Meeting People Where They Are

By A.J. Golio, Jesut Volunteer 2016-2017

Over my year spent among the guests of the Harry Tompson Center, I have had many opportunities to glimpse the true nature of service. One of these came in the form of Richard.

One day, Richard approached me with a piece of cardboard and a Sharpie marker and asked that I help him make a sign to fly on St. Charles. Per his instruction, I wrote out, ‘Homeless – Anything,’ and sent him on his way, thinking about how amusing it was that my handwriting would be seen by all the tourists on the streetcar. Then a couple days later, Richard came back, with a new piece of cardboard, and asked that I make him a fresh sign. A few days later, he did it again. And again a couple of days later. And again, and again, every two to three days for several months.

Needless to say, I became frustrated. I took significant amounts of time out of my already busy days to write out dozens of signs for this guy. I mean, what the heck kept happening to them? I spent a long time trying to reprimand or warn Richard, saying things like, “This is the absolute last time.” Though I never meant it, and I realized eventually that I could not ‘fix’ Richard – I could only meet him where he was and support him in that way.

The Harry Tompson Center is a place where we do just that, meet people where they are. And I think there’s incredible grace in that. After all, what better example do we have than Jesus, who didn’t require things of those who received his miracles, going so far as to touch the man with leprosy before healing him. What better way is there to follow such amazing examples of service than by supporting the underprivileged in the ways that they require, instead of constantly trying to advise, judge, or “fix?” It makes us all feel more human to meet each other on equal ground, and the HTC has provided that for me.