We Like Our Gospel Country

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that many of our guests – perhaps most – come in emotionally bruised and battered to Joy Junction. A few also show evident physical scars from being homeless and living on the streets, but emotional hurt and devastation is much more common. While … Read More

Could a Solution to Albuquerque’s Ongoing Smelly Problem Lie with Miami Initiative?

by Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. The City of Miami is rolling out a permanent solution that will help the homeless in Downtown Miami by providing them with portable public bathrooms. Less than nine months ago, The Pit Stop Pilot Program, a temporary program that provides portable bathrooms for the city’s homeless population, was put into … Read More

Being Homeless Can Be Deadly!

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. The National Coalition for the Homeless  (NCH) recently released its report “No Safe Street: A Survey of Hate Crimes and Violence Committed Against Homeless People in 2014 & 2015″  It’s alarming, to say the least! The report says that last year there were 77 documented cases of attacks resulting in 27 deaths. … Read More

A Peek Behind the Scenes at Joy Junction-Celebrating Its 30th Anniversary

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. How many times do we think of our trash collector, or perhaps the janitor at the office who works late evenings disposing of the trash we’ve generated in the day? As a rule, I’m guessing probably not too often. However, that would all change if they went on strike, right? … Read More

Love and www.pleasezipitnow.com The Answers to Every Social Issue

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. The answer to every social issue is love and a healthy dose of respect for the other man or woman’s opinion. Sadly, it’s something we don’t see a whole lot these days, with people’s opinions of whatever political or theological persuasion on verbal overdrive  and the taking refuge in media … Read More

Joy Junction Managers Pay It Forward

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. You’ve almost certainly heard of the phrase to pay it forward. It’s typically taking a person’s kindness to you and “paying it forward” to someone else. Thinking it would be good for our Joy Junction managers to try something “outside the box,” we gave them a $5.00 bill, and told … Read More

Whether summer or winter, hot or cold, there’s no good time to be homeless.

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Always contending with the dangers of the streets, sometimes debilitating heat and possible dehydration in the summer months accompanied with cold and rain in the winter, homelessness in whatever season is not a walk in the park. Then along with the weather, there’s the almost inevitable depression that accompanies homelessness. … Read More

How Do You Feel when You see the Homeless With a Cell Phone?

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. We all have them, and most of us are at one stage or another of addiction to them. We see people walking along the street reading or tapping out messages to their digital world, and (sadly) still see people digitally engaged while driving. I did see a curious sight the … Read More

Appreciating Mom Every Day of the Year

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. With Mother’s Day on our minds, our thoughts obviously focus on “mom.” For this year’s celebration, let’s make sure that we do more than just buy mom a rose or two, take her out to dinner and go back to the (perhaps selfish) way we behave the rest of the … Read More

What’s Your Target? With All The Noise about Boycotting, Are We Missing the Real “Target,” Poverty in New Mexico?

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. By now, you’ve most probably heard of the American Family Association’s boycott against retail giant Target. The conservative Christian advocacy organization is promoting a boycott of the store, saying it has “crossed the line by intentionally exposing women and girls to voyeurs and sexual predators with their restroom and dressing … Read More

A Day In the Life of the Joy Junction Chief of Security.

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It’s a word more relevant than ever in our increasingly violent culture-security. Conrad Chavira is an invaluable part of our staff at Joy Junction. He is our chief of security. He recently told me about a typical day. His shift is from 3 p.m. till 11 p.m., the busiest time … Read More

Not At All Routine-A Day in the Life of the Joy Junction Case Manager

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. The term “case manager” is heard a lot, but I wonder how many people know what exactly a case manager does. I asked Carl Valles, our case manager at Joy Junction, to tell me a typical recent day-if there is such a thing. He said he begins by reading all … Read More

Tax Time an Uncertain Time for the Homeless

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. With tax season and filing time being upon us, I wondered how our Joy Junction guests felt about taxes. After all, while you can never escape from the long arm of the Internal Revenue Service, so to speak, when you’re looking for a place to stay and a meal, taxes … Read More

Two Hearts-One Vision

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc.   People “liking” Joy Junction on social media usually do so because they have a concern for the homeless and hungry, and an appreciation for the help that community support allows us to give. However, all of our staff at Joy Junction have a very personal story, which greatly impacts … Read More

Harm Reduction: Reducing Harm or Enabling Addicts?

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It’s easy (for some) to condemn “harm reduction.” So you don’t know what that is? It’s the giving of clean needles to drug addicts, and condoms to sex workers and others. Like many evangelicals, I used to criticize harm reduction workers as promoting irresponsible sex and illegal drug use. The … Read More

Actress from Down Under Thinks New Mexico Has a “Gummy” Problem

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Australian actress Margot Robbie needs to think before she speaks. Along with Tina Fey, Robbie was on a recent edition of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert promoting the movie Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,  slated to be released next month. The movie is set in Afghanistan and filmed last year in … Read More

Loving Concern or “Spiritual Molestation?”

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Joshua Stout, manager of a Chick-fil-A in Murfreesboro, Tennessee was willing to buy a homeless man, Justin Burkeen, a full meal. There was just one requirement-that Burkeen allow Stout to pray with him. The interaction was observed by area resident Joey Mustain taking his daughter out for supper, and chronicled … Read More

The Chicken, the Egg and “Comorbidity”

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Which comes first? Does mental illness lead to homelessness, or do the stresses and struggles which accompany homelessness possibly trigger mental illness? Then right alongside that question. Does alcoholism result in homelessness, or the misery of everyday living experienced by many homeless people lead to alcoholism? Writing on our Facebook … Read More

Praised for “Recalibrating” its Approach to Homelessness, Alb. Mulls Criminalizing Panhandling and Starting Additional Emergency Family Shelter

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. A proposal heading to the City Council aims to ban what it considers dangerous behavior by panhandlers across Albuquerque. Sponsored by City Councilor Don Harris and delayed twice, the bill  is scheduled to be heard at the Finance and Government Operations Committee on March 14.  If successful it would criminalize … Read More

Homeless Make Poignant New Year’s Resolutions

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. With Thanksgiving and Christmas behind us, are you beginning to think about the seemingly inevitable subject of new year’s resolutions? You know, stuff like resolving to be a better person, changing jobs, quitting smoking, eating less and exercising more, or some other personal goal you hope to achieve in the … Read More

New York Tabloid’s Trashing of the Homeless Has Potentially Dangerous Consequences

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. The New York Post, never considered a shining example of responsible journalism, is at it again. Perhaps most famous for its 1983 headline, “Headless Body in Topless Bar”  Post writers have been verbally savaging the homeless. A recent story by Danielle Furfaro headlined “Homeless reign over LaGuardia to come to an … Read More

Albuquerque Homelessness Rate Drops-Or Not? Depends On Whom You Ask

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Local media are saying that almost a year after the city of Albuquerque did its 2015 homelessness study, the results show a downward shift in the homeless rate. But not so fast! All this positivity is based on something called the Point in Time (PIT) Count. Overseen by the Dept. … Read More