Goodwill Rescue Mission

Our Mission

Goodwill Rescue Mission offers help and hope to North Jersey’s urban poor and dispirited.

•	For mind and body: food, clothing, shelter, training and teaching.
•	For soul and spirit: the life-changing message of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ.

Special Project

Hope Totes
Can you join us in this front-line ministry by collecting items to fill the totes?
Click here for more info.

“Thanks for the second chance!” – Herman Burrell

After spending more than three decades enslaved to a drug addiction that sent him to jail and left him homeless, Herman Burrell was desperate for a second chance. And that’s exactly what he found when he walked through our doors five years ago.

“I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.”

— Hebrews 13:5

“After being here and accepting God in my life, my entire life has changed,” says Herman. He lists off just a few of those changes: “I don’t have a gorilla on my back and no guys looking to stick me up. I have a place to sleep every night, and I have plenty to eat. I have a relationship with my family again. I don’t feel anything like I did all those years doing drugs. I feel great about myself now.”

Herman started drinking and drugging when he was a teen, and soon he was hooked on crack. “I fell away from everything,” he remembers. “All that was on my mind was getting high.”

Spending more than 30 years as an addict took a heavy toll on Herman. He lost his home, his car and his business – a tavern he owned in Patterson. He ended up homeless, sleeping in parks. He was sent to jail for three years for dealing. He even lost his health – a defibrillator implanted in his heart after a heart attack is a constant reminder of how close he came to death.

After coming to the Mission, Herman joined the Project Emmanuel Recovery Program, where he gave his life to Christ. He got his GED, then went on to receive special certification in retail sales and information technology. Today, Herman is the supervisor of our communications department, scheduling pick up and delivery of donated items.

“I love my job. I love the opportunity the Mission has given me to help myself and God’s people,” Herman shares. “Look where I’m from – the streets. This kind of life is all new to me; this is a different side of life than I’ve ever seen or experienced. God has given me a second chance!”

Read other Stories of Hope

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