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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contents of this page, and all links appearing on this page, do not represent
the positions, views, or intents of Jesuit Volunteers Corps Northwest.
