History & Future

How The RDC Dream Began

Raleigh Dream Center was started in 2014 by Pastor Jeremy Porras and his wife Candace Porras. Originally from Los Angeles, they both have served on staff at churches most of their lives. They moved their family to Raleigh, NC in 2007, and while Jeremy was serving as the Music Pastor at Crossroads Fellowship Church, he had an experience that would forever change the course of their lives. Someone from the church approached him for help during a very difficult season in her life where she was facing homelessness. Through that experience, God opened his eyes to see the desperate needs that were right in front of him in his church and in the city of Raleigh.

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The Roots Of Raleigh Dream Center

In early 2015, the first Adopt-A-Block outreach was started. What began as a few friends and a trunk full of groceries quickly grew into a ministry that now gives away over 7,000 pounds of food per month in 5 inner-city communities through the Adopt-A-Block and Food Truck outreaches.

The support Raleigh Dream Center has received has been the driving force behind the tremendous growth of the ministries. We partner with local churches to provide an outreach component to do local missions. Over 1,300 volunteers have come out to serve with us. In 2016, we supplied 57,000 pounds of food, 6,000 articles of clothing, 2,276 free books to children, 384 backpacks filled with supplies, 100 frozen turkeys, 1,380 wrapped Christmas gifts with the Gospel message inside. Everything that we supply is intended to build relationships and trust that will lead to Gospel conversations and to help people to DREAM AGAIN about what God has planned for their future.

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The Future Of Raleigh Dream Center

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North Carolina is now the 10th highest ranking state for food insecurity
1 out of 6 people struggle to find food each month and 1 out of 4 children lack adequate nutrition
North Carolina is among the top 10 states for human trafficking with almost 2,700 victims identified in the last 10 years
More than 4,000 people are homeless in Wake County
Almost 1 in 12 Wake County residents have sheltered someone who might otherwise be homeless
2,736 Wake Co. Public School students are homeless
An estimated 62,295 people are living in poverty in Wake County
Nearly 40% of “emancipated” youth will be homeless or incarcerated within 18 months
North Carolina heroin deaths have skyrocketed more than 584 percent in 2016. A new report mapped out the top 25 worst cities in the US for opioid abuse and North Carolina shows up 4 times on that list, with N.C. having the #1 city.

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Poverty, drug addictions and crime statistics continually rise. Our vision is to have a facility to address these issues by providing additional support such as:

Transitional Living Program for homeless families
Residential Discipleship Programs for people struggling with life-controlling issues such as gangs, drugs, prostitution, and depression
Human Trafficking Intervention where victims are rescued, restored and transitioned
Adult Basic Education
Job Skills Training
Medical Screenings
Clothing Outreach
Parenting Classes
A food warehouse for our Mobile Hunger Relief (Food Trucks)
Ministry Space for at-risk children, students and young adults including worship services for residents and volunteers

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We invite you to join with us in this movement and open your heart to the needs that are all around us. May our compassion for people drive us to action! We encourage you to become part of a team that is changing the face of this city, and experience the deep joy of serving others.

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Food Data is from 2014 Hunger in America Study, by Feeding America and the Food Hardship in America 2015 Report from the Food Research and Action Center.

Human Trafficking report according to the NHTH

Homeless statistics from https://www.raleighrescue.org/homelessness/local-statistics/ and provided by http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article47067030.html

Heroin report from Castlight Health and http://wncn.com/2016/04/20/4-nc-towns-in-top-20-nationally-for-opioid-abuse-study-finds/