Setting Prisoners Free

As I drove past all the trees, I came across a fella living in his mini-van. As I approached him he said, "You're not gonna Bible bash me are ya?" I told him I wasn't. Out of relief, he told me how he was recently eating at a fast-food joint and saw a youngster eyeing him across the room. This young fella plucked up the courage and started walking toward him. Before he knew it, he had about 15 teenagers surrounding him, preaching at him, "bible-bashing" him. He told me how he held his own, they had a lively discussion and then left him to eat again in silence. At the end of the experience, he was still homeless and his food was colder. It irritated him and the last thing he needed was someone else trying to convince him of the existence and saving power of Jesus I told him I am a "follower of Jesus", but had absolutely no intention of shoving the Bible down his throat. I told him I stopped to see if he was homeless, to gift him some items and to se...

I love my job!  I hate I have to do it!  I wholeheartedly believe that housing is a human right. Housing saves lives. Housing reduces harm. Housing should be affordable and available for all, and yet, sadly we live in a world where housing is only affordable, adequate and available to some, leaving many people unhoused or living in unhealthy or overcrowded homes. Therefore I have dedicated most of my adult life to helping those who need a place to call home.  In January 1997, I started my journey in Chicago as a community worker in a large homeless shelter, Cornerstone Community Outreach (CCO). Today, I continue my journey in Tāmaki Makaurau as Visionwest's Supportive Housing Outreach Leader. Whereas my roles have varied over the decades, my emphasis in this piece is to focus on my responsibilities as an Outreach Worker in both cities: what it is, how I do it, and why I think it's important!  Beginning in 2001, I helped set up and direct CCO's men's shelter, only for...

This is a story, where I remember someone I journeyed with in Chicago. This reflection was originally written at the end of a longer post where I look into why  Outreach   is needed and important and vital for those experiencing homelessness .  I remember Johnny... I remember 1st meeting him when he wandered in to eat at the Soup Kitchen I helped run. I remember him sleeping under multiple blankets in the entryway to my house in sub-zero temperatures. I remember him coming into the shelter with an oversized green trench coat. The bottom was wet because he'd been walking through the snow. He requested something that fitted him and I gave him a beautiful Blackhawks jacket and he gave me the coat. I washed the coat and still have it today.   I remember him telling me he’d been homeless since he was about 12 or 13. He would have been in his late 30s when I first met him.  I remember praying for him and with him.  I remember him loving to ride bikes. He alw...