Newsletter May 2025
- Bruce Ballantine
- Apr 30
- 2 min read
Dear Friends,
Since first volunteering with City Relief last summer, I have been receiving e-newsletters written by City Relief CEO Josiah Haken.
As one whose inbox is flooded with emails every day, I can’t say that I’ve read each email from Josiah. Having said that, each time I read one, I grow in my understanding of those who experience homelessness.
To say that homelessness is a complex issue would be an understatement. But each time I read what Josiah has to say, I feel as if another layer of complexity has been peeled away.
And each time I read what he has to say, I feel as if I’m learning to see and better understand the people who experience homelessness. So, it should not have come as a surprise that my understanding of our unhoused neighbors and the challenges they face was deepened when I read Josiah’s book, Neighbors with No Doors:
The Truth about Homelessness, and How You Can Make a Difference.
Here is just a snippet from the book’s back cover: The next time someone asks you for money on the street, Josiah Haken wants you to know what you're doing. He wants you to engage the human being in front of you with confidence, compassion, and a plan. Neighbors with No Doors is your guide to getting there. With over a decade of experience in homeless outreach, Haken contradicts popular falsehoods about the unhoused community and offers helpful, pragmatic steps to becoming a friend and advocate.
Having read the book, I would like to share it with you. Please join me in a four-week study during May and June, as together we learn how to be better neighbors to those who live on the streets.
We will meet at noon on Wednesdays in the Minnema Room. Dates and topics are as follows:
May 21 Session 1 Introduction
May 28 Session 2 Laziness and Danger
June 4 Session 3 Mental Health and Substance Abuse
June 11 Session 4 Becoming a Good Neighbor
You may order the book through Barnes & Noble or wherever you buy books. Here is the B&N link:
I hope you’ll join me as we learn together what it means to be a good neighbor and how we might advocate on behalf of our neighbors with no doors. Friends are welcome!
Grace and peace,
Bruce
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