Hello Waterstone! We hope that Larry is having a restorative Sabbatical, and while he’s gone the Justice Team will continue with a BLOG TAKEOVER for the summer!
You may have heard mention of Waterstone’s Justice Class. The Justice Class, now updated, condensed, and renamed The Bible, Justice, and Me, is one of the primary ways Waterstone Church helps people learn about and engage with God's heart to bring about his love, justice and mercy in our community. Throughout the summer, a handful of participants will share their thoughts and experiences with the class.
I’m Kylie Watters and this week it is my turn to talk about poverty. In my role as Waterstone’s Director of External Partnerships this topic is always top of mind. I was asked to write a blog to share my view on poverty through the lens of a Waterstone church staff member as well as someone who helped coordinate The Bible, Justice, and Me course.
"You know many of those people want to be on the streets. Why are we trying to help them? They just need to get a job and help themselves." This comment (or similar) about people experiencing homelessness is one I’ve heard many times around the topic of Denver’s housing crisis or growing homeless population. It’s never sat well, and I struggle to reconcile it with the teachings of Jesus.
Yes, I know there are people who take advantage of the system, who are angry, aggressive or violent. However, I have a hard time believing Jesus would dismiss the man or woman in need on the streets of Judea—or Littleton. We read how he stepped closer to the poor, the needy and vulnerable in his path. He stopped what he was doing to see them for who they truly were.
This has been an area of conviction in my life for many years. It started as an awkward feeling when pulling up to an intersection, fumbling through my wallet and car looking for a couple bucks or a granola bar. Over time, I learned how to be more thoughtful by having care packages in my car that included snacks, toiletries and a pair of socks, things that can be difficult for someone in need to accumulate.
Over the past four years of overseeing local partnerships at Waterstone, I’ve heard stories of impact from our local ministry partners that illustrate how poverty presents itself in many ways. Situational poverty occurs when an individual loses a job or has a medical issue or other major crisis that starts a financial chain reaction. Generational poverty involves families who inherit the effects of crises or simply a bad hand in life, hindering their ability to move forward and often continuing to the next generation. Another form of poverty that is less familiar is relational poverty. Our networks, either positive or negative, influence our lives and our ability to make changes. If you are the first person in your family to get a college degree or try to find a mid-level job, for example, chances are you don’t have as robust of a personal network to help land a job in your new field. And this type of poverty often only compounds already strained circumstances.
Many of Waterstone’s local partners work in transitional housing and with people experiencing homelessness to help them gain independence, success, and health community. Each partner has a different program to offer, like short-term housing, mental health support, job training programs, and addiction recovery. But the approach is the same...seeing people, hearing their stories, and walking with them, offering dignity, not expecting perfection and giving grace along the way.
Recently, driving near my neighborhood, I saw a man with a sign. I was about to grab my wallet and look in the glove box for a care package, but then I saw him aggressively yelling and gesturing at the cars ahead. In the moment, I was concerned for my safety and found myself questioning my desire to be generous to this man. Maybe this guy didn’t deserve it. This time I drove on by. Thankfully, the Lord didn’t let those thoughts sink too deeply into my heart.
Everyone has a story. I didn’t know the details of that man’s story, but Jesus does, and I don’t think he looks at him with any less care than he did for the blind man on the road or the leper needing healing. It’s easy to make assumptions about why a person acts or lives a certain way, or how they got there; but that’s not our role to play.
RESOURCES
Below are resources and recommendations you may consider checking out. Note that these resources have been picked by the author, the Justice Team or were incorporated into The Bible, Justice and Me presentations.
A Book
When We Walk By: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems and the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America by Kevin F Adler & Donald W Burns
A great resource to dive deeper into the issues of housing, the systems in our country and the relational problems that lead to homelessness and keep individuals in this place. It is a thorough analysis of America’s homelessness crisis and a research-based, solutions-focused guide to ending it. I read it as a recommendation of Jeff Johnson at Mile High Ministries, one of our local partners who works in transitional and long-term affordable housing.
A Netflix Series
Maid is an American drama limited series created for Netflix by Molly Smith Metzler
The series is inspired by Stephanie Land's memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive. Its story focuses on a young mother who escapes an abusive relationship and struggles to provide for her daughter by getting a job cleaning houses. This is creative story but a good look at the compounding effects of poverty in someone’s life and how that can overshadow potential. This is not recommended for kids or sensitive viewers as it portrays domestic violence, substance abuse and other adult content.
An Activity
Create care packages to keep in your car to distribute to people you encounter. You might want to include things such as socks, Chapstick, Band-Aids, toothbrush/toothpaste, water, granola bar, etc.
Contact
Email me at for more opportunities to serve in our community.
2 Comments
A good, informative overview on general homelessness.
As the past justice in action leader, I'm so excited to see where your justice class experience and the Holy Spirit has led you to motive others in serving others and to encourage them to be active in the lives of those that don't have a voice. The participants in the blogs are so valuable to expose and educate those interested in finding a path to enter into this work. Thank you for your time and effort in this endeavor!