May 2025
When guests meet Crystal Guerrero for the first time, they often see someone who seems calm, confident, and deeply compassionate. What they may not see at first glance is a woman who has sat exactly where they’re sitting. A little over ten years ago, Crystal was a guest at the Topeka Rescue Mission. She was lost in addiction, caught in the spiral of homelessness, and had just lost custody of her children. “I came in empty,” she says. “Defeated. Tired. Scared. There’s not a lot of good feelings when you’re walking through those doors because you’re trying to figure out what you’re going to do next after you’ve lost everything.”
Now, just four months into her role as a Housing Navigator at TRM, Crystal sits on the other side of the desk — and that perspective changes everything. This isn’t just a new job. It’s a return to the very place where her life began to change. Her story, woven with redemption and resilience, has become a vital tool as she walks alongside today’s guests, helping them find housing, stability, and hope.
“When I sit across from someone, I can tell them, ‘I know you can do this because I did this,’” she explains. “I’ll help you and show you how to get through this.” For our guests, that changes everything. When someone who’s been in their shoes offers that kind of encouragement — not just words but lived experience — it builds trust. It opens doors that wouldn’t open otherwise.
As a Housing Navigator, Crystal walks with guests through what can be one of the most difficult parts of the journey out of homelessness. The barriers are real: past evictions, unpaid rent, felony records, poor credit, mental health challenges, and generational poverty. “Each person’s story is different,” she says. “You can’t treat them all the same. But they all need to be reminded that what they’re doing — just showing up, trying again — matters.”
Crystal treats each guest with dignity, never reducing their story to a statistic. “I think it’s good to give them support,” she says. “Give them a hand to help get them the help they need.” She doesn’t just point guests toward affordable housing options — she walks with them through every step: paperwork, applications, landlord communication, transportation to appointments, and the hard conversations that come when yet another door gets closed.
​
She also serves as an advocate, especially with local landlords. “Our guests carry a lot of labels,” she says. “My job is to help them shed those. To show landlords and agencies the person behind the paperwork.” Her work requires persistence and creativity, but above all, it requires presence — and Crystal is there, consistently, with a gentle firmness that speaks volumes: You matter. You’re not alone. Let’s do this together.​
Once a guest moves into housing, Crystal’s work doesn’t stop. “That’s just the beginning,” she says with a smile. She knows from experience that the transition into housing can be filled with fear, isolation, and relapse if people aren’t supported well. That’s why she checks in with each of her housed guests at least once a month — not just to see if they’re keeping up with rent, but to see how they’re doing. Some of them don’t understand why we’re still checking in. They’ll ask, “Do I really matter this much?” And we say, “Absolutely. One hundred percent.”
Crystal also coordinates closely with TRM’s Distribution Center to make sure guests transitioning into housing have what they need to furnish and settle in. From furniture to bedding, from cleaning supplies to kitchen items, she helps them build not just a place to stay — but a home.
​​
Deputy Director of Supportive Services, Miriam Krehbiel, has seen the impact of Crystal’s work firsthand. “Crystal has shown many times over that there is a bigger reason behind what she does,” Miriam says. “She shares her story and gives a reflection of what the Lord has done in her life and through her life. She brings this joy and positive attitude that you cannot put enough value to… she is going to find a way to help our people. It’s beautiful to watch and see how she builds relationships.”
That joy — born not from easy roads but from God’s redemption — fuels everything Crystal does. Her past has become her ministry. The pain she once endured now drives her to stand in the gap for others who feel just as lost as she once did.
“I remember how it felt when someone finally looked me in the eyes and believed I could change,” Crystal says. “Now, I get to be that person for someone else.”
This is the heart of TRM’s Housing Navigation program — not just helping people find shelter, but helping them find hope, healing, and the courage to believe in second chances. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s about walking with people, one step at a time, through each unique story.
Crystal’s story reminds us that no one is too far gone. That recovery is possible. That God is still in the business of transforming lives. And sometimes, the very best guides are the ones who’ve walked the hardest roads themselves. †
