Written by Kevin F. Adler, Founder and CEO of Miracle Messages
Every person experiencing homelessness is someone’s child, or someone’s parent. And Mark was my uncle.
He was the most family-oriented member of my extended family. He was the guest of honor at Thanksgiving and Christmas. He remembered every birthday—like the year before he died at age 50, when he gave me an eagle bandana as a gift.
Mark also suffered from schizophrenia, and lived on-and-off the streets for 30 years.
In November 2013, for the first time since he died, I visited his gravesite in Santa Cruz, California. My dad and other uncle had chipped in for a plot of ground to call his own, refusing to have Mark’s memory forgotten.
This was poignant for me, and I wondered if there was anything I could do for the people still living on the streets whose lives are being forgotten.
Like Uncle Mark, many of them are suffering from mental illness. Some are drug addicted, some have disabilities, and many have problems, just like the rest of us. They’re down on their luck, just divorced, unemployed, in debt, or stricken with health issues.
What Mark inspired me to realize is that many people have families and people who miss them and love them.
I decided to do something about it.
In December 2014, I started Miracle Messages, a nonprofit organization that helps people experiencing homelessness to rebuild their support systems, primarily through reunifying families who have lost touch—and the results have been, well, miraculous.
We also set up a phone-buddy program to pair up caring strangers who are willing to offer support by phone. Almost ten years later, we have thousands of volunteers.
We believe that an absence of relationships is an overlooked form of poverty that can often be deadly. As one of my unhoused friends put it 10 years ago, “I never realized I was homeless when I lost my housing—only when I lost my family and friends.”
LOOK: Father’s Day Miracle – Random Meeting With a Child Reunites Woman With Dad Who Abandoned Her
We are on a mission to ensure that no one goes through homelessness alone, and that no one in the general public (you or me) feels helpless to do something about the heartbreaking issue.
Each week, as part of a new column we are calling “Miracle Monday,” GNN will share a story about one of our homeless neighbors who was offered a heartwarming reunion or a loving connection, thanks to Miracle Messages.
You will hear about the incredible friendship between a young man on the streets in Los Angeles who was paired with a technology worker in the Middle East, through the Miracle Friends buddy program for weekly calls and text messages.
You will see powerful photos of a homeless middle-aged busker near San Francisco as he reunites for the first time with his mom after 67 years apart.
MIRACLE NEWS: Unique Nonprofit to Provide ‘Basic Income’ to California Homeless in 12-Month Study Funded by Google
And you will discover how a Black public school teacher and community advocate ended up at a shelter after facing a major health issue, but was able to get into stable housing through our basic income program.
Most of these remarkable stories are made possible by the good-hearted people who volunteer to help locate a long-lost loved one—or commit 20-30 minutes a week to have phone calls and text exchanges with an unhoused friend—helping to make miracles happen.
The issue of homelessness may seem intractable, so we’re excited to bring you weekly good news of healing and hope beginning next Monday. Stay tuned!
Miracle Messages is an award-winning 501(c)3 nonprofit that helps people experiencing homelessness rebuild their social support systems and financial security, primarily through family reunifications, a phone buddy program, and basic income pilots.