Give Where You Live

This a story of a courageous man and a wonderful family that is now part of our community.  Doug was living in a tough neighborhood down south.  He had already raised a four kids to adulthood so his mind was more oriented to retirement than raising another family.  However, one day he met a distressed neighbor carrying an infant.  She was complaining about how her life was in shambles and how difficult things were.  Sensing there was a deeper problem, Doug asked a simple question:  “Why don’t you give me that baby?” 

As you would expect, she initially scoffed at the idea but later she appeared at Doug’s door and asked if he could watch the baby for a while.  Thinking the woman would return for the child in a few hours, or at most a few days he was surprised that she didn’t return until three months later.  Over time the pattern continued, and Doug was happy for the long stays.  Visit by visit the little girl became more and more the child of Doug and his wife, until one day the woman showed up with another baby - and the pattern continued.

As they raised the children they began to approach the woman about adoption.  Not an easy task in a state where so much legal weight is given to biological family members.  But Doug and his wife began the process, none the less.  Motion after motion, hearing after hearing, legal hurtle after legal hurtle they went through the legal process.  In the end, against all odds, the judge went against general precedent and awarded adoption to Doug and his wife.

They did their best to raise the girls and like most kids they played in the yard, in the street and daily they went to and from school.  But their neighborhood, unlike Fairbanks neighborhoods, was filled with persistent gunfire.  One of the neighbors had the habit of coming out of his house and randomly firing his pistol – at his house… at other houses… in the air - wherever.  Where they landed didn’t seem to matter to him and repeated calls to the police seemed to have no impact.  

Then, when a man was gunned down, right next to the house, within feet of where the girls normally played - Doug had enough.  He left his possessions, took the girls and courageously headed north.  His wife stayed behind with the intention of joining them later.  We hope that will happen soon, but unfortunately she fell into illness and was incapable of handling the hardships that lie ahead.

When Doug and the girls arrived in Fairbanks things were pretty tough.  He could barely afford housing and what he did find was just a four walled room – no problem the girls were out of the cold and their safety was what mattered.

Unfortunately, as dilapidated as their housing was it was still expensive and Doug could barely afford food for the kids.  His resources dwindled.  When things got worse they came to the Mission.

Everything changed at the mission.  The building was designed to make sure families can stay together safely and the staff welcomed the interesting and polite family with open arms.  Doug and the girls immediately began to contribute, but their agenda wasn’t to park at a shelter.  It was to become productive independent members of their new community.

Once the girls were safe, warm, and well fed; Doug used our veteran’s program to get the family back on their feet.  As of today… the family is housed in their own rental, the girls are in school and Doug will be starting a new job soon. 

We always say: “Good things happen to good people at the Rescue Mission.”  You are a huge part of these stories because without your support we are no more than a big building.   As you know, the Fairbanks Rescue Mission is not a government organization, nor are we a part of a large denomination or other major nonprofit.  We function mostly from the generosity of people in the Fairbanks. So when we refer to the mission as “your” Rescue Mission that’s not hype… it’s the truth. 

This year please “give where you live” and donate today at www.fairbanksrescuemission.org.

By Pete Kelly//CEO Fairbanks Rescue Mission