Our Work is "For the One" - Barry

For the One...

Each year at The Human Impact, we choose a theme that we focus on throughout the year. It's usually a particular aspect of our work that we want to highlight or that we want to keep at the forefront of our minds. During the cold weather events in January and February, our theme began to emerge through multiple interactions we had with our friends in those first two months of 2025—and that is that our work is "for the one." This relates directly to one of the 12 pillars of our work, which is "Love the One," short for "Love the one that God puts in your path each day."

We work with amazing partner organizations that have the capacity to daily serve hundreds of our friends experiencing homelessness with shelter, food, healthcare and a myriad of other services. But, because our work is done on a smaller scale and our focus is on building relationships, we often have the privilege of interacting with our friends in ways that are unique and feel as though they have been divinely arranged. Building trust and friendship can be a slow and sometimes challenging process, but when you're in it for the long-haul, like we are, you get to experience the fruits of each relationship and the beauty that comes when we daily look out "for the one."

In January, during the first winter storm, our friendship advocates (our staff members on the ground every day caring for our friends) were checking in on friends at nearby encampments and ran into a long-time friend of ours named Jerry*. Jerry explained that the night before, he had started a fire inside his tent so that he wouldn't freeze overnight. He was covered in smoke, smelled like a chimney, and already appeared to be having trouble breathing. That morning, our advocates were offering motel rooms to those who were willing, as temperatures were not expected to rise over the next couple of days. When they told Jerry they had a motel room for him, he buried his face in an advocate's chest and wept. Jerry explained he didn't think he would have survived another night of having to choose between freezing to death or likely permanently damaging his lungs. He revealed to us that he told God the night before, "I surrender to you,” because he wasn't sure if he'd wake up the next morning. Our God is so big that he hears these prayers and sends his people to find and love “the one.” The God of the universe cares intimately for every human being, and he invites us to follow him, especially to our brothers and sisters often forgotten and pushed aside.  

The rest of that afternoon, Jerry joined our work. He had experienced God seeing and loving him, and he wanted to pass that love onto others. He worked right alongside our advocates, helping with outreach in the encampments, trying to get others to come to the motel for a warm bed. As we love each “one”, God tends to multiply his blessings, leading us to others and leading others to Him. Later that day, as Jerry checked into his room at the motel, the first thing he did was kneel at his bedside to give thanks to the one that led us to him. The One whose provision daily sustains all of us.

One week after the freeze, God continued to lead us towards caring for Jerry in very specific ways. We had recently met a special team of doctors from Baylor Scott & White, who had been visiting the encampments where our advocates spend much of their time. These doctors come to the streets to provide medical care, prescriptions and regular check-ups for our friends experiencing homelessness. The condition of Jerry’s lungs had not improved since the night he slept in his tent with a fire going, so we introduced him to the medical team. One of the doctors assessed his condition and got Jerry an appointment with a pulmonary specialist. We will make sure that Jerry has the transportation and anything else he needs to make his appointments and maintain his health. And we will continue to keep our hearts and hands open to finding and loving the next “one” that God puts in our path.