Milwaukee Rescue Mission

I have been a resident at MRM. It is unfortunate, but it is the hand I have been dealt. A few of the employees here are pretty great and quite helpful. A few employees here are jerks, and that is putting it mildly. The great ones treat the residents like humans. The jerks treat the residents like animals or prisoners or both.
MRM does provide 3 meals per day. The meals are not always good ones. They seem almost like Encor frozen family pack meals, though that may be argued as if I am giving them too much credit as the meals are often not as good as they wopuld be if they were Encor. Of course I doubt anyone goes to MRM for the food. The food isn’t great, but it will likely stop you from being hungry.
I have three problems with MRM:
1. The place is super religious. I get that the place is called Milwaukee Rescue MISSION and all, but does the mission have to be to do the best they can to make all of the residents Christians? There are 4 chapel services per day. Three of them are before meals, and one is before bed. If you plan to eat any of the meals, you have to go to the chapel service beforehand. If you plan to sleep there, you should also go to the one right before bed.
There are two televisions in the large room all of the residents sit in when nothing else is going on, waiting to go to the next chapel service. Those televisions, when on, are often tuned in to religious Christian television. They are occasionally tuned in to news broadcasts, but it is religious stuff more often then not.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with religion in general or with Christianity, but I would rather not have it beaten over my head for most of my waking hours. I would also prefer that people quoting the Holy Bible at me, actually do a little research, and learn about the history of the area of the world the books of the bible were written into better be able to more accurately talk about the scriptures and put them in the context they actually belong in. As it happens, I am not Christian, and beating me over the head with the Bible isn’t going to turn me into one. However, I do know a bit about the book and the time and area of the world when it was written.
2. My second problem is that lights out is between 9 and 9:30 PM, and wake-​up is at 5 AM. That is 8 hours, which is a good thing, but the go to bed and wake-​up times both seem too early. That is to say, both are way too early. 10 and 6 or 11 and 7 would be much better.
3. I eluded to my third complaint within the first few sentences. Some of the staff are complete jerks almost all the time to everyone that they encounter that is not an employee. Being constantly talked down to and otherwise treated badly is no fun for anyone.

I love the mission! They have many programs to help those in need. There are two programs for women with children to help them get on their feet and independent (the program they are in depends on the severity of their situation, some just need a boost others need more intensive help). There is a men’s multistep program again designed to help them get on their feet and independent. They work with many people who have addictions, abuse issues, or simply fell on hard times (for example, if their home burned down and they had no where to go). There is also a program for homeless men who come in, get cleaned up, go to church service, receive dinner (desserts are served only if they receive donations), and a place to sleep for the night. These men are not in a specific program to get them out of their current situation, just given the basics to help them out and are always told about other programs available to help them get on their feet if they so choose. The programs aren’t just hand outs, they really work to educate those involved so they are less likely to return to the situation which brought them to the mission in the first place.
Men and women with children receiving assistance are kept completely separate for safety purposes.
I haven’t helped with breakfast or lunch, but I have with dinner (I haven’t been here in a while, so my apologizes if any info is slightly dated now). I don’t know if they even use volunteers for the first two meals of the day. Dinner is served in three sets: women and children first, men in a program, and then the overnight homeless male guests (the biggest group). They pretty much have set food items they serve on particular days, although when available they serve other items which were donated (stores and restaurants donate, so they can get quite a variety at times). Men in a program help out in the kitchen alongside staff and volunteers. Everything is clean, from the kitchen itself to where the guests are beings served. Once in a while we would prepare extra trays for those who couldn’t join the rest of the group, usually because of their work shift or due to a transmittable illness (flu, scabies, etc.). Depending on why they couldn’t join, they either came back to the kitchen later to pick up their tray or trays were brought to their room.
If you volunteer, they have a shared area for you to place your things which is locked once everyone has dropped off their coats, purses, or other personal items. You don’t have to worry about it lying somewhere in the open. :-)
The mission also has an elementary school as well as opportunities to tutor. I haven’t worked in this program, but if you are interested in tutoring younger children contact them for more info. This is a great opportunity for you if you are want to eventually work with children (nurses, teachers, social worker, etc.). They also have daycare for the mothers in the program; I don’t know if they use volunteers for this or not.
If you are interested in donating, they take financial, personal, and time (volunteer) donations. If you show up in person to donate, go to the parking lot side ONLY, not the men’s side! They use a buzzer to enter for safety purposes, just push the button for the intercom. You can donate financially at the front desk. Depending on the size of your personal donation (food, clothing, personal hygiene, etc.) you may donate in the same area as the front desk or they will direct you to another door if it is a large donation. They usually have a list of wanted items on their website if you are wondering what to donate. Receipts are available for your donation if you wish. Call or e-​mail them if you are interested in volunteering. Volunteers must enter from the parking lot side as well (even if you are a male volunteer go to this side!). Children can volunteer if a parent or guardian is volunteering with them. A note to female volunteers: don’t interact much with men receiving assistance at the mission, especially if they are in a program! Some maybe be dealing with sex/​pornography addiction and the men are told to keep their distance. They could get in trouble if they interact too much with females. Don’t ignore them, but don’t get really friendly/​talkative with them either. I made this mistake, and one of the employees told me about this quickly. Keep in mind that this place does not receive government assistance, everything they do is from private donations!
This place has many programs to help the community. The people who receive assistance here are treated with respect and according to their needs. If you are looking to support a non-​profit, this is one I highly recommend! :-)

A great non-​profit organization that accept you with open arms. I use to volunteer there during the Christmas gift wrapping time but now it has been once a week routine. There are many sections that you can volunteer. I serve meals. You can also work at the day care, sorting clothes or even tutoring.
The people that I work with are wonderful. I am very grateful to be given this chance to serve. Hopefully others could do it. You don’t even have to do it daily or weekly, just try once a month. Just schedule a day and do it, I can tell you that it is rewarding. I feel that I got back more than I gave.
See you at MRM!