LEXINGTON RESCUE MISSION INC

1) People will take steps out of poverty through financial stability. Individuals and families struggling to make ends meet, living paycheck to paycheck, are often one emergency away from homelessness. Many of these folks find their way to the Mission for help with food, clothing, housing or other necessities. We work to provide immediate relief, but, more importantly, we help people look at their situation and see where they could make changes to become more stable. We help our guests create an individual plan and support them as they work toward financial stability.  2) People will transition from homelessness to housing. Homeless men and women who are leaving an institutional setting -- whether it's jail, a shelter, or a substance abuse recovery program -- often struggle to manage life on their own. We offer transitional housing and support to help these men and women make a successful transition into independent living. 3) People will secure and maintain lasting employment. Unemployment lies at the core of poverty and robs people of their dignity. We work to equip unemployed men and women for lasting employment and restore their dignity.  4) People will re-enter the community upon release. Inmates who are leaving incarceration are often ill-equipped to navigate the challenges of returning home. Starting while they are in jail and continuing after they are released, we come alongside men and women to offer the training, guidance and support that they need to make a successful transition back into the community.

We have the following three overall strategies for meeting our goals: 1) Lexington Rescue Mission offers a variety of programs that alleviate the effects of poverty while building relationships that can lead to real and lasting change in people's lives. Whether people come to our Outreach Center for a hot meal, a warm coat, financial assistance, or help finding housing, they find staff and volunteers who will listen to and care about them. Because of our hospitality-focused strategy, our guests invite us into their lives to help them become more stable. 2) Lexington Rescue Mission operates three transitional homes: The Potter's House, The House of Hope, and Grace Place. Our staff provides residents with support and accountability to help them make a successful transition to independent living. Residents are offered a broad array of services to help them get back on their feet, including food and clothing, employment training and placement, health care, and assistance accessing public benefits. The house staff also provide case management and pastoral counseling to help residents set and achieve their goals. To help residents progress in making positive changes, our staff holds them accountable to their commitments. These include sobriety, finding employment, developing and keeping a budget, attending meetings, and growing spiritually. Our transitional living program incorporates best practices set by our peers in the Citygate Network, through which we are accredited. 3) Lexington Rescue Mission trains and connects job-seekers to employment through Jobs for Life and Advance Lexington. Jobs for Life is a comprehensive job training course that teaches employment skills and character qualities from a Biblical perspective. Participants also receive assistance in their job search, including help obtaining IDs, bus passes, gas cards, interview attire, work clothing and other necessities. Jobs for Life graduates are eligible to enroll in Advance Lexington, our staffing services that contracts with local employers to provide temporary paid work for graduates of Jobs for Life and assists each person in making the transition to permanent employment. 4) Our re-entry program, Breaking Chains, provides training and support to assist incarcerated men and women in making a smooth transition into the community. We work with those who are currently and formerly incarcerated, offering our case management to inmates in local jails and prisons and to those on probation or parole. We also offer classes -- Jobs for Life and The Genesis Process -- to men and women who are incarcerated. In addition to its partnerships with local jails, Breaking Chains partners with U.S. Probation and Parole.

Founded in 2001, Lexington Rescue Mission has a broad base of support in the community, with more than 6,000 donors actively supporting the ministry in the last 12 months. Giving has nearly doubled in the last five years (from $1,561,963 in 2017 to $2,944,380 in 2022). Our board, staff, and volunteers are committed to excellence and serving according to the highest standards set by our peers, which is why our organization is accredited by Citygate Network, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). We value working with other organizations that have a stake in our clients' success and can help complete the continuum of care needed by our clients. Our Executive Director, Laura Carr, serves as the Chair for the Fayette County Emergency Food and Shelter Board. We are also active members of the Lexington-Fayette Continuum of Care, Health Re-Entry Kentucky, the Mayor's Partners in Workforce Development, the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, and the ROSM network. We are also members of the Kentucky Nonprofit Network and Commerce Lexington.

In 2020, our Board of Directors approved a five-year strategic plan that focuses on growing in excellence, including increasing stability, guarding against mission drift, better engaging the local Church in missions, and providing a higher quality and deeper level of care to those we serve at the Lexington Rescue Mission.

We accomplished our financial goals of building cash reserves, paying off our debt, and diversifying our revenue and then accomplished our goal of acquiring new space for our outreach services, which required investing our reserves. Our social enterprise, Advance Lexington, has grown significantly and our new building has opened up space for leasing, allowing us to increase our earned revenue. We have converted our AmeriCorps VISTA position to a staff position and plan to convert our AmeriCorps housing counselor position to a staff position in 2021, increasing consistency and stability for our clients. We also hired a new volunteer coordinator in 2023 to strengthen our volunteer mentoring program. Additionally, we have developed new partnerships with non-profits, schools, and churches to better serve our clients.