My children and I are dv victims from a long time life of abuse, living in a dangerous, scary nightmare of a life, living under the thumb and controlled by a very vicious dangerous man, that depleaded us emotionally, providing a very unsafe life, and a home filled with dark insanity. It took many years to finally break free from the chains a this narcissistic psychopath. But he still lingers and the memories still haunt us. Although as of now we are out of the way of his intentional destruction, he's abused others that he's involved with and continues a life of soul sucking his victims until he gets what he wants, leaving the people he comes into contact with little to nothing left, but lies, manipulation and using everyone he comes into contact with. Not changing his ways, dominating others that get in his way, hurting innocent victims who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, coming way too close to critically injuring someone or worse with his drinking and driving continually over a span of decades, some how this person gets away and out of the consequences that many are sitting on prison for today. My children and I seem to be falling thru the cracks of our so called justice system, placing us right back to what we fought so hard and long to get away from, not to mention the trauma , behaviors from mental health caused by abuse, just when real healing is starting, the nightmare starts again. The courts and prosecutors aren't enforcing the laws that are put into place for victims like us. Feeling hopeless and powerless, and no control over the courts decisions, and not fully allowing me to protect my children from dangerous people. The only hope and true care from professionals involved with this case is David Mace. HE IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM. David has a genuineness about him, not to mention his professional wisdom and education, God placed this amazing man into our lives to fight for my children's safety and my sanity. David sees thru lies and manipulation of this man when most don't, or just don't care, David does care, and that makes us feel important. David gives me hope, and courage to stand up and fight for justice and wants right and what is truthful. All I want for my children is to be protected, and have a safe loving home, and enjoy their childhood as every child should. I have so much love and respect for David and the Union Gospel Mission for helping others, who the world threw away or does not think we are worthy enough to care about, thank you for evetything, if it wasn't for David's assistance, I would have given up, and given in by now. Being a single mother of 3, I can not afford an attorney to represent me. David guides me thru the legal process on how to file legal documents and evidence pertaining to my case. It's people like David, that encourage and support people like me, giving us a chance in life to thrive and be free.
I regularly volunteered as a receptionist at the UGM’s men’s shelter in Pioneer Square for 4 years and, even though I have great respect for the UGM’s mission, I stopped volunteering because of their stubborn evangelizing. I knew as a secular volunteer that this was a faith-based organization, but it’s frustrating that showing up consistently and serving the community didn’t seem good enough for them. My volunteer supervisor brought me into his office several times a year to interrogate me about my beliefs and try to push Christianity on me. These talks were extremely uncomfortable and a bad use of our time together.
With that out of the way, let me share what I loved about volunteering at the Mission: the people! I chose to volunteer for the UGM because their welcome center position allowed me to interact directly with shelter guests. I enjoyed talking to people and hearing their stories firsthand, rather than buying into common urban myths about homelessness and the housing crisis in Seattle. I even made friends with some of the regulars and would have people recognize me when I wasn’t at the shelter. It’s that feeling of connection and knowing I was providing direct aid that made me commit to the UGM for four years straight. I still think fondly of my volunteer time there, but I wish staff had respected my secularity.
Deep respect for the staff and volunteers that I have come into contact with- they show true love for each individual they serve.
I went through the program. I was homeless, on the streets, alone, and addicted to drugs. The mission took me in. (Went to rehab first) but I never would have stayed clean without the mission. After one year program, I knew I needed more time to build a solid foundation for my life, and to stay clean, so I went into their second year program which is an internship and further classes. I worked for a year and got skills to be employable. I now have a great job and my own apartment and can provide for my 3 kids. I also have 4.5 years clean! The staff truly care and are not in it for the money. They are changing lives! I am beyond grateful to them.
My husband and I made a modest donation to SUGM at Christmas time. In January we started receiving promotional mailings from them that were very well designed and high quality - obviously SUGM is making a substantial investment in these paper products. We always call and ask to be removed from mailing lists to minimize our impact and limit how much mail we have to deal with, so my husband called and was assured we were removed from the mailing list. We continued to receive mail. I called multiple times and was assured each time that we were removed from the mailing list. We moved. To my surprise, some of our first mail at the new address was from SUGM. It has been most of a year now and I would guess we've received enough mail to equal a large portion of the value of our one-time donation and it's all gone to the shredder. What a frustrating waste!
The UGM is a mission of Devils, the only one they care about are the Caucasians, th he vast majority of the staff are posing as true Christias, YET, they are what 2 Corinthians 11, speaks about...Satan will transform into angels of light...Jack in the Kitchen is a devil for sure..
Review from Guidestar
Union Gospel Mission is an authentic Christian ministry. If you ever wonder, "who will make the most of my gift," or "how do I know they will use my donation to actually serve the homeless?", you can rest assured that it is a short path from your gift to the suffering homeless. It seems to me that my gifts are multiplied, much like Jesus did with fish and loaves, and UGM is very adept at making the most out of donations. If you want to "give to the poor", and "lend to the Lord," entrust your gift to UGM and the Lord will take it from there!
I have been going out on the Kent Search & Rescue Wednesday nights since December 2012. I am addicted!!! I love going out on Fridays too when there is space available. The driver and 'boss person' from SUGM, they are the best. I have seen them give their gloves, coats, whatever was needed to the homeless even though it was in the teens and 20 degrees those nights. Working with the homeless in Kent has been the best experience of my life.
What an inspirational organization! They are constantly innovating, finding new ways to serve those in greatest need and meet the needs of the community effectively. I love their heart to connect with people around the county, too. UGM does it all...they're good at it, and they're good at bringing people in to the work and empowering "lay" people to do the work too!
I LOVE UGM!
I had the pleasure of going on a tour of the UGM women's shelter with my family of four a few weeks ago and was blown away with the awesomeness of the facility. We had to be buzzed in from the inside people working at the front desk which is amazing for the security of the women and children who are escaping domestic violence. The building was amazing clean and beautifully functional. They serve three meals a day for the women and kids, have a fully fenced "back yard" play area for the kids which is also secure. The programs they offer these ladies is awesome too, from AA, NA and learning about safe boundaries, to the learning about who God really is and how valuable they are in Gods eyes. They also help with GED prep and job interviews. This place has too many things to offer these women and kids to even tell you about properly, it's mind blowing all that UGM does to help. Please if you have a free weekend take a tour and you will be so happy you did. I hate to use the fraising " life altering experience", but it really is when you go on this tour. My children ages four and six talk about the tour all the time and when we go shopping they always want to get something for the homeless kids now. It warms my heart to know that even just a tour at UGM has touched my childrens lifes for the better. Thank you!
Seattle's UGM is vital to the health and well-being of this city. As a resident and employee of the downtown area, I don't know what I would do without the resource of UGM in this city to refer to the homeless community in particular. I am so blessed by the mission of this place!
Seattle's Union Gospel Mission provides vital assistance to the homeless. I've toured the Women's and Children's Shelter and seen firsthand how it changes the lives of women and children. Seattle is blessed to have the Union Gospel Mission working so hard to assist the homeless and needy. They are serving God by serving others!
Seattle's Union Gospel Mission is a bridge of hope and faith not only for the shelter residents and people served by the mission, but also for me as a volunteer. UGM provides basic resources to those in need, but most importantly they provide unconditional acceptance and love to people who often feel lost and alone. Through a helping hand, hope, faith and prayer I have seen UGM transform many lives. I feel blessed to be able to serve alongside many dedicated volunteers and an amazing staff of God-centered people. What a gift to our community!
Seattle Union Gospel Mission, has been on point for many years! The work is difficult, the rewards sometimes fleeting, but following the model of Christ, they work as laborers sowing Love and Care in the dark places of our city. They not only attend to physical needs for the moment but follow through with services, that will allow those who chose, a way to return to a life within homes and jobs, lives that return value to all of society. I love SUGM! So many reasons why I support them!
Meeting the relational and physical needs of the homeless. This is exactly what Seattle's Union Gospel Mission does, and personally it has been an amazing experience to help them do this through the Search and Rescue program. UGM definitely makes it possible to reach out to those who are in great need in our community, and it is always great to volunteer for them. I would have never thought that giving people basic necessities would have been a help to anyone, until I did it myself. But it's more than giving the homeless these things, it's about doing it out of love and building relationships with these people. And that is what Seattle's Union does best.
One should know that they have had a truly humbling and life-enriching experience when that event causes them to fully forget themselves, if only for a day. Spending a Friday evening riding along in the UGM Search and Rescue Van should, by modern social standards, amount to the loss of a weekend night. I wasn't coerced into helping that evening; I participated of my own free will, but, I considered before our departure, how much fun could this really be? What happened to me instead of mourning that gone-away weekend night was realizing the true gain of understanding what loss is, what pride was, how free words are priceless and then ultimately finding I have a heart for the homeless people of Seattle. UGM helped me to forget myself and remember others.
Review from Guidestar