By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Growing up, Megan’s friends wanted to be just like her. Who wouldn’t? Megan said her mom and dad made six figures a year. “I took amazing vacations and never had to want for anything. Little did they know how unhappy I was.” Why? Megan explained, saying her mother told … Read More
Walking 3,000 Miles in Their Shoes
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It’s not something that most people think about-and for those who even think, far fewer actually do it. But Michael Pearson, 42, and his wife Julie, 34, went way beyond just thinking about it. They’re now well into “doing” it-walking 3,000 miles across the United States to raise money for … Read More
Down and Out on Rt 66-Taking People Where They’re At
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Down and Out on Rt 66-Taking People Where They’re At It was a typical Thursday evening in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill. People were enjoying the nice weather, and the bars and restaurants were bustling with business. My assistant Kathy Sotelo and I were looking forward to winding down a rewarding, but … Read More
Appreciating Mom Every Day of the Year
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. With Mother’s Day on our minds, our thoughts obviously focus on “mom.” For this year’s celebration, let’s make sure that we do more than just buy mom a rose or two, take her out to dinner and go back to the way we’ve acted all year. Let’s make a resolution … Read More
A Life Cut Tragically Short and a Community Divided
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Uncivil discourse. We’re an angry bunch, aren’t we? It’s now been blared all over the nation that hundreds of demonstrators marched in downtown Albuquerque on a recent Sunday to protest deadly shootings by the police, including that of a schizophrenic homeless man who was killed after a standoff with officers. … Read More
No More “Cosmic Loneliness.” Yes, I Believe in the Resurrection!
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Nobody can deny that we live in a seriously troubled world. We see evidence on a daily basis; violence and killings, a seriously troubled economy, ongoing and seemingly endless political partisan bickering, and so the list goes on. What a depressing scenario! It’s no wonder that prior to his death … Read More
Thrift Shoppe at Joy Junction
Joy Junction shelters and serves food to as many as 300 people a night, and feeds even more from our Lifeline of Hope mobile food truck every day of every year. In order to support Joy Junction’s mission, we have a Thrift Shoppe. Our Thrift Shoppe is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, and is closed … Read More
“Acceptable” Vices. Would You Give a Cigarette to a Homeless Person?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. We all have our vices, but some are “acceptable.” Smoking is becoming increasingly unacceptable in American society, but after seeing a picture of one of our Lifeline of Hope clients smoking, I wondered what our Facebook friends thought about it. With that in mind, I posed this question. “Yes, he … Read More
An “Overburdened Vagabond” Enduring a “Walk of Shame”
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. We’ve all seen them-the homeless walking Albuquerque’s streets carrying their bags, pushing a shopping cart, or struggling under the weight of a heavy backpack. Young or old, clean shaven or bearded, male or female; most of these poor souls have a look of tired desperation. The problem is, that especially … Read More
A Graduation with a Difference
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. It wasn’t your typical graduation, and the certificate issued won’t transfer for any academic credit. However, the ceremony was a wonderful experience and the certificate marks the successful completion of nine months of walking the long road to recovery. Let me explain. The graduation was for seven members of Joy … Read More
A World of Hate! Love or Anger: You Choose
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Having cable news on in the background today while I worked was probably a mistake. While I tuned in to hear “news,” what I ended up getting for the most part was often angry, hate-filled punditry, about how the “other side” was wrong. I must confess that I wondered how … Read More
To Shelter or Not to Shelter?
Imposing Biblical morality on non Christians. Just imagine! You’ve lived with your significant other for years and you have children together. Neither faith nor marriage has played a big (even small) part in your life. You’re making it-but barely-until job cutbacks and an eventual layoff result in you being evicted from your apartment. It’s a crisis. You’re referred to a … Read More
Rubber Bullets & Teargas on the Streets of Bethlehem and a Wonderful Engagement Celebration in Tel Aviv
Along with hundreds of people from all over the world, I left Bethlehem a few days ago, where I was covering the third Christ at the Checkpoint Conference for the ASSIST News Service (ANS). Working with ANS and covering stories of this type is a natural extension of the ministry that I feel God has given me to help and … Read More
About the “Life Recovery” Program
All of the guests that we welcome at Joy Junction are experiencing homelessness or food insecurity. Unfortunately, many people we receive are also suffering from additional problems, such as drug or alcohol abuse. In order to give these people the ability and skills recover and to thrive after they leave our facility, we have implemented an optional Life Recovery Program … Read More
What Your Donations Do For Someone Experiencing Homelessness
At Joy Junction, we operate independently of government funding. Instead, we rely on the donations that we receive from the members in our community. Since we rely only on community donations, we know how far every dollar goes to help support our mission. Every dollar counts towards our goal to end food insecurity and homelessness in Albuquerque. How Every Dollar … Read More
Issues Facing People Experiencing Homelessness
People who are experiencing homelessness face many challenges, both emotional and physical, that make it even more difficult for them to get back on their feet. Some of the challenges that those who are experience homelessness are facing include: Food and Shelter Insecurity Those who are experiencing homelessness do not have a place to call home. This can include those … Read More
Are You In Danger of Experiencing Homelessness?
Anything, from the loss of a job to a divorce, could send someone who has never been without a home into a spiral that ends in homelessness, whether temporary or chronic. The thought of experiencing homelessness can be crippling for some. The good news is that there are programs to help you, like those at Joy Junction, get back on … Read More
Happy Volunteer Appreciation Day!
April 20th is National Volunteer Appreciation day. At Joy Junction, we know that we would not be able to provide the high level of services to those experiencing homelessness without the help of our faithful volunteers. We would not be able to serve as many as 300 people every day without them and we would not be able to continue … Read More
Albuquerque Homeless to Government on Shutdown: “Do Your Job and Stop Playing with Our Lives.”
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. With the government shutdown on the minds of Americans, we wanted to see what guests at Joy Junction, New Mexico’s largest emergency homeless shelter, thought about the government shutdown showdown and all the political shenanigans. Our shelter residents-part of a segment of our population routinely ignored by the nation’s power … Read More
“Fitch the Homeless”
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Controversial Viral Video Tells Viewers to “Fitch the Homeless.” Joy Junction Gives Abercrombie & Fitch Clothing to Guests: Urges Others to Give Clothing to their Local Homeless Shelter Writer Greg Karber is giving Abercrombie & Fitch clothing to the homeless, and he’s hoping others will join in. According to Karber’s … Read More
Appreciating Mom Every Day of the Year
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO, Joy Junction Inc. With Mother’s Day on our minds, our thoughts obviously focus on “mom.” For this year’s celebration, let’s make sure that we do more than just buy mom a rose or two, take her out to dinner and go back to the way we’ve acted all year. Let’s make a resolution … Read More
Easter 2013: Why I Believe
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Nobody can deny that we live in a seriously troubled world. We see evidence on a daily basis; violence and killings, a seriously troubled economy, ongoing and seemingly endless political partisan bickering, and so the list goes on. What a depressing scenario! It’s no wonder that prior to his death … Read More
Joy Junction Joins Other Rescue Mission
Leaders on Capitol Hill to Address Issues Critical in Helping Needy Families NEWS RELEASE FROM JEREMY REYNALDS AT JOY JUNCTION TEL: (505) 400-7145 WASHINGTON D.C. Rescue mission leaders from across the United States-who provide free services for thousands in need-were in Washington, D.C., March 17 to 19 to address public policy decisions that could slow or halt their ability to … Read More
What’s Ahead for Joy Junction?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. The Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Prov. 29:18 KJV). Twenty-six-plus years after founding Joy Junction, I want you to know that my vision remains the same. It is to provide food, shelter, recovery tools, and the … Read More
Some Special Prayers on the Road to Recovery
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc. Did you pray when you got up this morning? If so, was it a quick prayer asking the Lord to be involved in your day, or was it a little more profound? For many of us it’s often something really quick. When we’ve uttered those few words (and perhaps fulfilled … Read More
Joy Junction Expands Let’s Read! Program
Beginning Sat. March 9 at 9.30 a.m., Joy Junction is expanding its Let’s Read! Program to include the services of a trained tutor who will work with children and their parents for two hours each week at the shelter. Incorporating music, art, dance, movement, and play, the tutor will encourage children to read and will demonstrate reading engagement techniques to … Read More
Souls in Need of Help
An Unpleasant “Sub Species” Not Behaving the Way We Wish – or Precious Souls Deserving of Help? Can you imagine someone waking up in the morning and announcing “Today I want to be homeless.” What would you think if you got a Tweet or a Facebook status which starts “What’s on your mind?” and you answered the same way, “By … Read More
There’s No Digital Fix, or Flush, for a Very Pressing Problem
Well, it has finally happened. We are so digitally connected that technology is replacing some of the basic needs of our society. We have a sexy voice to give directions while we are driving. That only eliminates the responses when we argue with the voice about who is right and how wrong the voice is. It does eliminate one of … Read More
Albuquerque’s Joy Junction Follows National Trend of Increasing Family Homelessness
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently issued its 2008 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, a national study that explores changes in homelessness nationwide. HUD’s assessment concludes that while overall homelessness in America held fairly steady from 2007 to 2008, the number of homeless families, particularly those living in suburban and rural areas, increased (www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr09-108.cfm) … Read More
Wonderfully Rescued for Radical Transformation
“I had suddenly been transformed from a homeless dying man to a living minister of the gospel” Joseph Taylor has terrifying memories of his stepfather; he recalls him not as a loving parent but rather as a monster. At age seven, Joseph’s stepfather gave him his first drink- Seagram’s Seven and Seven Up. Introducing his family to alcohol wasn’t the … Read More
