Mosque shelter shatters stereotypes

For the past few days, homeless mother Galadrial Neece-Estrada and her family have been sleeping someplace they would never have imagined -  at a southeast Las Vegas mosque. Neece-Estrada, her boyfriend and their two sons, 2-year-old Aden Cooper and 8-month-old Austin Cooper, are spending a week at the mosque as guests of the Islamic Society of Nevada.

"I've been reading up on Ramadan (the Muslim holy month) in the classroom where we sleep," the 26-year-old mother said. "The longer I'm there, the more I realize how beautiful the (Islamic) religion is." It may seem like an unlikely place for a homeless family with no religious affiliation to end up, even temporarily. But society director Aslam Abdullah said taking care of others is what religion is all about. "If God's creations can't find a place in the house of God, then what's the use?" he said. Abdullah volunteered the mosque to Family Promise, a nonprofit organization that works with about 20 local places of worship representing eight different faiths to help homeless families.

Each church, mosque or other "faith house" takes in up to four families, providing meals and beds, for a week at a time. When the week ends, the families move on to the next host until they eventually transition into regular housing. Family Promise Director Terry Lindemann said the idea behind the program is to allow homeless parents to spend their days looking for work instead of worrying about how they will eat or where they're going to sleep. "We shelter and feed them at night. During the day, we look at what's broken and get them back on track," Lindemann said.

The organization operates out of a small house near Van Buren Avenue and F Street and helps homeless parents find social services, jobs or, in Neece-Estrada's case, study for her General Equivalency Degree. "Here you get a chance to breathe," she said. "You can follow through on the groundwork you have laid." Neece-Estrada, who hopes to eventually become a chef, said she became homeless after losing her job as a slot attendant two months ago. She and her family spent time in local shelters before being chosen for an opening at Family Promise in early November. She said the program has given her the opportunity to learn about different religions and changed her mind about Islam.

"I was guilty of believing the negative, media-generated picture of Muslims. I don't know if I would have ever gotten to a mosque on my own."

While Lindemann said Family Promise is not a religious organization and participating churches do not proselytize the homeless families they host, Neece-Estrada is absorbing as much about each faith as she can. "I feel like God pushed me" to Family Promise, she said. "I have a strong belief in God and pay close attention while at the different churches. They don't force the issue, but if you ask about their religion they'll tell you." Abdullah said he was motivated to join Family Promise not by a desire to change negative stereotypes about Islam, but to practice its beliefs. "It is the obligation of every religious community to do what we can to help those who are suffering," he said.