The Rev. Charles Parker, who has worked on behalf of the homeless since 1987, has been executive director of the Rescue Mission since February 1998. Chasz., as he prefers to be called, came to the Rescue Mission from Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa, Fla., where he was senior vice president of programs and operations. In his 10 years there, he counseled more than 700 homeless families, opened the nation's first accredited child care center in a homeless shelter and created a telemedicine clinic and charter school for homeless children. He was also active in Florida's homeless coalition and homeless education task force.

Families and children are important to Chasz.; in addition to the homeless children he has worked with, he and his wife have five children. You might call their family the seven C's for Chasz. and Christa are parents to Claire, Chloe, Charles, Charis and Cullen. Chasz. brings a pastoral oversight to the Rescue Mission. Ordained with the International Ministerial Fellowship, he has a master of divinity degree from Oral Roberts University School of Theology and has served churches as a youth minister and assistant pastor. "My pastoral training colors all my thinking and I want to always bring a shepherd's heart to the poor," he said.