As I write this column, we are in the middle of the holiday season, the hardest time of year at Side-By-Side.  Our homeless guests experience the cold and damp, shelters cannot hold all those who need beds, and emotions are raw.  Visions of family and lost hopes and dreams haunt those who have nowhere to go.  Many may ask, “Where is God?  How do I keep going, having lost everything?”

I am so grateful for the Side-By-Side volunteers who come faithfully every week to be with our homeless guests.  I am very glad for two new spiritual companions, Ann Jordan and Mark Pelter.  Ann, who wrote an accompanying article, is a consecrated deacon in the United Methodist Church.  She brings a bright smile and open heart to Side-By-Side.  Mark is a board certified chaplain and has a strong interfaith background.  We welcome his quiet, attentive presence and ability to hear from many perspectives.

Our new volunteers find the great gift they provide is simply listening and mirroring back what the person in front of them says, not trying to provide a solution because often there is none.  For example, one tall man found me and one of the new volunteers-in-training in Friendship Park.  He was in great despair and very anxious.  He had a particular need he presented, but the tears were just under the surface.  He was newly divorced and newly homeless.  We invited him into the Side-By-Side Listening Space where he shared more, then could not hold back the tears.  They came freely as we sat with him and held the space and the quiet.  It was a holy moment.  He thanked us for being there and allowing him to cry.  He told the new volunteer how on the street, men, especially have to be strong.  If they show weakness they are labeled and advantage is taken of them.  The Listening Space allows people to let go and let God.  We prayed with him.  Later, I saw him a few more times.  He had his strong street face on, but waved and smiled each time I passed.  We made a connection and he knows he is not alone on his journey.  God is with him.

We are grateful for your on-going financial donations as we provide spiritual support that undergirds us all.

With a listening heart,
Linda Kelly-Baker, Director