[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 114 (Tuesday, September 13, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S9983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF EVANGEL HOME

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise to commemorate the 50th 
anniversary of Evangel Home. Evangel Home is a shelter for needy women 
and children located in downtown Fresno. Now in its 50th year, Evangel 
Homes has been instrumental in helping hundreds of women and children 
piece together their broken lives.
  Evangel Home was established in 1955 by Ms. Pauline Baker Myers as a 
``Home for Needy Women and Children.'' Saddened by the lack of help for 
women in need at local homeless shelters, Pauline Baker Myers 
envisioned a shelter for women designed to help them put their lives 
back together. Evangel Homes became one of the first shelters of its 
kind in the nation.
  Evangel Home helps women through a variety of programs. Women enter 
Evangel Home through Crisis Home, an emergency shelter where women may 
stay for up to 28 days. At Crisis Home, up to 24 women and children can 
receive services such as meals, shelter, clothing, and counseling.
  Following the initial stay at Crisis Home, women may be eligible for 
the CrossRoads Residential Program. Through the CrossRoads Residential 
Program, Evangel Homes offers a 9-month program of courses and services 
to help women make better choices for themselves and their families. 
The courses are intended to help residents develop their life skills 
for parenting, finances and setting boundaries.
  The GARDEN Residential Recovery Program, or God Answers, Redeems, and 
Delivers Everyone who draws Near to Him, is an alternative sentencing 
program. It is designed to rehabilitate women in a structured 
environment as an alternative to serving a jail or prison term. The 
GARDEN program accommodates as many as six women and includes courses 
and counseling programs tailored to teach women responsibility and 
decision making skills.
  Lastly, the Community Connection Graduate Program involves graduates 
from the CrossRoads and GARDEN programs. Community Connection 
encourages women to work and attend school while providing them with a 
support network to ensure their success.
  The success of Evangel Homes is evident in the many women and 
children who have walked out of its doors to productive and successful 
lives. Annually, Evangel Homes gives shelter to more than 300 women and 
200 children. The mission of Evangel Homes goes far beyond giving 
material support to women in need. Instead, Evangel Homes gives women 
nurturing support in a structured environment so that they may be 
taught self-reliance and responsibility.
  Evangel Homes recognizes that those who seek its help have the 
ability to make their own choices. Through spiritual guidance and 
counseling, Evangel Homes strives to erase the effect of what it calls 
``disaffiliation'' or the feeling of isolation and disassociation from 
anything positive in their lives that many women and children feel as 
an effect of their disordered lives. Through programs designed to give 
women and children the structure, the hope, and the tools for 
rebuilding their lives, Evangel Homes gives women and children a 
``chance for change.''
  I congratulate Evangel Homes on their 50th anniversary and wish them 
much continued success.

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