By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. While for many of us the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays will be a great time of celebration with family and friends, that is often not the case for the homeless. We asked a few of our Joy Junction guests how they feel about the holidays. One woman said the … Read More
Bashing the Poor, Hungry and Homeless
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Insults and demeaning statements can be a major part of what it means to be homeless, hungry and obviously needy. A recent article in the British Daily Mail said that “welfare addicts” are costing Australians billions of dollars. According to one study, the annual price tag for welfare here in … Read More
New Mexico’s Largest Homeless Shelter Avoids Typical Barriers to Access
News Release from Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. info@joyjunction.org ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Joy Junction, New Mexico’s largest emergency homeless shelter, is celebrating 30-plus years of implementing accessible methods of support for homeless individuals and families by providing food, shelter, pastoral counseling and even longer-term transitional housing. In 1986, Dr. Jeremy Reynalds, founder of Joy Junction, set out … Read More
The Media, The Homeless and a Basket of Deplorables
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. By the way some people react to the homeless, you’d think they believe they’re equivalent to a basket of deplorables, as well as being similar in nature to a religious group once dismissively described as largely poor, uneducated and easy to command. While there are many wonderful, caring and giving … Read More
Fifteen Years after 9/11, Hope for Love, Help and Kindness Overshadowed by Cavernous Political Divide and Angry Nation
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. On the fifteenth 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 what some of our current Joy Junction guests were doing on that … Read More
“Let’s Do Lunch. You Buy!”
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. The sign is very clear. Held by a plaintive looking middle-aged man it reads, “Let’s do lunch. U-buy.” Would you? I would for sure. I’m never without $5.00 fast food gift cards in my car, which I offer to those who ask. They’re always gratefully received. I also offer my Joy … Read More
Grateful Hearts Even in a Difficult Time
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It’s never easy being homeless. It’s probably one of the most stressful times in your life, and while we try to do the best we can for those staying with us at Joy Junction, we wanted to see what they thought. With that in mind, we asked a few of … Read More
Things I Hated To Do.
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. While the harsh realities of life give us a lot to pray for, sometimes it can all get a bit overwhelming and we need some good news. There are many wonderful things happening around us that don’t draw media attention, and they include some of the lives being transformed at … Read More
Albuquerque Being Touted Nationally as a Role Model for Helping the Homeless, so why are there Panhandlers on Every Other Street Corner?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It’s been about 15 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
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
All the Homeless Have a Story. Maybe You Can Be the One Who Gives It a Happy Ending
by Jeremy Reynalds, Ph. D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc Litter was strewn on the ground. It included sandwich wrappers, chicken bones, lettuce and an old blanket. A building wall with a dark stain on it appeared to have been used quite recently for a bathroom. An unpleasant stench permeated the air. In addition, a porta potty with a … 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
How Britain’s Veteran Musical Troubador of Peace and Social Justice Came to Write a Song for Joy Junction
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Garth Hewitt has a passion for those routinely ignored by the rest of the world. I fell in love with this delightfully ever so English Anglican priest’s music while still in England in the late 1970’s. Even back then, it had a soul piercing quality often not present in some … 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’s Thirtieth Anniversary
Come and Join Us!
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
It’s a Taxing Question. Should the Government Finance Homeless Services?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph. D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It was once the case but no more. The church and faith based organizations taking the lead role in helping alleviate the plight of the homeless and hungry. If that was ever to happen again, it could free up hundreds of millions of dollars of tax money for other … 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
Do the Upcoming Elections Matter to the Homeless, Hungry and Disenfranchised?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Depending who wins, here’s a peek at what might be in store! The poor, hungry and needy were incredibly important to Jesus. In The Biblical book of Matthew 19:21, Jesus said “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you … 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
Joy Junction Faces Urgent Food Need: Feeling Pinch From About 70,000 New Mexicans Seeking Food Assistance Weekly.
News Release from Joy Junction For more information call Jeremy Reynalds at 505 400 7145 or email jeremyreynalds@gmail.com 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 (NMAFB), nearly … 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
