Founder of Joy Junction

Jeremy Reynalds was born in England, immigrated to the US in 1978, and became a US citizen. After being homeless for a time, with the help of a local church, Jeremy started a ministry in Santa Fe called His Place. It provided hot coffee, donuts, and burritos for the homeless of the area. Later on, His Place began to house homeless single men. In mid-1986, Jeremy resigned that ministry and moved to Albuquerque where he founded Joy Junction. Jeremy felt led to focus this new ministry on homeless families, a fast growing segment of the local homeless population. The significance of this decision was underscored when shortly after Joy Junction’s inception, the only two shelters in Albuquerque serving homeless families closed their doors.

During his tenure as CEO of Joy Junction, Jeremy earned a Master’s Degree in Communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph. D. in Intercultural Education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His dissertation on how the media portray the homeless was published just before his 2006 graduation.

In addition to his work with Albuquerque’s homeless, Jeremy had a keen interest in international social justice. He made several trips to the Middle East, and authored numerous articles and books on the plight of the homeless and disenfranchised. He also had his own radio program addressing homelessness and its many issues. During the 30-plus years of full-time experience ministering and advocating for the homeless, he positively impacted many thousands of lives right here in New Mexico. Jeremy and Joy Junction worked tirelessly to break the cycle of homelessness, one life at a time.

Jeremy lived in Albuquerque with his wife, Elma, and is still considered an expert on the homeless and hungry. He died on July 10, 2018, after a long battle with cancer.