"I had a sort of trance or vision.... I had a house and people were coming in. There was a bath and they came in and I washed and cleansed them outside and the Lord cleansed them inside. They came at first by small numbers, then by hundreds, and afterwards by thousands. Something said to me, "Would you do that for the Lord if He should call you?" I felt that I could go down there where I had always lived. I was used to the filth and felt sure I should be called to work for Jesus there."

--Jerry McAuley, founder of Jerry McAuley Water Street Mission, in Transformed; or The History of a River Thief, New York, self-published, 1876.

Our mission works with people directly off the street--transient and homeless people needing shelter, food and clothing. We provide for their spiritual needs as well through chapel services and other means. That's been our main ministry since Jerry McAuley founded the mission back in 1872, and that will remain our calling.

Still, rescue work has changed immensely in New York City. We now provide a full range of services. A medical program gives people weekly access to doctors and social workers. Educational programs focus on basic literacy, GED equivalency studies and computer skills. We also provide counselors for people with substance abuse problems.

New York City's government provides housing for approximately 25,000 homeless people each night through the city shelter system. In contrast, New York's private sector houses only a small number of people. We, along with Bowery Mission and St. Paul's House, probably have less than 200 beds. In some cities, like Denver or Los Angeles, rescue missions provide the bulk of the need for homeless people. In New York, we need more rescue missions to provide a spiritual foundation for people's lives.

My biggest dream for our mission's ministry to men is to increase the capacity of the program from 100 to more than 300. To do that we'd need an additional building. We'd then be able to begin an effective women's and children's ministry out of our present facility, which is at the doorstep of New York's criminal and civil court system. Some 40 percent of our homeless population is made up of women and children.

by Jim VarnHagen, Director, New York City Rescue Mission
(formerly the Jerry McAuley Water Street Mission)

From the Summer 1995 issue of City Voices. Used by permission of International Urban Associates