Board Member: Jody Hart

The Springfield Rescue Mission continues its mission of “Inspiring Hope and Promoting Healing” in Springfield.  In 2025, we have provided close to 100,000 meals to those who are marginalized in our society, in addition to ministering to men in our New Life Program.  SRM is more than a meal and a bed.  We provide physical, spiritual, mental and vocational help to the men who enter our program at 10 Mill St.  With our relationships with Caring Health Center and Mass Hire, we are preparing our residents to become economically self-sufficient when they graduate from the program.  This past year we have converted our Taylor St location to a “dry shelter” where men must be sober and off any drugs.  This has been a blessing in many ways. We have seen eight men transition from Taylor St to our New Life Program at Mill St to continue their path of sobriety and self-sufficiency.

We also began to look to see how God could use us to meet the needs of the women in Springfield.  After losing bids on three properties and discerning that building a new building was not feasible, we have decided to once again change the focus of our Taylor St location.  In 2026, we will begin an extensive remodeling of Taylor St with the goal of housing single women and offering the same services that we currently offer men at our Mill St location.  This will take a large amount of money for the renovations, but if this is what God desires for us, then He will provide the finances.

We would also like to thank those of you who so faithfully provide meals to us on the first Tuesday of every month.  The men get excited when they know that the “Puerto Rican woman (Linda Lagares) is cooking.”