Greetings friend,

Please let me share a few words about our new ministry, Open Door Healing & Renewal Center for Women, Inc. We’re located at 2300 S. Orange Blossom Trail, right in the middle of Orlando’s red-light district. In two months we’re up and running at the drop-in/mentoring center for hurting women, our mission church, and we’ve been canvassing the streets with white roses as we’ve reached out to merchandized and sexually wounded women on the streets. We’re also at the cusp of launching our first recovery program, one that has been very successful at the Orange County Jail.

We’re encountering needs in this community that are beyond the pale. In fact, after spending the weekend trying to place a woman we met during our street evangelism ministry, we ended up seeing her forced to live under a bridge. Watching a woman whom God loves being forced to sleep under a bridge absolutely broke my heart. In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever recover from the heartache of it. The sad reality is that very little exists to help women in this city. The few shelters that exist generally remain full and tend to block out many of those in crisis with too much red tape. This woman previously had gone to one of the few shelters three times, which was the limit. We found her hungry on the street, and prostituting herself—yes in America! When I went back the next day to take food to her and others under that bridge, she was gone. But a woman with two very small children was there living under that bridge. One child was too young to walk and in a stroller, and the other was a toddler. The children reached up greedily to grab the bread we gave their young mommy. They obviously were very hungry.

The frustration of trying to place women in shelters and other programs is nearly crippling. Usually only the best candidates (those with the least need) or those who understand the system are able to get help. That’s why I’m convinced that we desperately need our own shelter for women and children and a recovery center. Only then will we be able to increase the number of available beds, remove the red tape and help the hurting. While available beds for men seem to be increasing, some of the few centers for women are closing, leaving the most vulnerable among us—women and children—locked out. Please help us open the door to them!

In our first couple of weeks at the drop-in/mentoring center, we’ve touched the lives of many women already. Here are some of our early accomplishments:

Please help! We need:

• prayer

• funds

• roses

• emergency food

• bus tickets

• diapers

• good clothing

• a recovery center

• an emergency shelter

• a detox center

• personal hygiene products