2023 February #1
By a Joy Junction Staff Member (JBF)
For every piece of property and every human body, we (each of us) have the responsibility of making wise choices throughout the years to keep them in good working condition.
When debris blows into our yard, we clean it up.
When our bodies get dirty, we clean them up.
Clearing away the negative and replacing with the positive is what we strive to do at our shelter.
Our goal with each guest is to transform their status of being homeless to the status of being equipped to go out and find employment, save enough money to get a place of their own, and continue the ability to take care of themselves.
That, and sharing the love of God with them, is the whole purpose behind offering them assistance.
So, on top of the food, shelter, clothing, and programs that are always provided for our homeless guests, each day of every year, we also feel very strongly about taking care of the property God has graciously allowed us to have to minister to them.
We began using our property in 1986, and plan to continue using it for many years to come. That means each building, vehicle, appliance, furniture piece, supply item, and land has been heavily used for all those who have been housed on our campus…and will continue to be utilized each day of the years to come.
So, improvements are a necessity.
Contributions from caring people have allowed us to work on improving parts of the campus, in one form or another, during the 2022 year. Here’s a quick overview of our accomplishments:
We have remodeled our Family Dorm, inside and out. The dorm now houses individual storage units for our guests to be able to place their personal belongings in. We added new bed frames, mattresses, flooring, and paint to each room. The restrooms were also reconstructed. As well, a new roof and stucco has been added to the exterior. To make the dorm more energy-efficient, a rooftop solar system was installed. The system was paid for by a local foundation.
One of the buildings on campus has been labeled the “cottage.” It is utilized as storage space. During the many years, as we have grown, it has protected numerous items from the weather. We will continue to use it for storage purposes, and have put a new roof on it.
Another project was remodeling a building set aside for our Children’s Center. A donor family provided supplies for the building to be renovated. A complete overhaul of the structure has provided new space for children (with their parents) to interact with each other. New paint, flooring, shelves, windows, doors, stucco, and roof make this space a bright and cheerful environment.
We also combined three small offices inside our multi-purpose building to remodel and form one larger room which serves as a computer lab. A local community college provided tables, chairs, and computers for the room. This new space will open up the possibility for residents to further their abilities for job hunting, creating resumes, and attending special classes.
In addition, we have added signs to the campus to provide titles on buildings and to give direction to our resident guests, as well as to those who visit our campus to volunteer or receive a tour.
After many years of parking on a dirt lot, we have finally been able to add asphalt parking lots for our residents and suppliers.
Each project we undertake, intended to help us take better care of our guests and property, progresses one step at a time as we receive the funds or items needed. As we look to our near future, we have added other projects to the list that need our attention.
Within five years, we plan to:
reconfigure and update our kitchen space,
add landscaping to help hold down the dirt around certain buildings, and
paint the interior walls and add new flooring to our large multi-purpose/dining hall space,
Compassionate people are a huge blessing to us as we move forward in our efforts to care for the homeless and hungry of our city. Please consider partnering with us to support our mission as we serve those who come to us for help on a daily basis.
