Bulletin Board
The place where you can stay up to date with the latest events, stories, news, and opportunities for our City Relief community.
The Rolling Prophet
I called him the “Rolling Prophet.”
Carlito was in a wheelchair when I met him. He was an older man, frail and sick, but all smiles. He had a gray beard and sparkly eyes. He looked a little like Santa Claus if Father Christmas was paralyzed and had to go five rounds with chemotherapy. Carlito usually rolled up to us on his electric chair while we were setting up our weekly outreach in Harlem. He couldn’t help us physically, but he would always greet us with an encouraging word or a blessing from scripture.
It’s a Miracle!
I don’t know about you, but my definition of a “miracle” is quite lofty and nearly unattainable. There are only a few times I have truly experienced anything that I would slap a “miracle” sticker on with such a distinguished definition.
Helping Each Other Feel Less Alone
“Stop complaining. It can always be worse.”
"You’re not as bad off as the next guy.”
“Suck it up, you’re being too sensitive.”
These phrases take up space in our ear and lead us down a rugged, desolate road. Searching for respite from our solitude, we grasp onto them as truths, when they are simply a temporary band-aid.
A 24 Degree Drop in 24 Hours: What Winter Means for Homeless Neighbors
The weather changed. One day it was 50 degrees and the next it was 26. I’m no mathematician, but I believe that’s a 24 degree drop. 24 degrees in 24 hours. In my family, it meant jumping from sweatshirts to heavy jackets.
New York City Relief: HFNY Volunteers Share Why They Serve
Hope for New York helps provide volunteers for various locations and, recently New York City Relief showcased some HFNY volunteers at their South Bronx location. Hear from Beth Tepes, one of the volunteers, and why she was impacted from volunteering.
Maybe Our Kids Should Explain Homelessness To Us
One of the questions I get a lot when I do workshops or trainings around the topic of homelessness is, "How do I explain homelessness to my kids?" Usually this question comes from parents who live and work in areas where homelessness is self-evident. Occasionally it comes from parents who are planning a family trip into the city and they want to get out ahead of the inevitable questions that will come up as they walk from point A to point B.
Five things to know about our neighbors experiencing homelessness
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but here are five things I’ve learned over the last seven years about how to best love my neighbors experiencing homelessness.
The Poor You Will Always Have With You
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard Christians justify doing nothing for the poor and the homeless by quoting the words of Jesus found in Mark 14:7: “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.”
Now, besides the obvious irony of using the words of the same man who told the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, the same man who highlighted the significance of the widow’s generosity, and the same man who constantly warned of the dangers of greed, in order to excuse not lifting a finger to help the poor, there is also another fundamental problem
What Can I Do About Homelessness?
The most common question that I get about homelessness is simply, “what should I do?”
What We Think About Homelessness Matters
I recently saw a news story about a technological innovation that someone developed in order to try to help folks living in the street of a big city on the West Coast. In it the news anchor said something to the effect of, “This device will help you give money to the homeless without the fear of them using it to buy drugs.” I’m sure the creator of this particular technology is well-intentioned and it’s completely possible that it will end up helping some people along the way, but I guarantee that it will not shift the narrative around homelessness in general.