No Happy Ending-Yet

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (ANS) -- It was a Saturday morning to take care of some errands and I hadn’t really planned on homeless outreach, but God had other ideas.

Driving down a busy road planning to get on the highway and ultimately head towards Joy Junction, I spotted from the corner of my eye a couple of homeless guys on the other side of the road outside a hotel.

I did a quick U-turn and headed back toward them. I parked in the hotel lot, grabbed a couple of fast food cards and walked a few feet over to the men.

One guy was sitting up. He was wearing a well worn shirt and jeans, and had a backpack and a radio by his side next to a blue Walmart shopping bag. I asked him if he was hungry. He quickly responded that he was. I gave him my Joy Junction business card and a $5 gift card, explaining that he could at least get a hamburger or two and a cup of coffee.

The man got up on his feet, thanked me and shook my hand. As he did I noticed that his hands were terribly swollen. He wobbled a bit as he stood up. Noticing numerous empty cans of Steel Reserve were scattered around where he had been sitting, I suggested he wait a bit before he made his way to get food. He said he would.

I asked the man about his friend, who had been lying down all the time we were talking. He said the guy was okay; he had just been drinking.

I guess our conversation woke him up, because this man, also surrounded by empty cans of Steel Reserve, sat up a bit. He was wearing clothes that had seen better days, and a ball cap turned backwards.

I asked him if he was hungry. In slurred speech he said he was, adding that he was also hot, tired and thirsty.

I gave him a food card, and my Joy Junction business card, both of which he carefully put in his wallet. His hands were surprisingly steady. I pointed north to the fast food restaurant where he could redeem the card for food, but seeing he was even unsteadier on his feet than his friend I also encouraged him to stay where he was for a while before walking anywhere.

Sleeping it off

However, before I knew it, he had grabbed his green bag – about the same size as carry on luggage for a plane – and wobbled precariously between cars across the road where he flopped down outside a local restaurant. Fearing for his safety, I called the Albuquerque Police Dept. 

They promised to send an officer. I waited a few minutes, but no officer came, so I drove across the road to the restaurant where the guy was sacked out under a cool tree. In the few minutes I was there, no one appeared to notice the man. It was almost as if he was part of the landscape.

As I pulled back onto the street, the first guy waved. He had also manoeuvered his way across the street and was sitting on the sidewalk. He waved.

As I drove on, I wondered what experiences these two had been through that would make them want to spend the morning drinking. It wasn't like they were having “fun,” or even just getting slightly "buzzed." They'd acknowledged that they were both hot, hungry, thirsty and downright uncomfortable.

Yes, I’m sure by now that they were both chronic alcoholics, but the descent into alcoholism doesn’t come overnight. What made them both begin that downward slide? Genetic predisposition, abuse so bad they just wanted to escape the daily monotony of life, depression? I’ll probably never know!

I can't report any success stories with these two. I pray that ultimately the Holy Spirit breaks through to them, and they find freedom from their addictions and whatever drove them to the place where I found them. I am glad, though, that I spotted these guys-invisible to many, and just “a couple of drunks” to others. Would you please say a prayer for them? A happy ending is still possible!

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Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City." Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available athttp://www.homelessinthecity.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net.

Down but Definitely Not Out

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO (ANS) --

During the first part of 2009, Tim and Sandra Cordova saidthey were living the American dream.

For two years, they had been renting a beautiful two story house in Albuquerque's Ventana Ranch.  Tim was a manager at an area McDonalds, and had been for over a year.  Sandra was a housewife. 

Sandra and Tim Compress

They were able to go on vacations, see the Dallas Cowboys play at home, go to Las Vegas, NV, and did most things-if not more-than those enjoyed by an average middle-class American family.

Then almost in a heartbeat, everythingchanged.                                  

On May 15 2009, Tim went to work, and his general manager was waiting for him.  He was told that McDonalds was making some management changes, and due to a business slow down and some other factors, Tim's job was being eliminated.

Tim said, "I felt shock.  I was worried about what I was going to do.  I tried talking to them about having me stay on, but they said no.  I walked away feeling worried, scared, and having to face Sandra."

Understandably, Sandra was more than taken aback.

She said, "I thought he was kidding.  He had been there over a year.  Then he said he wasn't."

Sandra added, "I was VERY upset. How were we going to pay our bills?  Rent was due in a couple of weeks.  What were we going to do?"

Tim started to look for work while he was applying for unemployment.  At first, he searched for management level jobs. However, the market was so bad that he began just trying to find anything.

Tim said, "It was very disappointing. I heard, 'We don't need managers right now,' or 'We're not hiring. It's too slow. We might start hiring if we pick up.' I was very discouraged."

While Tim was struggling to find work, Sandra tried to help anyway she could.  She started by cleaning houses, which brought in an amount way less than the couple needed.

Eventually unable to afford the Ventana Ranch house, the couple moved to a small one bedroom, one bath apartment, but still kept searching for work.

Incidentally, it took almost two months for unemployment to be awarded.

Even with unemployment and Sandra continuing to clean houses, there was more month than money. Still out of work, Tim was becoming increasingly discouraged with the steady stream of rejections.

Sandra started to look for additional work, beyond cleaning houses.  Sticking mostly to fast food and retail, she ran into similar trouble.  Her applications were met with,  "We have too many cashiers," or "We don't have enough hours to give you. It will be part time at best."

Sandra eventually got a job at Subway. However,  in April  2011, her hours were reduced to just a few hours a week. She was told that newer people in training were given the hours she had once enjoyed.  Eventually, Sandra said, they just stopped scheduling her altogether. At the same time, Tim's unemployment ran out.

Even in their newer scaled down housing they were unable to pay the rent for May.   The landlord gave them three days to move out.  The only place they had to go was their car. It was the only possession they had left with the exception of a few clothes.

The Cordovas lived in their car for three weeks. They moved from location to location, parking wherever they could find a safe spot.

    

Tim said, "It was very scary.  We couldn't get enough sleep, it was so uncomfortable. We had to get up early in the morning, because it got too hot."

Despite their even more restrictive living quarters, during the days the constant struggle of trying to find a job remained. When the Cordovas weren't submitting application, they found themselves in parks, eating at Albuquerque's Noonday Ministries, and making careful use of public facilities.

With limited funds for gas, they stayed mostly in one area.  After a mechanical problem with the car made it unusable, they opted for Joy Junction.

Tim said they came to the shelter on June 3 2011.

He said, "We knew Joy Junction was here, and we knew we could get help.  We got here late at 1:00 am.  It was Friday night."

Sandra added, "I felt safe.  They did wake us up early, though."

Tim said, "I was tired-very tired.  I was happy we had a place to sleep, but there were so many people."

Now, they are deeply involved in Joy Junction's Christ in Power Program life recovery program, which entails among many other things, classes based on the Tyndale House Life Recovery Bible.

The program also includes volunteer assignments, to help ready all our participants for re-entry into the work force.

Sandra's current assignment is with Joy Junction Volunteer Services, where she assists our volunteer coordinator in spreading the homeless story, the history of Joy Junction, and working out additional opportunities of assistance for our core of wonderful volunteers. 

Tim is part of the Joy Junction Security Team, helping ensure a safe, orderly, comforting and welcoming environment for our many guests.

Once they complete the nine-month recovery program and graduate, the Cordovas want to continue their walk with the Lord and grow even closer to Him.  They know that's the key to their ultimate continued success.

They said they're trusting the Lord that He'll lead them where He'd like them to be. They said wherever they end up-on staff with Joy Junction or work somewhere else-they would still like to maintain a close involvement with the shelter.

Tim said, "If it wasn't for Joy Junction, we (don't) know where we would be."

My Take

Thank you for allowing us to help this precious couple. It is God's faithfulness, and your prayerful and financial support, that has sustained Joy Junction for 25 years.

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Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter,http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City." Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available at http://www.homelessinthecity.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds atjeremyreynalds@comcast.net.