2025 February
By a Joy Junction Staff Member (JBF)
Being taken advantage of is not fun. Being treated unfairly for someone else’s benefit is not only disappointing, it often leads to a path of heartbreak, regret, and distrust.
However, sometimes, it’s easy to be misled by people who truly seem sincere. Our heart wants to trust those we place around us, and believe the information that is being told to us.
That’s especially true if the information is meeting all the criteria of our heart’s desires. It’s an illusion, of sorts. Our mind blocks the option that it is “too good to be true.” So, we believe it.
Then, at some point, the truth is revealed and the “bottom drops out of the bucket.” A flood of “results” covers us, and that leaves us in the position of being required to pay (one way or another) for our choices. It’s a painful experience.
Setting boundaries and knowing what our limits are will help protect us from being taken advantage of.
Ginger (not her real name), one of our guests, had to learn that the hard way.
Here’s her story:
My so-called friends tricked me into moving out of state to start college with them. When I got there, I found out that there was no place for me to stay, as they had led me to believe…and they were not there. I had given them all my money to get there, so I couldn’t afford any kind of housing.
I found a shelter. While I was there, I met a man. After a while, we wound up getting bus tickets back to Albuquerque and we moved in with my mom. He got a job, and I started over with my college. Everything seemed to be going well, until we started drinking.
He became mean when he got drunk, so we started fighting. Then, he began hitting me. My mom kicked him out, but I felt I should stay with him, so we both went to another shelter. One day, after being there for several months, he got drunk and hit an employee. We were kicked out. We had no place to go, so we found shelter under a bridge.
We stayed there during the winter. He was very controlling and threw away all of my stuff – including my cell phone and college material. His abuse continued, and eventually, I was put in the hospital with a lot of damage to my head.
When I got well enough, I came here. The staff has been very kind to me. They told me about the programs and services that help all of us [residents] understand how to move on with our lives. Part of the program requires doing chores around the property and I have found that I love doing the work. It helps me feel productive and allows me to show my gratitude for all the help I’m getting.
My choices put me near death.
This place is giving me a chance to heal – in more ways than one. I have learned that God’s love is faithful and He will help me have a decent life, if I am willing to do the work. I am!
Even though there are many reasons for how a person becomes homeless, if they are truly seeking to turn their lives around, they can come to us expecting transformation through our program.
Other residents like Ginger are working hard, too, so they can have a transformed life. There are times when they want to give up and stop putting forth the effort that the classes require, but many of them persevere and push through to the end. Being able to graduate from the program is a huge accomplishment for those who feel the bottom has dropped out of their lives.
We are proud of our program participants and our graduates. We have high hopes for them as they work to complete the requirements, seek employment, and plan for a place of their own.
We take the responsibility of caring for our guests very seriously. We strive to encourage and enlighten them every day. Many of them will continue to live by the new habits they have learned once they move out on their own. For us, that’s success!
On another note, in order to be able to properly care for our guests, we have an obligation to keep our campus in good working order. We continually need to update, repair, or replace things around our property.
We recognize our campus is God-given. We have tried to be good stewards of all He has provided for our ministry throughout the years, since the conception of Joy Junction in 1986. For example, here are some of the updates completed during the last year:
- Added solar panels onto the roof of our women’s barracks. (Supplies and labor were donated.)
- Renovated some of our Transitional Living Center’s apartment rooms.
- Refurbished some windows and painted some interior walls.
- Repaired AC units, washing machines, clothes dryers, and other appliances.
- Added a more durable fence along the back boundary of our property.
- Replaced the warehouse roof and kitchen commercial grade sink.
- Painted the individual space lines on our parking lot.
- Added a new auction website for the donated vehicles.
We are so very thankful for the generous monetary and non-cash gifts that have been sent to help us take care of our guests and our campus property.
With help from our compassionate donors, we will continue to provide food, shelter, clothing, and programs for those who have found themselves in a homeless position and need our help.
