{"id":123924,"date":"2023-10-18T16:55:17","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T20:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=123924"},"modified":"2023-10-18T16:55:17","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T20:55:17","slug":"graduation-celebrations-return-to-the-allentown-rescue-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=123924","title":{"rendered":"Graduation Celebrations Return to the Allentown Rescue Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(ALLENTOWN, PA) \u2013 The Allentown Rescue Mission is excited to announce the return of its graduation celebrations for clients in the Transformation Program after a long hiatus due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Homeless men who complete the eight-week program to change the trajectory of their lives are being honored with a ceremony and reception for their friends and family.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/70q.ab7.mytemp.website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/graduation-Oct-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-123926\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/70q.ab7.mytemp.website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/graduation-Oct-300x195.jpg?resize=300%2C195\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/graduation-Oct-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C195&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/graduation-Oct-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C666&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/graduation-Oct-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C500&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/graduation-Oct-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C999&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/graduation-Oct-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1332&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/graduation-Oct-scaled.jpg?w=948&amp;ssl=1 948w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/graduation-Oct-scaled.jpg?w=1422&amp;ssl=1 1422w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>The graduation is a significant step in the men\u2019s lives. During the eight weeks, guests evaluate their lives through self-reflection to determine changes they need to make to end their homelessness. The participants attend three classes per day consisting of life skills and Bible classes and perform light chores around the Mission. They also develop a plan for their future with the guidance of Mission staff during this time. The day after the men graduate, they are eligible to work on the Allentown Rescue<\/p>\n<p>Mission\u2019s Clean Team Workforce. The workforce development program allows the men to gain work experience and save money to secure an apartment and end the cycle of homelessness.<\/p>\n<p>The monthly ceremonies acknowledge the clients\u2019 journeys and invite them to give their testimonies. Former graduates of the program return as guest speakers to encourage and inspire the new graduates as they prepare for the next chapter of their lives.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Allentown Rescue Mission, a 501c3, 123 bed non-profit homeless shelter has been providing shelter for homeless men since 1900. In addition to emergency shelter services (365 days a year), the Allentown Rescue Mission offers a residential life skills program, and transitional employment on the Clean Team Workforce that\u2019s available for hire to the community. The Clean Team Workforce pays the men above PA state minimum wage\u2013 helping them save a nest egg to transition back into the community. In a typical year, the Allentown Rescue Mission provides shelter services for over 946 men per year, and serves over 42,000 meals a year to men in need.<\/p>\n<p>To refer someone to the Allentown Rescue Mission for services or to learn ways you can help make a difference please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allentownrescuemission.org\/\">www.allentownrescuemission.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nInformation provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nStefanie Appel<br \/>\nCommunity Relations<br \/>\nAllentown Rescue Mission<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.allentownrescuemission.org\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">www.allentownrescuemission.org<\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(ALLENTOWN, PA) \u2013 The Allentown Rescue Mission is excited to announce the return of its graduation celebrations for clients in the Transformation Program after a long hiatus due to the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=123924\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Graduation Celebrations Return to the Allentown Rescue Mission<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ARM-GRADS.jpg?fit=672%2C372&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=123924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/123925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=123924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=123924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=123924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}