Response(s)

I recently was invited to respond to some interview questions that could go into a section in the forthcoming Response magazine which will have brief vignettes of SPU alum meeting the challenge of homelessness. I am not sure if I will end up in the magazine, but I really enjoyed the questions and thought I would share my responses here.

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1.      Please tell me a bit about yourself and life after SPU. What is your position with Jesuit Volunteer Corps and how long have you been in the position?

I am from the Seattle area (Bothell), and I spent four wonderful, transformative years at SPU graduating in June 2014. While at SPU, I had my eyes opened to many social injustices and my privilege in society. Through classes, conversations and experiences through the John Perkins Center, my desire to participate in God’s liberating and reconciling mission in the world grew, and I have felt a calling to dedicate my life to service and justice. Specifically, through Urban Involvement (UI), I had the opportunity to engage in service and enter into relationship with people experiencing homelessness. I participated in and led Urban Plunge, became involved with TC3’s first visit, led educational and advocacy efforts through UI, volunteered at a men’s shelter downtown, interned at a shelter in Denver, and sought to promote reconciliation and justice through my position as the ASSP VP of Ministries.

All of these experiences during my time at SPU led to my decision to join the Jesuit Volunteer Corps NW for a year of service. As a Jesuit Volunteer/AmeriCorps member I seek to holistically live out the values of social & ecological justice, simple living, community and spirituality. I live with five other JVs in intentional community sharing a small budget. Each of us serves at various non-profits full-time. I serve as the Immersion Coordinator at JOIN, an organization seeking to support people’s transition off the streets into housing. I have been in the position since August 2014 and my service will conclude in July 2015.

2.       Tell me a little of the scope of what you do in your position.

As the Immersion Coordinator, I run JOIN’s immersion program which educates groups on homelessness and social justice. I do the recruitment, organization, facilitation, and development of immersion experiences which range in length from a half-day to a whole week. Throughout the year, I will lead fifteen groups (mostly student groups) on experiences where they will have the opportunity to converse with and learn from people experiencing homelessness, volunteer, see efforts to end homelessness and reflect on the root causes of social injustice and their connection to it. The immersions break down stereotypes, build community, and motivate students to pursue personal and social transformation. 

Alongside my service doing community education through the immersion program, I also do direct service in JOIN’s day center which we call “the House.” Two or three days a week, I run lead on “the House” overseeing the operations of providing people with basic services including showers, mail, computers, hygiene items, lockers, clothing, and simply a place to be during the day. I support and direct our community volunteers, help guests access basic services, provide referrals to other services, maintain a peaceful and welcoming environment, respond to crises and conflict, build relationships with guests and try to offer a compassionate, non-anxious presence to each person I encounter.

3.       What was your major at SPU and how has it prepared you to work with the homeless?

        My studies in Global Development at SPU provided me with motivation, knowledge, experience, and an approach that have been critical in my work with people experiencing homelessness. As a GDS student, I was blessed to be in a community of peers and teachers who shared and fostered my passion for pursuing justice. My classes exposed me to the realities of poverty near and far and the need for personal and societal transformation. I learned about the root, systemic causes of this poverty, and formed a conceptual framework for understanding homelessness. Through my internship for GDS and related volunteer work, I gained direct experience working with people without housing. My studies in Global Studies fostered my approach to service which is grounded in mutuality, learning, and pursuing social justice.

4.       What is most urgently needed of people of faith with regard to the challenge of homelessness?

Those experiencing homelessness are some of the most poor and vulnerable members of our society. As I serve daily among people experiencing homelessness, I witness the daily suffering of individuals and families who live outside, and the disparities and broken systems which cause and perpetuate homelessness in society. We need people of faith to follow Christ in serving the poor among us, and to seek first God’s Kingdom of peace and justice. We need people of faith, to offer mercy and do justice, as they humbly join God’s reconciling work in the world, seeking renewal in our relationship with God, and our relationship with one another, individually and communally.

In confronting the challenge of homelessness, people of faith are urgently needed to offer mercy. People living outside experience significant trauma and challenges in simply surviving. People of faith can support people in meeting their basic needs.  Extending compassion and human connection can be of great meaning as homelessness entails stigmatization and isolation. A simple smile and acknowledgement of someone’s existence can make someone’s day. We need communities of faith that see their relationships as extending beyond the doors of the church and out to the streets. We need people of faith that welcome the stranger into their community, meeting them where they are at and seeing not only their need but also their great worth and gifting. We are all dependent upon communities which support us in tangible and intangible ways; people of faith are called to extend this love and connection to those in need, walking with people in overcoming difficult circumstances and welcoming and empowering their contribution to community. As people of faith offer mercy and open themselves to those on the streets, the Spirit of God will be present, and all present, rich and poor, may be transformed.

Yet, more is needed than just meeting people where they are at and offering mercy. We urgently need people of faith to confront and transform the conditions which cause suffering. We need people of faith to enact justice personally and socially. On a societal level, homelessness is caused by poverty and lack of affordable housing which intersect with racial injustice and other forms of oppression. These social injustices, combined with personal vulnerabilities, lead to an astounding number of people without housing. We need people of faith to create a world where everyone can afford to live inside. We need the Church to bear prophetic witness, criticizing the current disparity and imagining another of way of being as a society. We need people of faith to examine their own lives and commit to living in a way that promotes justice. We need people of faith to find creative ways, as individuals and as communities, to restructure our political, social and economic systems so that they work for all and especially for the most vulnerable among us. We need people of faith to counter a culture centered on self-advancement and consumerism, with subversive communities centered on loving God and loving people.

We urgently need people of faith to be transformed by entering into relationship with people experiencing homelessness and to offer their material, human and spiritual resources to bring about God’s Kingdom on earth, creating a world where no one need live outside.

5.       What do you most want people to know about the homeless? What most inspires/challenges you about your work?

        I want people to know that each person who is experiencing homelessness is a beloved child of God, with a story that is so much larger than the stereotypes and categorizations that we fit homeless people in. Each person who is experiencing homelessness, be it for a day or twenty years, is a person. We should not reduce someone to their socioeconomic status. Each person who lives outside is full of potential and gifted by God. Each person who lives outside is full of hopes, regrets, quirks, faults, strengths, ideas, and dreams. Each person who lives outside is of infinite worth and deserving of respect and dignity.

      I have found my service to be challenging as I witness much suffering. It is hard to hold the heaviness that I experience as I enter into relationship with people who are facing some of the most difficult circumstances people can face. As I see the tangible effects of great injustice, it can be hard to find energy and hope. Yet, I am also inspired by the resilience people demonstrate in surviving and overcoming homelessness. I am grateful for the opportunity to be in relationship with so many diverse and unique people, and to see the humanity of people living in inhumane conditions.

6.       How can the readers of Response pray for you?

I would appreciate prayers for physical, emotional and spiritual well-being so that I may sustain the work I am doing. Readers may also pray that I am granted wisdom so that I serve well and become a more loving and just person. And finally, that I might be able to see the presence of Christ in each person I encounter.

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