In 1992 we formed the Redemption Housing created and ran one of the largest non-profit supportive housing facilities in the United States.

Our ministry goal was to help the evicted, convicted, addicted and afflicted avoid the streets, institutions and death. In-N-Up was a 200 unit supportive housing facility. 

We started Serenity church on Sunday mornings. We met in the Sun Rise Room at In-N-Up. Soon there were more than 30 men attending at 8 and almost as many women at 10. 

In 2002 George H Bush became the president following Bill Clinton. He unintentionally politicized Supportive Housing with two major initiatives. First was turning social service programs over to faith-based organizations. The other was fixing Public Schools by his No Child Left Behind Act. 

His Undersecretary for faith-based initiatives Lisa Cummings visited In-N-Up. We were a faith-based initiative receiving no Government funding. We were being held up as a model for Bush’s new programs. 

This led to an intense campaign led by Democratic mayor George Miller and the public employees unions. They felt they had to end In-N-Up. The teachers union was particularly worried because the homeless kids were going to an A+ school and were lowering test scores. The principal Mary Pat Mattius spoke at meetings of the heads of the public employees union. They went around the table gathering suggestions on destroying In-N-Up.

 I realized I was hurting the kids I had so wanted to help. 

In 2005 We closed In-N-Up. 

Serenity Church lives on. We currently meet at the Saint Annes Chapel. We are also turning to our roots, We are taking the church meetings to The H.S.L. center for opportunity and Hope, and the Gospel rescue mission.