2022 December #1
By a Joy Junction Staff Member (JBF)
The Christmas season is here again.
We can smell it in the air as the aroma of spices like cinnamon and peppermint (to name a few) announce that people are cooking up something delicious or creating some kind of special beverage.
We can see it in the holiday decorations that are displayed around the city. Everywhere we turn, it seems that colorful ornaments and lights are “dressing up” the buildings and streets.
We can hear it in the stores as the intercoms play holiday music while we go about our weekly errands, shopping for groceries, supplies, or gifts.
We can feel it in the passionate hugs that are generously shared among friends and family as the special day gets closer, and gatherings begin to form.
Some people are excited for the season. Some people are not.
For those who look forward to the holiday, it’s a reason to get together, cook, bake, and catch up with the latest happenings in the family or friend group. For those who do not look forward to the holiday, it’s a day that may be dreaded…for any number of reasons.
For example, the holiday does not hold the same amount of pleasure for a homeless person, as it might for someone who seems to have all they need (house, family, job, food, etc.).
It can be a dreary time for those living on the streets or in shelters.
Every day that a person is homeless, is one more day of feeling hopeless, or possibly depressed. The heaviness fills their mind and heart.
Life just doesn’t seem to be getting any better…
Being without a home is hard, but it hits especially hard during the holiday season. There are no structures to add Christmas decorations to. There are no rooms to fill with holiday gatherings. There is no kitchen to cook a large meal in.
The lack of a home hits many areas of the physical, emotional, and mental comfort zones.
Many of us may joke about the term “ho-hum,” but to those who truly suffer from homelessness during the holiday season, the ho-hum feelings are real.
They watch families going here and there throughout the city, full of purpose, every day – and feel the loss of what they do not have. The pain is often felt deeper than most of us would imagine.
They used to have _____________ (fill in the blank), but now they don’t. They feel an emptiness.
That hurts our hearts and spurs us on in our mission to care for those who are without. We truly want their lives to get better.
We try hard to ease their pain and emptiness, for a little while, at least, by providing a special Christmas meal complete with ham or turkey, all the fixings, and pie with coffee for anyone who is experiencing homelessness or hunger in the city.
We also invite those who may have a home, but simply do not have the means to make a holiday meal, to join us.
We really would appreciate it if you would consider supporting our efforts of offering a Christmas meal to those who would otherwise go without. We really do need your help.
For just $2.05 per plate, you can help provide a complete Christmas meal to the many people in our city who are struggling.
Will you help us provide a special meal for the homeless and hungry?
To donate, please send a gift of any size:
- By check to PO Box 20550, Albuquerque, NM 87154
- By calling 505-217-9586
- By credit card online at www.joyjunction.org
- By texting donation amount to 505-594-2391
