Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Conner.
Michelle, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2014, my husband, myself, and our five children moved from Maryland to Texas. We knew we would be building new relationships within a new community, and we were ready for the challenges ahead. We did not know that in only six years, I would be leading the fastest growing human services nonprofit in Denton County. Thinking back, I would never have imagined I would be where I am today.
The idea for Grace Like Rain came to me after we began volunteering with an organization that provided temporary and voluntary care for children while their parents were in crises. We saw that so many of these families were lacking the support of family and community. During my battle with Stage Three Ovarian Cancer and my time as a single mom, the support of my family and community was what kept me going. They listened, equipped, supported, and encouraged us through every step of our trials and struggles. It hurt me to know that other families in crises were enduring their struggles without this same support.
So in 2016, our family and a few other friends set out with a big dream and decided to start Grace Like Rain, a non-profit focused on approaching homelessness holistically by addressing the root causes and barriers. We intended to provide our client families with one of the most important, but intangible needs: the sense of belonging and wholeness that comes from community. We started by equipping coaches to build relationships with families that were struggling as these individuals often had no one else to turn to. In listening to these families, we began to notice patterns in some of the major barriers they faced. Over time, we saw the extreme need for affordable housing, reliable transportation and quality and affordable childcare. Grace Like Rain established strategies and plans to address these three areas.
In just four years, it is still baffling to me to think about how far we have come. My life has changed so much in such a short period of time, and Grace Like Rain continues to challenge me in new and unusual ways. Now, I rarely say no to new opportunities, and I rarely accept no as an answer for the dreams I strive towards. We are not done with our crazy vision, and we could not be more excited for our next ground breaking project: Love First.
Love First will be an entire community of quality affordable housing in Denton County. We are in the early stages of design and architecture, and have 16 acres of land to build our dreams on. Grace Like Rain’s Love First community will be a place of transition and growth for our families. It will provide affordable living, spiritual growth, building of relationships, and include life skill classes such as cooking, childcare, counseling, interview tips, etc., as an extension of what Grace Like Rain already provides in Denton County. We never accepted push back for this dream, and never believed it was “too big” or “crazy.” Now, we are in the early stages of development and have received approval to move forward from the city. This is how far faith and dreams have taken us in only four years.
Has it been a smooth road?
One of the most significant obstacles that arises when running a non-profit is the fact that people do not like to be made uncomfortable. There is so much pain, and so much need, and so many tragedies and crises going on around us. But we often prefer to believe that is not the case. I live in a community where it is easy to pretend just that. One of my greatest challenges and barriers has been convincing individuals in relatively sheltered communities to make themselves uncomfortable. Obviously, I have met a lot of resistance. It is sometimes difficult for many to grasp why I would want to use my time fighting poverty and homelessness when I could simply go about my daily life living in abundance and a perfectly good home. It is easy to avoid addressing a challenge, issue, or problem when you can pretend it does not exist at all. Such mindsets and resistance make for a bumpy road full of questioning, doubting, and ultimately perseverance. This process of challenging family, peers, and community members to step outside of their bubble, and make contributions to issues that do not affect them, has been difficult but life changing. Difficult conversations are so important, and the transformation Grace Like Rain has seen in donors and volunteers nearly rivals the transformations of the families themselves. We often don’t realize that what we think will make us uncomfortable can actually challenge us in new ways to help us learn, grow, and ultimately become happier and more fulfilled as individuals. Grace Like Rain is what it is because of its loyal donors and community support, and the journey has changed everyone. We cannot wait to see what the future has in store for us.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Grace Like Rain – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Grace Like Rain specializes in our holistic and individualized approach to the families experiencing homelessness. This holistic approach makes us unique in that rather than just treating homelessness symptomatically, we address it by treating the root causes and needs. We also strive to always provide community and human connection to our clients, as this was one of the needs we sought to address in our inception. By addressing these more long term and intangible needs, we empower our clients with a sense of personal agency, community, and belonging. We are most proud of the feedback we get from our clients and the little victories we share with them along the way such as getting a driver’s license, securing a new certification for work, learning finance skills from our classes, or even successfully preparing a recipe for their kids as a single parent at home. The comments Grace Like Rain receives from both our clients and the community consistently point to our efforts to treat families’ long term and unique needs, and we believe that this is what sets us apart from others. Grace Like Rain helps our families not just to get by or survive, but to thrive, excel, succeed, and achieve their goals. We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential, and by addressing the basic needs and barriers our clients face, we allow them to do just that.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
My favorite thing about Dallas is the people and my least favorite thing is the traffic!
Pricing:
- Donate to our cause at: https://gracelikerainministries.org/partner/
Contact Info:
- Address: 306 N. Loop 288 Suite 112 | Denton, TX 76210
- Website: https://gracelikerainministries.org/
- Phone: 940-535-5557
- Email: info@glrtx.org
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