Miracle Messages offers clients the opportunity to record and deliver a message to a loved one, even if the client doesn’t know how to reach them.
When a message is received, Miracle Messages’ Miracle Messengers attempt to locate the loved one online and deliver the client’s message. Once a message is successfully delivered, Miracle Messages continue to act as a communication bridge between the homeless client (and their caseworker) and the loved ones.
Miracle Messages can be recorded from clients through our, online referral form, our paper-based form, our 1-800-MISS-YOU hotline, and our mobile app.
In each of our referral channels, we only need four bits of info to begin a case:
Client basic information
Loved one information (as much as the client knows)
How to reach the client again (or the referring staff member)
The miracle message itself—a short written, audio, or video message from the client to the loved one. This can be as simple as “I miss you.”
Miracle Messages lowers the barriers to reaching out, and we meet clients where they are at. It’s that simple. As a result, we have reconnected over 302 people experiencing homelessness with loved ones, by simply offering the chance to deliver a message. MM offers clients a low-stakes, low-barrier opportunity to say “hello,” “I miss you,” “I love you,” or “I’m sorry” — just send us a message that a client would like delivered, and we’ll do our best to deliver it! By offering this first step toward reconnecting, we are creating an avenue for hope, without creating undue pressure or stress for clients or their loved ones.
Miracle Messages is a lifeline for clients and a resource for staff. We designed our service as a resource for caseworkers, shelters, outreach workers, law enforcement, and other personnel who are engaging with homeless clients.
Delivering messages—and acting as a messenger between two parties—can be extremely time consuming. Finding loved ones can require extensive research, multiple phone calls, and repeated callbacks. We know that most professionals on the front lines of homelessness don’t have the time, bandwidth, or leeway to take that on. That’s why we do this work for you, so that you can focus on your clients’ other needs while we locate loved ones and deliver messages.
Learn more at miraclemessages.org/partner
Kevin F. Adler created Miracle Messages in honor of his Uncle Mark, who suffered from schizophrenia and spent 30 years on-and-off the streets before he passed away. Read the backstory.
There are 160 million homeless and otherwise displaced people on earth. We know how big an issue this is - in the United States, we see it every day, with 600,000 people sleeping on the streets nightly.
The reasons for homelessness are vast and complicated — eviction, mental illness, addiction, domestic violence, job loss, medical bills, and more. But when a homeless person is asked how they became homeless, it is common to hear the same general refrain:
"I never realized I was homeless when I lost my housing. Only when I lost my family and friends that provided me with support."
Everyone is someone's somebody, but the majority of homeless people are totally disconnected from their social support systems. While relational brokenness and mental illness separate some families, many homeless people are disconnected due to digital literacy, access to technology, lost contact information, feeling ashamed, and/or feeling worthless (i.e., technological and emotional barriers).
We mitigate risks by meeting potential clients in public or through trusted partner organizations, as well as directing homeless clients to use our toll-free hotline, 1-800-MISS-YOU. However, safety cannot be guaranteed in doing this work, and volunteers engage in it freely and at their own volition.
We treat each person as we would hope one of our loved ones would be treated. We have created three viable avenues for messages to be recorded, each with a different emphasis on privacy: a mobile app for recording video messages, a toll-free hotline (1-800-MISS-YOU) for recording audio and text messages, and a web-based referral form for recording text messages.
In all cases, we only work with clients who can make an informed consent to participate, are at least 18-years old, and are looking for a loved one 18-years or older. All participation is fully voluntary.
- Tonight, over 600,000 people across the United States are homeless.
- This year, over 3.5 million Americans will experience homelessness.
- The above number includes 1.6 million children.
- 1 in 3 people in the US are one or two paychecks away from homelessness.
- 1 in 3 cities in the US criminalize homelessness with anti-camping/sleeping laws.
- Total public cost for a homeless person to be on the streets: $35K-$150K/year
- Total public cost to keep a formerly homeless person housed: $13K-$25K/year
- On average, homeless people die 30 years younger than average.
For starters, check out our post-reunion support guide.
We are beginning to compile information and stories on missing loved ones, with the intention of sharing this information at shelters to further publicize the individual case, and to inspire people experiencing homelessness that they, too, may have loved ones who want to reconnect with them.
If you are interested in this, please fill out this form.