Rescue Riders tour to raise awareness about mental health, homelessness

Las Vegas Review-Journal

5 years ago

Members of "Rescue Ride," arrive at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission during their nationwide tour t ... — Members of “Rescue Ride,” arrive at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission during their nationwide tour to raise awareness of the foundational role of mental illness in chronic homelessness, in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (Elizabeth Page Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal @EliPagePhoto)

Pastor Brandan Thomas from Winchester Rescue Mission in Virginia visits the Las Vegas Rescue Mission during “Rescue Ride,” stopping at homeless shelters nationwide to raise awareness of the foundational role of mental illness in chronic homelessness, in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (Elizabeth Page Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal @EliPagePhoto)

Rescue Rider Richard “Woody” Woodruff, 74, West Virginia, arrives at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission during “Rescue Ride,” a tour stopping at homeless shelters nationwide to raise awareness of the foundational role of mental illness in chronic homelessness, in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (Elizabeth Page Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal @EliPagePhoto)

Rescue Rider’s parked motorcycles after arriving at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission during a tour stopping at homeless shelters nationwide to raise awareness of the foundational role of mental illness in chronic homelessness, in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (Elizabeth Page Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal @EliPagePhoto)

A camera team records pastor Brandan Thomas from Winchester Rescue Mission in Virginia, left, and Heather Engle, CEO of Las Vegas Rescue Mission at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (Elizabeth Page Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal @EliPagePhoto)

Pastor Brandan Thomas from Winchester Rescue Mission in Virginia, left, and Heather Engle, CEO of Las Vegas Rescue Mission take a tour of the Las Vegas Rescue Mission in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (Elizabeth Page Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal @EliPagePhoto)

A camera team records Heather Engle, CEO of Las Vegas Rescue Mission, left, and pastor Brandan Thomas from Winchester Rescue Mission in Virginia, in the Las Vegas Rescue Mission’s thrift store in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (Elizabeth Page Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal @EliPagePhoto)

A camera team documents pastor Brandan Thomas from Winchester Rescue Mission in Virginia, left, and Heather Engle, CEO of Las Vegas Rescue Mission at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (Elizabeth Page Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal @EliPagePhoto)

Pastor Brandan Thomas, who leads Winchester Rescue Mission in Virginia, stopped Monday morning at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission on his way to Los Angeles for the final leg of his Rescue Ride.

“I’ve always dreamed of stopping at rescue missions and staying there and really seeing what’s happening … as well as checking out the barriers that people face,” said Thomas, who was accompanied by other riders on Harley-Davidsons.

“You need to know these guys and hear their stories, and think for the most part, ‘It could be me,’” he said.

The rescue missions provide beds at night and a daily community meal. They’re Christian-based nonprofits and have a chapel with services. The Las Vegas Rescue Mission also houses people for a one-year recovery and substance abuse program.

Thomas has raised about $74,000 for his mission and mainly hopes to raise awareness about mental health and learn from other rescue missions. He planned to spend Monday night at the shelter on Bonanza Road and learn from staffers and clients about homelessness here.

He is inspired by his father, who was a diagnosed schizophrenic with manic disorder and died in 2013.

“What they’re doing is so authentic. … It sounds like such an incredible journey,” Las Vegas Rescue Mission CEO Heather Engle said.

“(Thomas is) taking it to where it needs to be; these are things that bring light to life.”