“My choices put me near death…”

2025 February By a Joy Junction Staff Member (JBF) Being taken advantage of is not fun. Being treated unfairly for someone else’s benefit is not only disappointing, it often leads to a path of heartbreak, regret, and distrust.  However, sometimes, it’s easy to be misled by people who truly seem sincere. Our heart wants to trust those we place around … Read More

The Homeless Shelter: A Picture of Easter

Guest Post by Pastor Brian Nixon   I remember the first time I spent the Easter holiday at a homeless shelter. I did so, not as a homeless person, but as an evening counselor. The year was 1989. I recently began working for the Tri-City Homeless Shelter in the Bay Area of California, acting as the evening counselor for the … Read More

Skeptical Homeless Speak Out about their Hopes from the New Mayor.

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. One compares politicians to addicts and says they lie, deceive and manipulate With Albuquerque’s mayoral runoff on the home run and the partisan jabs going back and forth, we asked a few shelter guests whether they thought the new administration would make any difference in services provided by the city … Read More

What’s So Special About 1440?

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. All the partisan political sniping, pious pontification and nastiness that’s still being unleashed over social media does nothing except take away time and valuable creativity from the 1440 minutes available daily that we have to make a difference in the lives of the needy. If we spend the discretionary portion … Read More

Being Homeless is Tough But You Can Help

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. There’s probably not a day that passes when you don’t see a homeless person, or a panhandler who is possibly homeless, in Albuquerque. Here’s a shocking statistic. In 2016 the estimated average life expectancy in the U.S. is 79 years old and a 2014 article pointed out that the normal … Read More

Joy Junction: The Next 30 Years

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Joy Junction is  three decades-plus old. It is hard to believe the shelter I founded was 30 years old last Aug., and that I’ve spent more than half my life at what has obviously now become a lifetime calling. Looking back, it seems just a short time ago that I … Read More

ABQ Homeless Looking for More Than a Dry Bed and a Warm Meal; New Mexico’s Largest Shelter to Open 52-Unit Apartment Complex

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc.   It’s no secret that homelessness in Albuquerque is an ongoing crisis. The crisis continues, despite inaccurate promises by some groups to “end” homelessness. Over the last few years, I’ve seen panhandling increase prolifically all over the city, while at Joy Junction, desperate families-often with children-call or visit us daily … Read More

Joy Junction’s Life Recovery Program Produces Changed Lives

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc.   When you hear the word homeless, what comes to mind? I’m guessing you may think of the prolific number of panhandlers we have in Albuquerque, someone shuffling through Downtown with a loaded shopping bag, or a person waving his hands to the sky and talking enigmatically to an invisible … Read More

Stop It and Communicate! Helping the Homeless “Takes a Village,” and Means Brushing Angry Homeless “Partisanship” and More Into the Corner

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. With ongoing national attention of our city’s ongoing efforts to reduce homelessness and panhandling, it’s curious why the total number of homeless individuals doesn’t go down. If anything, according to who you ask and which statistics you believe, it keeps increasing. In addition, we’re reminded of the sometimes deadly effects of … Read More

Homeless Man’s Valentine’s Day Wish to Study the Bible With His Wife , Give Her Roses and Take Her to Eat at Burger King.

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Flowers, candy and cards mark Valentine’s Day, and while crassly commercial and criticized by some, isn’t a day of kindness and love (however superficial) better than more politics, especially in this day of seemingly never ending partisan rancor? Just in case you’re curious, Valentine’s Day as we know it today … Read More

Survey Shows Concern about Homelessness Right Behind Albuquerque’s Spiraling Crime Rate

NEWS RELEASE FROM JEREMY REYNALDS AT JOY JUNCTION CONTACT: info@joyjunction.org In a revealing new survey carried out for Joy Junction by NM Research and Polling, when asked about issues facing residents in the Albuquerque area, seventy percent of respondents felt homelessness is a problem, while 43 percent feel it is a very serious problem. Hispanics, those with a household income … Read More

Compassion or Judgment? What’s Your 2017 New Year’s Resolution?

by Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. They’re all over Albuquerque and cities nationwide, holding a variety of signs designed to get you to fork over some spare change. Panhandling verbiage ranges from a simple, “Hungry. God bless,” to “Too honest to steal and too ugly to prostitute.” What do you do? Sometimes it can seem like … Read More

Homeless Shelter Guests Thank Donors Who Make Services Possible

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Joy Junction’s more than 30 year existence is due to God’s faithfulness and community support. We have thousands of generous people who have supported this outreach of compassion for years. Without them, the lifesaving nights of shelter and thousands of meals served each month wouldn’t be possible. We don’t hesitate … Read More

Homeless but Still Thankful at Thanksgiving. What’s Your Gratitude Level?

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 31st successive time 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

HUD Report’s Questionable Conclusions that Homelessness is Down in New Mexico is Not Something for Which We Should Give Thanks

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Maybe the bureaucrats at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are the only ones who really believe the agency’s report that homelessness is on the decline. According to HUD’s latest national estimate, homelessness continues to decrease in the U.S, specifically among families with children, veterans, and individuals … Read More

Working Full Time, Living in Poverty and Giving to the Homeless

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. There’s a belief among some that people who work full time don’t usually live in poverty. But is it true? We asked some of our Joy Junction guests, and also posed the question on our Facebook page. It drew expected, but also some surprising and heated answers. So what is … 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tent City Solutions Must Address The Root of the Issue

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Tent City (via KOB TV). What’s up with Tent City and where should its residents go? This homeless community started in Downtown Albuquerque, and upon its eviction due to concerns of illegal activity moved into a vacant lot in the center of the historic Barelas neighborhood. Tent City residents now … Read More

Albuquerque’s Tent City-No Easy Solutions

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. There are no easy answers for the individuals who at least for the moment have made the area close to 1st Street and Iron home. The city’s law enforcement has given a suggested move out date, and along with representatives from other agencies, Joy Junction has provided food, and offered … Read More