Mark 12:41-44
Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury; and many of the rich put in a great deal.
A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’
Our History & Story
This page shares the truth behind Heaven Sent with warmth, dignity, and structure, while giving you visible places to edit the text and keeping picture spots hidden until you are ready to use them.
When the System Said “No Funds Available”
Heaven Sent Community Services and Veterans Assistance, Inc. did not begin in an office or around a boardroom table. It began with a family who needed help, who did everything they were told to do, and who still heard the words, “There are no funds available.”
Our founder, Joseph “Joey” Ryan, knows what it feels like to swallow his pride, pick up the phone, and ask for help—only to be turned away.
After losing his job, the bills piled up. The rent was due. The lights flickered. The refrigerator hummed with only half‑full shelves. Joey did what struggling families are told to do: he called the agencies that were supposed to help.
He called Catholic Charities.
He called the Salvation Army.
He called United Way.
He called every local number that people said might step in.
Each time, the answer was the same:
He was not standing in that storm alone. His wife, Mrs. Kim, walked every step of that valley beside him. She felt the same fear when the mail came, the same knot in her stomach when the phone calls ended with another “no,” the same ache of trying to protect their two beautiful children from the weight of adult problems.
For families like Joey and Mrs. Kim’s, waiting months for another funding cycle is not an option. Children cannot eat promises. Electricity does not wait for next quarter’s budget. Landlords do not hold off on eviction because a good family is “on a list.”
In that pain—in the hollow silence that follows a desperate “no”—Joey made himself a promise before God:
No one else, as long as he could help it, would have to feel that kind of helplessness and rejection again.
Out of that moment of heartbreak, Heaven Sent was born in Joey’s heart—and in the quiet prayers and steady courage of his wife and children who refused to give up.
In those hard days, it was often Mrs. Kim’s heart that helped keep his own steady. Her tenderness and strength, her willingness to sit in the dark with him and still believe God was not finished, became one of the deepest reasons he could remain honest, compassionate, and surrendered instead of bitter and hardened. The love they shared for their family, and the way they guarded their home even in the storm, became a living picture of the kind of care Heaven Sent would one day pour out on others.
How Heaven Sent Was Born
Our founder, Joseph “Joey” Ryan, knew what it felt like to ask for help and be turned away. After losing his job, the bills piled up. The rent was due. The lights flickered, and the refrigerator hummed with only half-full shelves. Each phone call for help ended the same way—with a polite voice and a closed door.
For families like Joey’s, waiting months for another funding cycle is not an option. Children cannot eat promises, and electricity does not wait for next quarter’s budget. In that pain—in the hollow silence that follows a desperate “no”—Joey made himself a promise: no one else would have to feel that kind of helplessness again.
Out of that moment of heartbreak, Heaven Sent was born.
Preparing for the Call
Joey did not launch Heaven Sent overnight. He spent years preparing.
He studied nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and how to run an organization with integrity and accountability. He served with FEMA and the American Red Cross, learning what it took to show up fast in a disaster, to listen to people in shock, to offer both prayer and practical help.
He then founded and led MDR Disaster Relief & Veterans Outreach, deploying into hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, wildfires, and community crises across the United States. In ruined neighborhoods and small forgotten towns, he saw the same patterns again and again:
Every disaster deployment, every late‑night prayer with a family in the rubble, every “we’ll come back and check on you” visit became one more stone in the foundation of what Heaven Sent would become. Through it all, Mrs. Kim stood in the gap at home—praying, encouraging, and reminding Joey why this calling mattered. Her love and faith helped keep his heart soft when the work was heavy and the stories were hard to carry.
Their children were watching too. They saw the long hours, the late‑night calls, the seasons when their parents gave even when there was not much left to give. They learned what it means to share the table, to open the door, to see a need and move toward it instead of away. The love Joey and Mrs. Kim have for their family—and the way that love kept drawing their home back to faith, honesty, and compassion—became part of the DNA of Heaven Sent itself.
Seeing the Crisis at Home
By the age of 59, Joey looked around and saw a country he almost did not recognize.
The cost of living had exploded. Rent for a modest home had tripled. Groceries stretched paychecks to the breaking point. The word “affordable” had almost lost its meaning.
Veterans and seniors—the very people who had served, worked, sacrificed, and built this nation—were now:
Joey thought back to his own calls—to Catholic Charities, to the Salvation Army, to United Way, and others—and how it felt to be told, over and over, that there were no funds available. He heard those words echoing in the lives of the people he was now serving in disaster zones and in his own community.
One story in particular marked him deeply: an 18‑year‑old autistic young man who ended up in jail after having a meltdown while his father was being arrested. In the confusion and fear, instead of receiving understanding and support, that young man was treated like a problem to remove. Joey could not shake the thought of how many families like that—dealing with disability, trauma, and crisis—are met with cuffs and concrete instead of compassion.
He refused to accept that answer for his own family, for that young man, or for anyone else.
Building Heaven Sent, Brick by Brick, Heart by Heart
Joey gathered a team of brothers and sisters—military veterans, first responders, and people of faith who understood duty, honor, and compassion. Together they began to build Heaven Sent Community Services and Veterans Assistance, Inc. not as just another agency, but as a ministry and a promise kept.
They made a commitment:
Heaven Sent was created for the people who fall between the cracks of other programs—the ones who are working, or disabled, or on a fixed income, but still cannot keep up with the crushing cost of living. It was created for the veteran sleeping in his truck, the senior whose rent just went up again, the family in a camper after a storm, the young adult with autism who needs understanding instead of punishment, the widow who cannot navigate the benefits system alone.
From the very beginning, Mrs. Kim has been part of that foundation. She has suffered when Joey suffered, rejoiced when a veteran found housing, and wept over the stories that come through the door. The way she loves their family—protecting them, praying over them, and guarding their home—has helped keep Joey honest, grounded, and tender‑hearted in a world that can easily make people hard.
Their two children have grown up watching what it means to quietly serve, to share, and to open the door to those in need. They have felt the weight of the work and the beauty of it, and their lives have become part of the testimony that God can turn one family’s hardship into hope for many others. Heaven Sent is not just Joey’s calling—it is a family calling, carried together in love.
The Sacrifices Kimmy and the Family Made
There is another truth written into the foundation of Heaven Sent: the sacrifices Kimmy and our family made along the way. The long nights, the uncertainty, the burdens carried in private, and the way our home had to keep standing even when life felt unsteady were all part of the price that was paid before this ministry ever had a name.
If it were not for Kimmy—her compassion, her great caring heart, her strength, and the way she has loved me and held our family together—there would not be a Heaven Sent. She has helped keep me honest, kept my heart from growing cold, and reminded me again and again that people need mercy, patience, and real love. So much of the heart and soul behind Heaven Sent has been shaped by the love God placed in her.
The children carried those sacrifices too. They lived through the hard seasons with us. They saw what it meant to keep loving, keep believing, and keep opening the door even when life was not easy. The love Kimmy and I have for our family, and the love our family kept giving back to us, became part of the spirit of this ministry.
In many ways, Kimmy truly is Heaven Sent to me. If I still have the heart to care, the soul to keep going, and the compassion to stand in the gap for others, it is because God gave me her to walk beside me through all of it.
We Serve Because We Remember
At Heaven Sent, we serve because we remember.
We remember what it feels like to hear, “There are no funds available,” and hang up the phone with nowhere else to turn.
We remember the faces of those who gave everything for this country and still came home to fight a different kind of battle—a battle for dignity, stability, and hope.
We remember the families living with disability who need patience and understanding, not judgment.
We remember the veterans who volunteered for the hardest jobs, the seniors who worked a lifetime, the people with disabilities who are told to “be grateful” for crumbs.
That memory is not just Joey’s. It lives in the hearts of our board members, our command staff, our volunteers, and our partners—people like Mrs. Kim and others who have walked this journey from the beginning, prayed over every decision, and believed that God was calling Heaven Sent to stand in the gap.
We stand here today because one man, one wife, and their children—joined by a growing circle of believers—refused to let “no funds available” be the final word over God’s people.
So to every veteran, every senior, every disabled individual, every family with nowhere else to turn—know this: you are not alone. We see you. We hear you. We will fight for you.
As long as Heaven Sent exists, you will not be left behind.
Because here, compassion is endless.
Hope lives here.
And Heaven Sent is exactly what it sounds like—a promise kept.
Our Founder’s Journey in Service
Before founding Heaven Sent Community Services and Veterans Assistance, Inc., Joseph “Joey” Ryan:
Those years taught him that real ministry is not just about the first 48 hours of a disaster. It is about what happens after the news crews leave, after the donation truck drives away, when a veteran is still sleeping in a tent in the yard, a grandmother is still trying to stretch her check one more week, and a young man with autism is still trying to find his place in a world that doesn’t always understand him.
Heaven Sent was born to carry that same heart into everyday crises—to combine disaster response experience with long‑term community support—so that people are not forgotten once the headlines fade.
Through all of this, Mrs. Kim has remained at Joey’s side—the steady heartbeat of their home and ministry, the one who helped shape his compassion and keeps reminding him why they must keep going. The love in their family is part of what fuels the love Heaven Sent pours out on others.
Our Leadership
Board of Directors
The Heaven Sent Community Services and Veterans Assistance Board of Directors provides overall governance, spiritual covering, and accountability for our mission, finances, and long‑term direction. Our Board is composed of military veterans, first responders, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and community leaders who have committed their lives to service.
They pray, plan, and oversee this ministry so that every decision honors God, protects those we serve, and stewards every gift with integrity.
Executive Director – Joseph “Joey” Ryan
Joseph “Joey” Ryan serves as the Founder and Executive Director of Heaven Sent Community Services and Veterans Assistance, Inc. He leads the organization day‑to‑day, carries the vision, and reports to the Board of Directors.
Joey oversees all programs, staff, volunteers, and partnerships, drawing on decades of experience in disaster response, veterans’ outreach, and nonprofit service. His promise that “no one else will have to feel that kind of helplessness again” shapes every policy, every deployment, and every decision.
Executive Command Staff
All executive command staff are U.S. military veterans chosen for their leadership, integrity, and adaptability. They help guide operations, support field teams, and ensure that every action reflects our core values of dignity, compassion, faith, integrity, and innovation.
Our Mission
Mission Statement
Heaven Sent Community Services and Veterans Assistance is dedicated to providing relief, hope, and lifelong empowerment to veterans, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and their families through holistic services including housing assistance, job training, financial aid, peer‑to‑peer support, pet therapy, and innovative programs like vehicle triage centers. Grounded in Christian principles of dignity, respect, compassion, integrity, and innovation, we walk alongside our brothers and sisters in crisis, reducing veteran homelessness and suicides while restoring purpose, stability, and faith‑filled independence.
Households We Have Already Walked Beside
For more than 25 years, our founder Joseph “Joey” Ryan has led teams into disaster zones and hurting communities—first as Founder of MDR Disaster Relief & Veterans Outreach, and now as Founder and Executive Director of Heaven Sent Community Services and Veterans Assistance, Inc. The names below reflect just a portion of the households we have personally walked beside during those deployments and community outreaches. This list will continue to grow as we serve more veterans, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and families in crisis.