When Daniel Rhodes arrived at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission following a difficult jail sentence, he was looking for a second chance at his life.
After leaving the Marine Corps with an honorable discharge, Daniel struggled with PTSD, alcoholism, and the loss of his marriage and family. Over several years, he worked tirelessly to stay afloat, taking on whatever jobs he could find while trying to support his five children. But eventually, everything caught up with him.
“I just lost my ex-wife, my kids,” Daniel shared. “Over the period of four years, I literally fell out of control.”
His lowest point came after being sentenced to jail following an alcohol-fueled incident involving his brother. Facing homelessness and feeling completely alone, Daniel realized something had to change.
“My biggest challenge before coming to the Mission was alcohol,” he said. “Any time I’d feel, like, threatened or anything like that, I had PTSD issues and I was just trying to cope with that… I’d get angry.”
When he arrived at CVRM’s New Life Program, Daniel expected something very different from what he found.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “When I got here, it… was just, like, welcoming. Open arms.”
That sense of belonging became the foundation for his recovery. Through Bible studies, chapel, and daily fellowship, Daniel began developing new ways to respond to life’s challenges.
“The most important thing I’ve learned,” he said, “[is] how to be more humble, calm. I don’t have to answer every fight with my fist… [and] not to be too prideful, ask for help when you need it.”
His faith also began to grow in ways he hadn’t expected. While he had believed in God before arriving at the Mission, he hadn’t read the Bible other than a few passages when he was going through his divorce. At New Life, studying scripture alongside others transformed his perspective.
“It took me about a month and then the Bible started talking to me,” Daniel said. “Just going on the word every day, just little bits and pieces kind of changed me.”
Daniel quickly became involved around campus, volunteering in multiple departments before joining the security team. Drawing on his military background, he embraced every opportunity to serve.
“I went in with the attitude of, like, how much more can I do?” he said.
Today, Daniel describes one of the greatest gifts of the Mission as something he hadn’t experienced in a long time: brotherhood and community.
“Before I came to the Mission… I was on my own, emotionally, mentally, everything,” he shared. “I didn’t really have a lot of help out there.”
Now, “I want to say whole. Full,” he says. “I didn’t have friends, either, so having a group of brothers to, to just talk to kind of helps and they’re not out to, like—take something from me. They’re there when you need them.”
He credits the Mission with providing more than housing—the program has given him the stability to focus on recovery, continue paying child support, save money, and prepare for the future.
“I remember coming here and just asking for that miracle and I don’t know what that miracle is, but just to, to be able to stand on my own and just make it, survive. So, um, they’ve really given me an opportunity just to do that.”
After more than a year of sobriety, Daniel is looking ahead one day at a time.
“I’m thankful to the Mission just to have my sobriety,” he said. “They’ve given me this new life.”
While he doesn’t know exactly where his journey will lead next, he’s learned to trust the process.
“Wherever God puts me,” he said. “Wherever I can serve.”
For Daniel, graduating from the program isn’t the end of his story. “It’s not… an end,” he reflected. “It’s just the beginning.”