Over a hundred formerly homeless men and women graduated from the Miami Rescue Mission last Saturday after completing programs with either the Rescue Mission or Broward Outreach Centers. The programs completed by the graduates included classes in life skills, literacy, spiritual counseling, and job training for the region's labor market.

The combined graduation exercise was held at the Community Activity Center in Miami. The ceremony's atmosphere was like that of any high school or college graduation, as the graduates, dressed in caps and gowns, were joined by happy family and friends to see them mark this significant milestone in their lives.

The graduates were from the Mission's Pompano Beach, Hollywood, and Miami Centers. All the graduates gave short testimonies of their experiences towards this new step in their lives, thanks to their training. Each individual had different stories to tell, but all shared the common thread of personal struggle and despair that led them to becoming homeless.

Some of the graduates were very emotional as they gave their testimonies of how they have received a second chance in their lives "through God's help and the Miami Rescue Mission."

Antonio Villasuso, director of the Miami Rescue Mission centers, said the graduates are now ready to embark on their new lives as productive citizens.

The Rescue Mission is a faith-based organization dedicated to the motto "no one is homeless." It has established a team of clients, business organizations, staff and supporters to utilize the best technology and resources "to move an increasing number of homeless individuals from isolation to inclusion as accountable and productive members of the community with human compassion and the love of God." The mission adapts various strategies to reach out to the homeless and invite them to participate in their programs. Many participants in the mission entered the program due to encouragement from past graduates, who have now found success.

This was the first graduation ceremony for 2012 held by the Miami Rescue Mission/Broward Outreach Centers. Some past graduates also attended the ceremony on Saturday. Some have started their own businesses in landscaping and trucking, and others are employed in local companies such as Home Depot.

The Miami Dade centers of the Rescue Mission include the Center for Men, which offers supportive programs for single men; the Center of Women and Children, which offers emergency and residential care; the Jeffrey A. Tew Education Center, offering career training in computer technology and other disciplines; the Community Activity Center, which offers after-school and summer programs. The Broward Outreach Centers in Hollywood and Pompano Beach also offer emergency and residential care.

The Broward Outreach Centers offer three-moth training programs, and the Miami Rescue Mission programs are from 12 to 18 months in duration.