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