“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

Welcome Home, Harold. Joy Junction Employee Enters Eternal Reward

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Just a few days ago, long time Joy Junction employee and friend Harold Eansor passed into the welcoming arms of Jesus after a brief but courageous fight with inoperable cancer. While we will miss him, our loss is heaven’s gain. I thought you would enjoy reading his story which he … Read More

Valentine’s Day at Joy Junction

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I wondered if our Joy Junction guests had any special plans for the day. We asked them, “Will you be celebrating with your partner/significant other while you’re staying at Joy Junction? If so, what do you have in mind and how easy will … Read More

Going the Distance

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc.   It was the waning hours of the second day of the KOB TV Health Fair at EXPO NM’s Lujan Building and we were really enjoying the event. Something we attend most years, it had proved yet again another opportunity to share the homeless story, make new friends and reconnect … Read More

These Heartwarming New Year’s Resolutions Will Have You Holding Back the Tears

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. With Thanksgiving, Christmas and now even the new year behind us, are you still thinking about new year’s resolutions? You know, stuff like resolving to be a better person, changing jobs, quitting smoking, eating less and exercising more, or some other personal goal you hope to achieve in the upcoming … Read More

Winter: The Enemy of Homeless People Nationwide.

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc.   Winter is hard on those who do have a house and a nice, safe and warm place we can call home. But how about for those who have nothing other than the streets? Can you imagine spending the nights outside, justclutching onto a pillow or blanket? I’d be miserable, … Read More

Why Do They Send all Those Requests for Money?

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It’s that time of year when your mailbox fills up quickly with holiday solicitations from charities-both local and national-all asking for your donation. I know, because Joy Junction contributes to your mailbox infusion. While we mail all of our regular donors monthly, during the holiday season we make an extra … 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

Half Full or Half Empty?

by Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. The sun’s shining and you feel great. The job interview you had yesterday for your dream job with a much needed pay increase seemed to go well – much better than you had ever thought – and you feel on top of the world. You decide to celebrate with a … Read More

True Love Starts with the Kiss of Hearts

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. What makes the “other heart” of Joy Junction beat with such a resounding passion for the needy? As the old song says by veteran Christian musicians Steve and Annie Chapman   “True love starts with the kiss of hearts.” It continues to say, “Though a kiss may be the end result, … Read More

The Never Dull Life of a Mailbox Missionary

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. While we didn’t start off that way, many of us who stay working for non- profits very long turn into mailbox missionaries – which can be conveniently shortened to the letters MBM. But what, you may ask, is an MBM? Well, a MBM was once defined as someone who goes … Read More

Kicking the Homeless Can Down the Road or Working Toward a Solution?

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction A homeless encampment in Downtown Albuquerque is drawing concern. Starting with tents, but now with just blankets on the sidewalk, it appears to be primarily individuals gathering after about 9 p.m. daily to “crash” for the night. A piece aired by KOB TV 4 on the issue drew this response from … 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

Why the Homeless, Albuquerque, and America Need the “Opposition Party.”

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. There’s a tendency to “write off” some professions. It’s a very bad habit.  For years, victims have included used car salesmen and preachers. Now the media have joined that “elite” list. The media were recently derisively referred to as the country’s “opposition party.” This is a tragic lowering of our … 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

City Residents Concerned About Poor Decision Making and Laziness Being Contributory Factors to Homelessness. Shelter Gets Shocking Emails about the Homeless.

by Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. A new survey carried out for Joy Junction by NM Research and Polling, revealed that 54 percent of residents believe poor decision making and laziness are factors that contribute to homelessness. That’s a potential problem in a city where we have an ever increasingly serious hunger and homelessness problem. At … 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

No More Inmates or I’m Done Volunteering.

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. The marginally measured invective attacked my soul like rusty nails on a chalkboard. The email was from one of the many wonderful volunteers at our recent community wide Thanksgiving dinner at the Albuquerque Convention Center. It was attended by 1,400 plus hungry and homeless people, and hundreds of volunteers who … 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

Some Albuquerque Homeless Realize That Whoever Wins on Nov. 8, the Sun Will Still Shine on Nov. 9 and Jesus Will Still be Lord. Do You?

By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Election coverage is dominating the news cycle. While one candidate calls his opponent a nasty woman and she fires back that he’s a puppet of (Russian President ) Vladimir Putin, millions go hungry and their plight is practically dismissed by most American media as viewers complain but revel in the … Read More