Miami Proud: Work being done by Miami Rescue Mission inspired family to get involved
MIAMI -The Miami Rescue Mission has been changing lives in our community for more than 100 years.
The organization is committed to restoration for those experiencing homelessness. The work being done there inspired one family to get involved.
"It's much more of a transformative experience. It really takes someone from homeless to potentially employed as opposed to fed for a day or given materials that run out in a week," said Hudson Elegant.
Elegant and his brother Luke started volunteering there with their mother Jennifer 15 years ago. Jennifer teaches at Miami Dade College and back then she had a standout student that changed her life.
"He was a formerly homeless man, a former drug addict, who worked through the program at the mission. Not only did they give him food, but they gave him shelter," said Jennifer Elegant.
His name was Richard Benabe, a Miami Rescue Mission alum. It gave a chance at a better life through housing, education, and rehabilitation, and that's what the Elegants say the place does.
"They literally stop homelessness. They get people back on their feet, they save lives. They give you more than food, they give you job skills," said Jennifer Elegant.
Benabe served as the family's guiding light. He died recently but it's the invaluable lessons he taught them that will live on forever.
"He became my teacher. He got an A in my class, but he's the one who taught me," said Jennifer Elegant.
"The vast majority of people have the innate desire to really help people and give back to the communities they're a part of. I think it's very difficult. While that desire is there, to figure out how to do it in a way that actually helps," said Luke Elegant.
The Elegants help run an annual Thanksgiving fundraiser that has raised $100,000 to date. The funds allow the mission to continue helping the homeless of South Florida, like Benabe who changed the Elegants' lives forever.