Monday, September 22, 2008
Welcome to the new Wheeler Mission blog
Welcome to my first-ever blog. I've been with Wheeler Mission for more than 17 years and when I started here, blogging was nowhere in my job description (as a matter of fact, blogs didn't even exist then)... but times have changed and
so will I.
In May, we kicked off a program called Operation Restoration to help increase awareness of the plight of homeless people in our community, especially the needs of families with children.
While many of our goals were met we were still forced to turn away more than 200 requests for services every month at our center for women and children - I still felt that more needed to be done.
We needed to paint a better picture of who is homeless in Indianapolis and Central Indiana, and why our help is so necessary to their survival and restoration.
To that end, we've recently added more stories to our website and will soon have streaming video. But we also wanted to have a place where people could ask questions, post ideas and get a glimpse of life inside the Mission.
Hence - Rick's Blog.
From time to time, I'll invite other Mission staff members and guests to make posts. I also welcome your comments as we work together to find lasting solutions to the problems of homelessness and addiction.
Rick Alvis has been the President and CEO of Wheeler Mission since 1990. He is an ordained minister in The Christian Union and a member of the Christian Leadership Alliance. In 1992, he was listed in "Who's Who Among rising Young Americans." In addition to his work at Wheeler, he is also the President of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions. He lives in the Indianapolis area with his wife Julie and their three children.
