Our work is "For the One" - Alice

Last month, we found out about the passing of one of our dear friends, Alice. We learned she had passed in February, when the temperatures dipped well below freezing. As we always do when a friend dies, we set aside time together to pray over Alice’s life and share memories about our time with her. Alice could be a handful, so our shared stories almost always ended in laughter. Each story also led us to a recurring theme—our work is designed for people just like Alice.

Often, we meet people like Alice who have trauma or burdens that keep them from being able to navigate life in the way others might expect. The social systems designed to help those living on the street weren’t necessarily designed to fit the needs of someone like Alice. She was probably well aware of that, but she kept showing up in the uniquely feisty ways that only Alice could. Not much could slow Alice down. She was always telling stories, making people laugh, or singing and dancing, just because she felt like it.

What we will continue to hold on to, through our memories of Alice, is that no matter what kind of day she was having or what kind of mood she was in, she knew she could be at home with us. She knew she would be welcomed and loved unconditionally.  And that’s where our work is unique because it’s uniquely designed to provide for all the “Alices” in a way that conventional systems aren’t. Our partner organizations knew and loved Alice, and they had all invested time in trying to find solutions for her, but those solutions were usually short-lived. Alice didn’t necessarily need “solutions” in the traditional sense. Mental health issues made it hard for her to maintain housing and consistent relationships and there was no family to reach out to for support.

What Alice needed was a friend that she knew would be there for the long-term. She needed people who knew her by name, able to support her in ways that the broader homeless-care system couldn’t. She needed people who could sit with her in her suffering without judgment or the need to fix. She needed people who showed up consistently and loved her, no matter her mental state. She needed to be reminded of her inherent worth and dignity as a child of God. And she needed someone who believed wholeheartedly that God had chosen her as one of “the ones” that we were to love as he does. This is what we do and Alice is why we do it. We seek out “the one” whose path is not so clear-cut—the one person whose circumstances or needs feel weightier than what the system can manage. We seek and God provides. And his mercies never fail.