“We Come Here Broken and Desperate:” A Deep Look at the Durham Rescue Mission

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On an average night, the Durham Rescue Mission houses more than 450 people between its campuses and off-site housing. Last year, it reported serving half a million meals and providing 167,000 nights of shelter. 

The Mission, one of  Durham’s largest providers of homeless and recovery services, calls its guests “clients” and refers to its programs as “treatment.” But as soon as guests arrive, the Mission requires them to quit outside jobs and work in its own thrift stores or staff its shelters. They’re paid as little as $5 a week and not more than $50, while the Mission itself brought in $23 million in 2022 across its three nonprofits and its five thrift stores brought in $7.6 million in sales of donated goods. 

For the INDY and The Assembly, reporter Cy Neff delved into the sprawling enterprise, spoke with 24 former and current guests, as well as with the Mission’s CEO and vice president of operations, and 19 other people involved in recovery services around the Triangle. 

Some guests called its “work therapy” approach exploitative. The money is a “gift,” “love offering,” “benevolence,” or “stipend,” its leaders say, not a salary. And staying at the Mission comes with plenty of other strings attached, including daily morning prayer, a requirement to attend church services regularly, and no access to medication-related treatment for drug use.

“We sign away pretty much all of our legal rights in order to stay here,” a resident wrote while they were staying at the Mission in February. “We come here broken and desperate, and they take advantage of that.”

—Jane

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