About Us
Grace Ministries is a non-profit organization that offers hope and healing to troubled young women trapped by the generational cycles of abandonment, abuse, neglect and addiction. Through its long-term residential care program, young women ages 13-21 can journey to spiritual, physical and emotional wholeness in a safe and loving home environment.
Grace Ministries recognizes that many young women in our community have been deeply wounded by childhood abuse or trauma, including sexual abuse (i.e., incest and rape), physical and emotional abuse, and other tragic experiences stemming from unsafe childhood homes. These young women need healthy avenues out of abuse and neglect. They need new strategies for living.
Grace Ministries offers these troubled young women a new chance at life through its multi-faceted residential care program that combines long-term housing with counseling, life skills training, parenting development and support, educational support, and spiritual development.
By creating a safe and healing environment that is more than just a home, Grace Ministries offers troubled young women the means to transition into new lives armed with coping skills, life skills, education, and most importantly, the hope needed to rebuild a broken life.
Our Program Includes:
Long-term Residential Facilities
Grace Ministries operates three homes that serve as a refuge for young women in need of a fresh start.
Counseling
Childhood abuse leaves far more than physical scars. Counseling is designed to help our residents understand the nature of the childhood trauma and to support them in their personal growth and recovery from life’s hurts. Each resident will have the opportunity to participate in both individual and group counseling.
Life Skills Training
Many of the residents who enter our homes lack basic life skills. To aid them in their transition to self-sufficiency, residents will actively participate in common home-management, including laundry, cleaning and cooking. They will also receive career counseling and training in money management, budgeting, and meal planning and preparation. House chores and training sessions will be done one-on-one and in group settings to emphasize relationship-building and trust in a family unit.
Parenting Development and Support
Young moms at Grace Ministries will receive the help and guidance they desperately need to raise a child. Without stepping in to parent, our staff provides healthy and loving instruction on how to raise and nurture a child.
Educational Support
At Grace Ministries, we understand the importance of education and the honor it brings into ones life. Staff will work with residents to help them finish their education, whether it is attaining a high school diploma or studying for their GED, and help them prepare for their future. College becomes an expectation instead of an option.
Our Founder
“I have inscribed you in the palms of my hands...” — (Isaiah 49:16)
“If we help our children to be what they should be today, then when tomorrow becomes today, they will have the necessary courage to face it with greater love. Make sure that in the beautiful place where you live no child, no man, no woman feels unwanted or unloved. If you find somebody who feels that way, open your doors, open your hearts to them.” — (Mother Teresa in 1986)
Robin Nelson-Zeller began Grace Ministries to reach out to hurting girls and their children. Influenced by her faith, her work alongside Mother Teresa in India, and her experience serving women and children on the streets in downtown Portland, Robin came to believe that every person has a gifting and is important in the eyes of God. Grace Ministries was birthed out of a desire to give back to those in difficult situations and who feel hopeless.