By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. New Mexicans are lining up in droves to get passports before their state driver’s licenses don’t get them on planes anymore or they’re denied admission to federal buildings. The tougher requirements mean that by Jan. 10 2016, anyone seeking access to almost all federal facilities in the state will not … Read More
Is Stephen Colbert a Messenger from God?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. God uses those we don’t like or agree with. Those words were part of Calvary of Albuquerque Pastor Skip Heitzig’s message one Sunday. They reminded me of this meme which I posted on Facebook recently. The words that spoke to me were those that reminded us of our obligation to … Read More
Joy Junction’s 30th Thanksgiving. Shelter Guests Give Thanks
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It’s almost “Thanksgiving” again at Joy Junction, New Mexico’s largest emergency homeless shelter. It’s hard for me to believe that Thanksgiving Day will mark the 30th successive year we have shared the blessing of Thanksgiving with Albuquerque’s many homeless and abused women and homeless families. I’m so thankful to the … Read More
This is Our Life
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Working at Joy Junction is a way of life more than a job. It takes a calling and a commitment. While there’s no such thing as a “typical” day, here are some highlights from a few recent ones. First order of business for last Thursday upon waking up (like every … Read More
Taking Back Albuquerque is in Your Hands
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. After two shootings by repeat offenders that have shaken our city to its collective core, police union officials say it’s time to “take back our city” and show support for Albuquerque police officers by flying blue and white ribbons. “Put them on your homes. Put them on light poles. Put … Read More
Angry Christians “Trending.” Will Anger- and Not Works of Service- Be Our 21st Century Legacy?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. As one news site said, it’s a move that no one saw coming. Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) plans to picket Kentucky clerk Kim Davis on Monday outside the courthouse where she works. WBC made the announcement Thursday on Twitter. WBC calls Davis a “self righteous hypocrite,” an adulteress, and a … Read More
Jeremy Reynalds. The Man, The Message and The Wife.
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Six months in and loving every minute 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 … Read More
Would You Say It to Their Face? Comment on Local Web Site Suggests Blowing Troubled Homeless Away
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. There’s a restaurant reality show called Say It to My Face. In each episode, restaurants and their most vocal online critics meet face-to-face, for the first time, to air grievances. I was reminded of this when reading a story recently about a cyclist who claimed the homeless were harassing her on … Read More
Another Divine Appointment
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It had been a good day, but a long one. Very similar in some ways to one I wrote about before in early July 2015. Just like most days, while good, I nonetheless really wanted to get home, and enjoy the peace and tranquility of home along with my wife … Read More
Kicking the Homeless (Problem) Down the Road. Now Shelter Has No Place to Pick Up Guests at Night
By Jeremy Reynalds Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. We have a caring, giving community in Albuquerque. It’s what makes the city such a special place to live, and why I’ve spent more than half my life here. However, like other cities across the nation, it’s not without its problems. We have a sizeable homeless community; one that is too … Read More
Poverty, Homelessness Scarcely Register on Presidential Candidates Agenda: Homeless Don’t Have Much Hope for Change
By Jeremy Reynalds Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. While the 2016 presidential race for the White House has generated much more media attention than usual, all that air time hasn’t been focused on homelessness and hunger. With the possible exception of Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders, the issue isn’t getting much attention at all. In fact, an article by … Read More
Hunger On and Off the Reservation
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. There’s enough of a hunger problem in New Mexico that the noise you hear sometimes may not be your neighbor trying to start his car. It could be his growling stomach. According to the New Mexico Association of Food Banks, nearly 70,000 New Mexicans seek food assistance weekly. That’s the equivalent … Read More
Insensitive?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It was just a typical Facebook update, and not one to which we expected such a reaction. Here is the post accompanying this picture. “This man and little girl now have food and water to enjoy for dinner. They were grateful for the gifts they received from our Lifeline of … Read More
The Day America Died
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. On the fourteenth anniversary of 9/11, we again remember the events of that terrible day and the thousands whose lives were lost to those awful attacks. While I have my own story which I’ll share later, I wondered how the experience had affected some of our current guests at Joy … Read More
Warnings!
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. You’ve probably heard the doomsday warnings for years, but now the latest one is that the world as we know it is going to end in Sept. 2015. There’s one Facebook page I found devoted to the topic. Author Jennifer LeClaire writing for Charisma Magazine said, “With Asia’s … Read More
What Do Priests, Reporters and the Homeless Have in Common?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. The story of the small black dot has made its rounds on the Internet numerous times. As it’s told in one of these incarnations, during a presentation, a speaker took an unmarked sheet of white paper and made a small black dot at the center with a marking pen. Then … Read More
Can We Ever End Homelessness? Government and Advocates say Yes, but Homeless Say No
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. You seem to hear it all the time: cities claiming to have ended either chronic or veteran homeless. Other communities have a three, five or ten year “plan” to end homelessness. Perhaps it’s because the federal government has similar unbridled rhetoric. A recent paper by U.S. Dept. Of Health and … Read More
A Look at the Albuquerque Mayor’s Controversial Anti-Panhandling Initiative. It’s Now about Three Months Old. Success or Flop?
by Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It’s been about three months since blue signs sprouted like mushrooms all over Albuquerque encouraging people to call 311 instead of giving to panhandlers. By so doing, those with a heart to help were told they could donate to local food banks and the homeless or hungry unaware of local … Read More
Helping Those Who “Don’t Want” Help! Stories from Both Sides of the Bush
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. After 34 years of helping New Mexico’s homeless, I am convinced that there is nobody who doesn’t “want” help. While an addict’s negative response to what would seem like sensible assistance-a trip to a detox or homeless shelter-may result in the statement, “Well, he doesn’t want help,” we need to … Read More
Homelessness Reappears on City Radar Screen
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Homelessness had dropped off the radar screen since the closing of various tent cities, and the horrific mid 2014 killings of two homeless men in a troubled Southwest Albuquerque neighborhood That changed a bit with the recent throwing of fireworks at a homeless man, and his subsequent serious injury. That crime … Read More
A Divine Appointment
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It had been a long day, which we ended with a networking event. While good, I nonetheless really wanted to get home, and enjoy the peace and tranquility of home along with my wife Elma. Making our way home, though, usually involves a stop off on the way at Joy … Read More
You Can Never Get Taken Advantage Of When You Give With the Right Attitude
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. An unexpected encounter while shopping with my wife on July 4 While I don’t hesitate to give a fast food gift card to someone in need, I rarely give cash. There are just too many ways it can be misused. However, on the rare occasions I do give money, I … Read More
Could Joy Junction’s Tax Exempt Status Be Revoked?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Revocation of Joy Junction’s tax exempt status (and that of thousands of other non profits) would be possible if writer Mark Oppenheimer’s wishes become reality. In an article for Time Magazine titled “Now’s the Time To End Tax Exemptions for Religious Institutions,” Oppenheimer begins his argument by saying, “The Supreme Court’s … Read More
Celebrate but Remember the Homeless
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. July 4 is just around the corner, but not all Americans will be celebrating Independence Day with fireworks, a day off from work, a thankful heart and food. For some, it’s just another day of fear and uncertainty. An incident from a few years ago just prior to July 4 … Read More
Just One Additional Service for the Homeless
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Sometimes it’s time to take quick break from both raising the funds and planning the long term vision at Joy Junction (something that’s always on my mind) and think about an additional service that our guests might like (probably an issue that while maybe small is top of their minds). … Read More
While Signs Abound for Albuquerque’s New Panhandling Initiative, So Do Yet to Be Answered Questions
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Questions include a service closed on Sundays and only open 15 hours a day While signs litter Albuquerque promoting the city’s new panhandling initiative, there are plenty of questions still to be answered. Unfortunately, the issue seems to have fallen off the local media radar screen. As questions I sent … Read More
No Food & Shelter Information for the Homeless & Hungry from Albuquerque’s 311 Service Between 9 p.m. & 6 a.m.
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Callers referred to agencies closed or not equipped to meet their needs If you need food or shelter, it might not be such a good idea to call Albuquerque’s 311 infoline. For one, the service is only open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. through 9 p.m., and on Sundays … Read More
Mayor of Albuquerque. Don’t Give to Panhandlers. They May Buy Food.
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. A new initiative rolled out by the City of Albuquerque on Wednesday is asking people not to give money to panhandlers. In an astonishing statement attributed to Albuquerque Mayor R.J. Berry by KRQE TV News Berry reportedly said, “If you hand $5 out of your window to a panhandler today, that … Read More
It Looks Like the Homeless Aren’t “Going Square” Anytime Soon
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. A You Tube video of a homeless man in Roswell, New Mexico apparently using a card reader to panhandle for donations has gotten thousands of hits. A local news station in Albuquerque tracked down one of the young men who made the video, and asked him for a receipt for the donation … Read More
Not Your Usual Graduation
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Just a few days ago, we held a graduation ceremony for some of the members of Joy Junction’s nine month Christ in Power life recovery program. Joy Junction Resident Services Manager Denis Billy found out that it was a significant time for them. Jami said that graduating meant to her … Read More
