t give temporary reprieve, Agape House changes lives. They give a home. Through discipleship and mentoring, lives are rebuilt and transformed.
The individuals that are in the Agape House program are given a place to live, they are provided support while they make a new life. They are given a place to call home.
When I first started working with Agape House, it was hard for me to put my head around how the small staff and multiple volunteers pulled off such drastic life transformations. It is unheard of to have a program of this nature experience an 86% success rate of families succeeding after graduation from the program to an independent life. I am still confused. I am not sure I will ever totally understand how they pull it off. The answer I hear often, it is done by the true grace of God. The Agape House mentors meet weekly with the residents, life-skills classes are taught, the love of Christ is taught, relationships are built, and a place to call ‘home’ is given to the homeless families in Prescott.
Who Do They Help
It is ‘who’ they help that has changed my view of the incredible necessity of this organization. The families that are accepted into the Agape House program are not who you think they are. It is the little boy who lives in a car, who is in your daughter’s class at school. It is the young mother who is sleeping on her sister’s couch. It is the teenager who lives with his family in a camper in the woods.
The same week that I was going to the administrative meeting at Agape House, I had a meeting at the Prescott Pubic Library. Two different times, when I went into the restroom, there were ladies getting ready in the mirror to go to work. My heart sank. What was happening was obvious. They were dressed in ‘go to work’ suits, they had a bag at their feet, and they were brushing their teeth and fixing their hair in the mirror. I can only imagine the story of these two women. They may have just left a friend’s house, a shelter, or left their car, and went into a warm place to get ready to go to work. They didn’t look homeless, but they obviously were.
That is who Agape House helps.
Agape House Message
It was through these experiences and stories; the team of Agape House has come up with the message they want to communicate to the public:
The Face of Homelessness Isn’t What You May Think
We continually appreciate your prayers and support. Thank you for walking alongside Agape House and the homeless families in Prescott to an independent life.
