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
Dubbed “Toxic Charity” by Some, It’s Really Helping Those Who Can’t Help Themselves.
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Tragically, a bumper sticker “theology” with a Darwinian survival of the fittest twist has caught on among some of those who help the hungry and homeless. A Ventura newspaper succinctly summed up what its adherents believe. That the giving of food, showers, clothing and other no-strings “handouts” enable a homeless … 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
Joy Junction: 48 Hours
By Jeremy Reynalds,Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Serving on the front lines of Joy Junction, they are often appreciated, but sometimes cussed at and threatened. However, they keep on working because they care for the homeless and hungry, and love Jesus. They are our resident services supervisors at Joy Junction. Here’s a look at a recent 48 hours … Read More
