Join us to

Build a Bridge to Hope

Dear Heartland Friend,

In 1954, Open Door Mission launched its maiden vision for helping homeless men who were congregating on the streets of downtown Omaha.

Because of great volunteers, donors, staff and leadership, we continue to provide services and care with dignity and respect to those in need. However, the face of the homeless has changed. Today, it casts a shadow on the addicted, the abused and abandoned, and the under-educated who cannot earn a livable wage. Homelessness hasn’t any respect for age, race, gender or marital status. It resembles your coworker, your classmate, your brother and your friend.

Somehow, families have become the fastest growing population among the homeless. The hope they’ve placed in the American dream has been shattered. Suddenly, their world mirrors the uncertainties of homelessness … peering back are the questioning, innocent eyes of a child. How could this have happened in America — and in Omaha?

There is a glaring need in our community to raise the bar of compassion. We have the capacity and the resolve to offer more emergency shelter and recovery services, permanent supportive housing, affordable childcare, the basics of education and critical life skills for those who are homeless. The need is greater today than in any of the years in the Mission’s history.

Over the past decade, I have worked hand in hand with people who are passionately committed to upholding the 50-year-old vision. And, while the core of the vision inspires us in this generation, Open Door Mission is presently unable to meet the growing demand. Indeed, most every day we must turn someone away.

Open Door Mission has a definitive plan that will offer more space for homeless men, women and families. A plan that will meet their basic human needs and then engage them in programs structured around the education and skills necessary to rebuild their lives and prepare them for successful living. It’s called the Rebuilding Lives Campaign.

Will you join me in building this bridge to hope? There is a shining future waiting for those who build and those who venture with us in the Rebuilding Lives Campaign. Together, we can hand out all the tools needed to develop skills that can prevent — and end — the cycle of homelessness and poverty, one person at a time.

Building a new future with you,

Candace L. Gregory
President/CEO

Rebuilding Lives Groundbreaking

Join Candace Gregory, Open Door Mission Staff and Board of Directors, community partners, friends and volunteers as ground is turned for Phase One of the Rebuilding Lives Capital Campaign on Thursday morning, October 16th at 11:00 AM. The new Lydia House structure will be built on lots just north of the main Mission building at 2706 N. 21st Street East. Please click here or call (402) 422-1111 for more information