Myths and misperceptions about the homeless never seem to go away. In the case of the Jersey Shore Rescue Mission, six lies stand directly in the way of providing much needed care to homeless men in our community.

Please help counter the lies with truth by emailing the following to friends, family, co-workers, church members, and local officials. Together, we can make a difference!

1. Clients of the Mission must convert to Christianity to be served. False. While the Mission operates from a Biblical worldview, we serve men of all faiths or none at all. Our addiction recovery model is similar to AA’s, but the higher power we follow is Jesus Christ. We make our orientation clear up front: men are free to enroll in the program or not; they are also free to accept Jesus or not. We are concerned about their recovery and reintegration into society.



2. The Mission will cycle nearly 1,000 homeless men through the facility each year. False. 13 of our 40 beds are allocated to staff and residents of our Life Change Recovery program. The remaining 27 are available to transients who can stay up to 10 consecutive nights but must leave the shelter during the day. Our opponents multiply the 27 beds by 36.5 (365 days/10 days stay) to come up with 985 unique individuals -- which even our most pessimistic projections don’t support!



3. This “massive influx” of homeless men will wander the streets and pose a danger to schoolchildren. False. The Mission is here to serve the homeless already in the community. Homeless people do not typically go great distances for food and shelter. And while some homeless are mentally unstable, fear-mongering is not supported by statistics.



4. The Mission discriminates by “cherry picking” those they want to serve and turning others away. False. We serve anyone in need, regardless of race or creed. While our overnight shelter and residential programs are for men only, we will serve meals to women and children, and refer women to local agencies for further help. However, we will not serve anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs.



5. Homosexuals are not welcome at the Mission. False. Although homosexual behavior is not condoned in the Bible, the Mission seeks to care for all who come to our doors, just as the Lord himself would.



6. There are only 20 to 25 homeless in the Asbury Park area. False. The Monmouth County Department of Human Services reported 590 homeless persons in that county last year, 25% of whom were in Asbury Park. That puts the figure closer to 150 individuals needing help.