2023 September #1
By a Joy Junction Staff Member (JBF)
Have you noticed that the summer months have flown by?
The autumn season is fast approaching. During each season, whether it’s hot or cold, we consistently have families and individuals who have fallen on hard times enter our campus for help.
Some have lost their jobs.
Some have lost their mates.
Some have lost their health.
Some have lost their ability to say no to unhealthy options.
No matter the reason for being homeless, it affects every aspect of their lives.
Our hearts are full of compassion for them.
We work hard to take care of each person because we believe everyone deserves to be shown love and to be treated with dignity – especially when they have unexpectedly found themselves homeless. Just because a person is without a permanent home, does not mean they are unworthy of love.
Sometimes, it only takes a few months of redirection and guidance to get them back on the right path. Many of our guests work hard to overcome the obstacles that caused them to become homeless in the first place.
For those who struggle with addictions or harmful behaviors, they first have to reach the point where they truly want to get help. When they do, we are here for them, and are glad to encourage them through our services.
It’s our goal to assist each of them along their journey’s path toward success.
Teaching them life skills is a huge step within the guidance process. Having life skills empowers them to seek freedom from whatever it is that caused their homelessness, and turn toward a better way of living. Many of our guests complete the Christ in Power Program, or have taken the time to reexamine their life’s choices, and seek to turn their circumstance around. At that point, if they need further support, we assist them with searching for employment and housing.
For example, one of our male guests (we’ll call him Carlos) had this to say:
Doing what I wanted, when I wanted, was the way I felt my life should go.
My drug addiction and selfish behavior are the reasons I’m homeless and living in a shelter.
I was so messed up, my only concern was using the money I made to buy drugs to get high and engage in sex. I craved it. It was all I needed…I thought.
Then, one day, I spent my entire paycheck on drugs and wound up sleeping in my tent for three days. That opened my eyes. I had lost three whole days.
Why was I living this kind of life?
I decided right then that I needed to get help. I had heard about Joy Junction on the street and found my way to the shelter. I wanted out of my very bad situation.
I joined the Christ in Power Program and, little by little, I am getting my life back. The life recovery program has renewed a sense of hope in me, and is restoring an excitement to have a relationship with my Heavenly Father. It has helped me with coping skills and how to stay away from drugs.
I feel like the “prodigal son,” from the Bible, who was once spiritually dead but is now alive.
Being clean and sober helps me think clearly and function better.
I’m so thankful for Joy Junction!
Carlos is on the road to recovery. He, like many others, is dependent on us to provide for him while he works on completing the life recovery course. After he graduates, he will receive help, if he needs it, to find employment and a place of his own.
That’s what we hope will be the result of every individual who arrives on our campus seeking help to transform their life. It takes hard work, but it is well worth it.
A new beginning can truly give a chance for a whole new life.
