Nonprofit CEO Spends 24 Hours Outside In Freezing Temperatures To Bring Attention To Homelessness
Now that’s one way to start the conversation.
MAYA LAB | Shutterstock Miracle Hill Ministries is a non-profit organization in upstate South Carolina that provides services to homeless adults such as food, shelter, clothing, addiction recovery, personal development, and counseling. Their mission is to “exist so that homeless children and adults receive food and shelter with compassion.”
Opened in 1937 by a group of local businessmen who started a soup kitchen during the Great Depression, Miracle Hill Ministries considers itself both a homeless shelter and a “gospel rescue mission.” In 1957, they expanded the ministry to include children through the creation of Miracle Hill Children’s Home in the foothills of Table Rock.
In January 2025, the ministry decided to conduct a nationwide project to bring awareness to homelessness and offer assistance to anyone who needed shelter during Greenville, South Carolina’s worst month of cold weather.
Miracle Hill’s CEO Ryan Duerk brought awareness to homelessness by staying outside on a bench during brutal cold weather.
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From January 22nd to the 23rd, 2025, the CEO of Miracle Hill Ministries, Ryan Duerk, along with other rescue mission CEOs, participated in "Conversations on a Bench," where at three in the afternoon, they sat down on a bench and talked about the issues of homelessness with anyone that stopped by to listen.
The intent was to not only bring awareness to the plight of the homeless but also for people to share their stories and viewpoints on the matter. These CEOs of rescue missions from across the United States sat on benches speaking to people who were homeless, had a history of working with homeless individuals, or simply voiced their opinions on the homeless issue in America.
Miracle Hill Ministries is playing a role in combating homelessness in Greenville.
According to the Greenville Homeless Alliance, at least 4,100 people, including men, women, and children, experienced homelessness in Greenville County between the years 2022 and 2023.
The largest number of residents of emergency shelters are families with a household income of $61,750 to $108,000. These individuals usually belong to middle-class households, which is why the city is looking for solutions to this problem.
Miracle Hill Ministries is one of those solutions to combat homelessness in Greenville County. The Miracle Hill Ministries 2023 Annual Report showed that they gave 12,900 Cold Weather Beds to individuals during the 2023 fiscal year and had 202,520 Occupied Beds taken in the same year.
Their highest source of income is in Thrift Ministries through their Miracle Hill Thrift Stores. According to the site, all of the income generated from donations and shopping at the thrift stores directly supports Miracle Hill Ministries.
How the housing crisis is leading to homelessness in America.
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The United States of America has had a serious housing crisis that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Pew Research Center, rent costs increased by around 12% from 2019 to 2021. Things have increased more so in recent years. Currently, the average rent cost for a family in America is $1,326 per month.
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court, in Grants Pass v. Johnson case, ruled that local government ordinances with civil and criminal penalties for camping on public land do not constitute the “cruel and unusual punishment” aspects of the Eighth Amendment toward homeless individuals.
This is why Miracle Hall Ministries is trying to bring awareness not just to homelessness but the current housing crisis in America. Americans live paycheck to paycheck, some with government assistance and others with no governmental assistance. There is something fundamentally wrong here, and it can only change if communities come together.
As Ryan explained, there are “complexities to these issues.” He said, “When we see people experiencing homelessness on the streets, a lot of our gut reaction is to say, ‘Oh, that person just needs to get a job,’ but the reality is that it is just escaping the issues of homelessness.”
For many citizens in America, without resources and aid, living on the streets is the only option. As government programs get cut even further, Americans will have to look to their neighbors, churches, communities, and local ministries to support them.
Sylvia Ojeda is an author with a decade of experience writing novels and screenplays. She covers self-help, relationships, culture, and human interest topics.