He cares for the 54 men currently staying at the River City Rescue Mission because he was once considered one of them.

“I came here with $4 in my pocket and the clothes on my back,” Earnie Hall, program director for the mission said to those attending the Vicksburg Kiwanis meeting Tuesday. “There’s something about people like myself working with people like myself.”

More than 20 years after his stay at the mission, which operated under a different name at the time, Hall now serves those that stand where he once stood.

The mission, a Christian alcohol and drug rehabilitation center for men, offers 4 to 6 month treatment programs, poverty and homelessness assistance and an array of other services for the local community. Hall said many of those who stay there are referrals from law enforcement, courts and hospitals that think the mission is the best fit for some or the only hope for others.

“We have a lot of people that come from all walks of life,” he said. “What are we supposed to do with (them)? We’re going to love (them). I want to work with those that no one else wants.”

River City carries out its mission in a variety of ways, Hall said.

Its soup line operates three times a day, serving an average of 70 meals each time, and as part of its family assistance program, Hall said the rescue furnished 19 home last year and provided 92 donated food boxes last month, mostly to single mothers. Its mission can be as simple as giving someone hug or a little girl an ice cream cone, he said.

“It doesn’t seem like a lot, but that might be the only joy she gets that day,” he added. “There’s a whole community out there that you can’t see from the road. There are a whole lot of needs out there.”

During the meeting, Hall stressed the importance of donations.

The thrift store, which operates off donated items, provides most of the mission’s funding, Hall said, and every other service the mission provides is connected to the local community, like its work therapy program where men can learn job skills and earn money to help them get back on their feet, or is donated by residents.

“We have a need, and I turn around and see it coming through the door,” he said.

Hall added that food and beds are the mission’s most needed items at the moment, and they are also collecting fans for the elderly during the summer and blankets and space heaters for when things cool off.

“There are a lot of people living with no air conditioning, no heat, and think about a family of 50 people. It takes a lot to feed them,” he said.

To donate items or find more information on any of River City Rescue Mission’s service, call their office at 601-636-6602.