2026 March #1
By a Joy Junction Staff Member (JBF)
Are there times when you feel fearful…to the point that no one else can find or see sense in it?
How about mood swings? Are you moving from a mountaintop to a valley several times throughout the day on a regular basis?
Do you feel depressed all the time? Are you experiencing eating disorders? Do you dream about causing harm to yourself…or others? Do any of these situations cause you to remain awake during the night, while you wrestle with the “right and wrong” of it all?
These are some things that someone who is struggling with mental health may be dealing with.
When some of these situations cause a person to “sink inside” themselves, and stop caring about their physical hygiene, it usually means they are experiencing some kind of mental crisis.
Severe cases, for any of the aforementioned issues, are a true cause for alarm.
Some people turn to family for advice. Others may turn to doctors for assistance. Both are good avenues to take to reach out for help.
But, when a person chooses to turn to substance abuse to “escape” the things that are constantly plaguing their minds, they are not helping themselves. That avenue does not provide a solution. It just hides the problem from their mind for a while, and makes things worse.
At that point, a person has the option of continuing in their situation, or choosing to make some hard changes.
Some people choose to go to a rehabilitation hospital to get themselves stabilized in a safe environment.
This is the situation one of our guests, Carmen (not her real name), found herself in.
Here’s her story:
I was sent to a mental hospital because I tried to kill myself. I was so tired of my life. It was full of drugs and alcohol and…everything that was bad. I just wanted it all to end.
I talked with a case manager at the hospital and they tried to talk me into going to a rehab place. But, from what I had heard on the streets, people could get drugs there, too. So, I told her no.
A week or so later, she asked me again. But this time, she said there were some faith-based programs that might work better for me. I agreed to go, but didn’t have much hope that they could help me. After trying a program in a place that just didn’t quite fit me, I decided to try this place. [Joy Junction]
I wanted a program that would help me stop abusing myself.
My mind wanted off the drugs and alcohol, but my body craved them. So, I joined the program and put my whole self into it. I worked hard to pay attention and listen. I eventually learned that I had to let go of the control I wanted over my life and let God have control.
I won’t lie…It has been a hard battle – and I know it always will be. But, when I stop trying to take over, I can truly see a change in my life. The daily Bible study has helped me get to know God and understand His will for my life.
When our guests arrive on our doorstep with such heavy hearts, our goal is to help change the course of their current path.
Sometimes, their mindset is so bogged down with the hardship of homelessness that they can’t see past it. That is understandable, but our staff works hard to help them see that there really is an option to alter what they see as a “no way out” or a “dead end” to their life’s circumstance.
Life after homelessness is different, for sure, but it can be even better than before. If our guests take the lessons they have learned in our program and apply them to their lives, they have the opportunity to change the old ways of doing things.
Yes, “old habits die hard,” but they CAN be broken and new habits can take their place.
However, we don’t want our guests to leave us prematurely. We want them to feel equipped to face the world outside our campus boundaries.
Our guests are allowed to stay with us for as long as they truly need our help. We offer services every day, all year long.
Some circumstances take longer to turn around than others, but we are happy to provide the necessities for as long as they are needed.
Part of that provision includes taking the time to build up their ability to use life skills better, so they can go back to work, as well as trying to increase their feelings of self-worth. Both are important during the transformation process, and our program addresses them.
Our intentions are to provide “mental tools” to help them make wise choices. We hope this new mindset will allow them to survive on their own two feet again.
Most of our guests have struggled with their situation for a long while before choosing to make the decision to go to a shelter. We want to help them feel comfortable and safe while they work through whatever state of affairs caused their homelessness.
