Sometimes, we just don’t know what the day will bring.

In 2017, Claude Swanson lost his job and was living on social security outside of Atlanta. Approaching 60 years old, he had already spent his savings, and finding a job was not easy.

He was hungry but didn’t have the money for a meal, so he walked up to the local Chick-fil-A to see if he could find someone who would purchase him a meal. He approached a woman carrying a bible, but she refused to help. He was about to give up, when a man, carrying a bible as well, approached him and asked if Swanson was hungry.

“He was a shepherding elder in his church and after that conversation, I started going to church and never stopped,” says Swanson, who was baptized for the first time in 2018.

Today, Swanson is attending Reformation Bible College taking religion classes. He’s working with Jobs Partnerships training on job skills. And he has a room that he rents in Sanford.

It is all because of his time at Rescue Outreach Mission.

Swanson first came to Sanford during the Christmas holidays in 2023. He felt called to the area as his church in Georgia had connections here. He didn’t know exactly why he was called to Sanford, but it seemed to be where God wanted him to be.

A friend told him about Rescue Outreach Mission. The shelter gave him a cot for the night to sleep on, but he had to wait a few days for a bed to open in the men’s dormitory.

“We wish we had unlimited space to help everyone, but unfortunately the demand for beds is much greater than the supply of beds,” says Chris Ham, executive director, Rescue Outreach Mission. “Any given day, we usually have a waiting list for services, but as we continually refine our operations, our waitlists continue to be shorter.”

Swanson stayed at Rescue Outreach Mission for just a couple of months. He was able to pick up some seasonal work but mostly worked on himself while there. He saved his social security payments and was eventually able to pay the first and last month’s rent for his room.

“I prayed a lot and followed the rules, and the lord provided,” he says. “It still isn’t easy, but I’m here, I have my own room and after all the cold nights recently, I’m thankful I was in a warm room and not outside.”

One of the things he does is give back. He works with the Gideon organization to help share bibles with individuals experiencing homelessness.

“I feel strongly that the homeless need spirituality, as they are already at a low point, and having God in their lives makes things easier,” he says. “Everyone needs spirituality, but the homeless need so much love.”

And the advice he gives to those men, women and children currently staying at Rescue Outreach Mission.
“The staff is there to help you and are doing this work from the heart because they really care,” Swanson says. “If you follow their plan, you’ll see those building blocks stacking together. Save as much as you can while you are at the shelter, and just when you don’t think it will happen, a door will open.”

Even if that door leads to a meal at Chick-fil-A.