“I am invited to learn, to listen, to empathize – going beyond direct service. It’s a humble education in the heart of being human.”

Missing the good ol’ days.

Remarks from the Interfaith Memorial Service 2019

We often say “homelessness could happen to anyone.”

Stories from our guests

I thought “Oh my goodness, this situation seems rather hopeless. How’s he going to get from one place to the next when he can barely walk 3 feet in front of him?”

“This day is not about me.” 

Because we knew it was WORTH it!

The Harry Tompson Center is a place where we do just that, meet people where they are. 

…any medical history?

Each day at the Rebuild Center I witness acts of selflessness and compassion between people- guests, staff, and volunteers alike.

It hurts me that some of the people that I was with out there actually died last year and didn’t survive. Some of them were the ones who encouraged me not to give up.

I had the expectation that my weeks working here would be very demanding, and I would have to embrace my responsibilities like Jesus embraced his cross. I thought I would have to deal with insults, negative attitudes, very dirty showers, etc. My experience has been completely different.

 He tended to sleep just about every day until around noon and then disappear, but then would reappear the next morning intoxicated once again. For years we repeated the same pattern…

Damien said, “Everybody always tells me ‘I can’t, I can’t.’ Well you can and you do. Thank you.”

I think we can all agree that Father Harry Tompson was a man of action. Many recall his inspirational homilies which encouraged us to stop wondering about things and just “HOP TO IT!”

This is just life happening, so you learn to fight for it and not squander it…