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Inspiring Stories!
Documented by our loyal volunteers.
Working-Poor Mom & Child Sex Abuse Survivor:
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In 2023 an overworked and traumatized woman with a child and without a high school diploma was telling one of our volunteers about her unrelenting work schedule and duties and how she could barely make ends meet (overtime all the time and no personal or sick days working for a fast food corporation). She expressed her only other option was to go back to living out of her car and was seriously contemplating it. Street Reach helped her out by providing clothing, blankets, rental assistance, companionship, and most importantly: love and support. She has been doing better since.
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Baby Isaiah:
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A few years ago, Denver was experiencing extreme temperatures during the summer months. It wasn't uncommon for temperatures to reach 105 degrees during the day. On one particular heat drenched day, I met 11-day-old baby Isaiah. I approached Isaiah’s mother to inquire of any needs. I noticed he wasn’t wearing any clothing, except a diaper that was long expired. Next, my eyes were immediately drawn to a severe diaper rash that extended from his diaper area down to his knees. I offered some diapers and we bought the baby some ointment for his rash. What I asked next surprised me. I inquired if the baby could use a blanket. The mom said yes. I went to the basement wondering why I had asked if she needed a blanket, it was 105 degrees outside and we were all drenched in sweat. I looked through the blankets. Many consisted of thin receiving blankets. I came upon a thick afghan blanket. Suddenly, I knew that was the blanket for them. Many of my fellow volunteers gave me an odd look as I carried this thick blanket to the mom. I handed the blanket to the mother. With tears in her eyes she said, "Thank you, now I have a place to lay my baby down". As you can imagine, the blanket wasn't intended for warmth, rather the blanket served as a bed for her 11-day-old baby.
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A Coat and A Ticket:
Street Reach keeps an ad up on Craigslist indefinitely asking for donations. Sometimes a needy individual will see it and contact us in the hopes of us supplying them with something they desparately need. This past brutal winter an unhoused man wrote us through Craigslist begging for a coat. We got in touch with him and asked where he was located. As it turned out he was pretty far on the opposite side of Greater Denver area from where our volunteers were—and at the height of rush hour traffic. Still, volunteers dropped everything to go out, locate him, bring him a coat, and provide him with a train ticket plus a little cash and food so he could get to Cheyenne, Wyoming which was his ultimate destination.
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Community College Student & Food Insecurity:
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In 2019 a Denver resident who was studying at a community college in another state happened to be talking with a staff person who was formerly from Denver. They got to chatting about the Denver area and the staff person mentioned how they were involved with the Street Reach Soup Kitchen both remotely and when in town. The (quite thin) student's face lit up as he said, "I know Street Reach! I eat there when I am home! The food is really great!"
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An unhoused woman named Valencia was in dire need of shoes. The shoes she was wearing had holes in the bottom, with no tread. This was not a great combination for Denver's cold winters. I brought her downstairs to the basement to look in three bins of donated shoes/boots. At first, we were not successful finding her size. We had searched every boot and shoe in the bins with no luck. As I was putting the shoes back in the bin, Valencia folded her arms and started to pray out loud. "Heavenly Father, you know how much I need shoes. Please provide." No sooner had she finished her prayer, then I saw a pair of boots that were concealed between the bin and the wall. Quickly, I got down on my hands and knees to grab the boots. She tried them on and sure enough they were a perfect fit! It was amazing to witness the answer to a humble prayer. Valencia found her shoes.
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Bitter Cold:
It was a freezing cold the winter of 2023. The high one day was 3 degrees when I was filling up my gas tank at a station. I was approached by an unhoused couple for some money to get a bite to eat indoors so they could also warm up. These beautiful human beings had no hats, no gloves, no insulated clothing, and nowhere to sleep that was indoors. Thanks to donations via Street Reach, I had in my vehicle food, money, clothes, hats/mittens/scarfs, and extra-thick sleeping bags. I just hope they survived that bitterly cold season.
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The Missing Shoe:
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Last week a man came in again with no shoes. Sadly, they were stolen as he slept. He asked for a pair of shoes. When I asked him what size he wore my heart sank because he wore a size 10. I knew that we didn’t have any size 10 shoes on hand as gave the last pair of size 10 shoes that we had away the week before. But... I also know God is a God of miracles. I looked in a room where we kept spices, knowing that sometimes donations were left in the room. I looked and located a single shoe, yet no match. Just one shoe that was miraculously a size 10! I turned over many boxes looking in every nitch, still no shoe. Doris came in and looked with me, still no match. I was sad. Surely the Lord knew where this shoe’s match was. I went back and offered a quick prayer. Heavenly Father, this man is shoeless, thou knowest all, please help me. I opened my eyes, turned around and dug through more clothes. Wedged between the wire cages was the match to the shoe. I was filled with gratitude!
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