Couple partners with Redwood Gospel Mission to minister to homeless

There are so many locals in Sonoma County that help make this a special place to live. The Press Democrat is highlighting some of these non-profit volunteers in our special Thanksgiving section this year.

To read about all of them go to www.pressdemocrat.com/specialsections/celebrations.

When Jerry and Becky Hayes became Christians about five years ago, Jerry felt God was sending him a message.

'One of the things that he told me to do was go to the mission,' Jerry, 61, said, referring to the Redwood Gospel Mission, where he and Becky, 42, volunteer.

'I held off on it,' Jerry said. 'I didn't go right away.'

Then, one day, he was on his route as a UPS driver, and as he was stopped, he noticed a man working outside.

'It was a hot day, and I was blocking this guy from doing his work,' Jerry said. 'He had to wait for me to move my truck … and something told me to give him my bottle of water.

'And that kind of planted a seed.'

Jerry told Becky about his experience that day, and he explained that he wanted to go out and buy a few flats of water and start handing them out to people outside of the mission.

So they started with that, and soon they became involved with the mission in a more concrete way.

Becky has cerebral palsy and, because of her disability, can't volunteer in traditional ways. So the couple talked with the mission to see what they could do together.

'I said, well, how about if I come down and set up a table and we serve coffee in the back?' Jerry said.

And that's what they did.

'Because of Becky's disability, we didn't want to just be on the street with people where we had no safety net,? Jerry said. 'So the Redwood Gospel Mission provided us with (that).'

Then, on Nov. 27, 2012, Jerry's brother John Smith died at age 47, killed by a 14-year-old homeless kid while Smith too was homeless, living on the streets of San Francisco. He had been homeless for 10 or 15 years, Jerry said, when the 14-year-old pushed him down, his head hitting the curb.

'That really fueled the fire in my heart to really want to work on this ministry and help homeless people,' Jerry said.

Since starting that about three years ago, they've reached out and invited members of their church, the First Baptist Church of Windsor, to join them. The group has grown to nine people now.

They also started a nomadic shelter program for the mission at their church, which means that once a month, the First Baptist Church takes part in a rotation with 29 other churches in Sonoma County to house the overflow of people seeking shelter at the mission.

This marks the sixth month that the church has participated, and the nights involve food, sermons and shelter for those in need.

'It's really important for me that we go down there and share God's love with these people,' Jerry said.

And what is Becky's role in all this?

'They like to see smiles,' she said, absolutely beaming. 'That's my gift to them.'

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.