Our Wednesday Night Dinners and programs in October and November provided a wonderful time of fellowship, listening, and learning. We committed ourselves to learning about the unhoused community in Frankfort and hearing from people throughout the city and county who work with those who are living without homes in our community. Some of our guests have been partners with Immanuel Baptist Church in ministry for many years, while others have provided new connections and insights that will help us to be more actively involved in serving the community around us.
Our hope was that these meetings would help us to be better able to fill in gaps in service to the unhoused community in Frankfort and end the series with both long and short term ideas for transformative ministries we can engage in. We know that not everyone was able to join us for the meals and programs, so we wanted to share some recaps from the meetings to help inspire more Immanuelites to get involved!
Night One: Wednesday, October 15
Understanding Homelessness – A Simulation Experience, Led by Sara Early Jenkins
During the first week, we discussed poverty, housing insecurity, and homelessness. We learned from statistics related to Franklin County specifically and Kentucky more generally.
After establishing a baseline understanding of the topic, we split into small groups and did a short simulation where each group embodied a different unhoused person and talked over barriers and opportunities to help. We took the opportunity to list what’s available in Frankfort, what is missing, and what services or resources would be most helpful.
For more information about what was presented, please see the following links:
Homelessness Statistics
Homelessness Simulation Activity 1
Homelessness Simulation Activity 2
Night Two: Wednesday, October 22
Community Policing Advocates, Shelley Hearn and Tricia Hamilton
On the second night of our Wednesday Night series, Frankfort Police Department Community Policing Advocates, Shelley Hearn and Tricia Hamilton, joined us. They discussed their extensive roles in the community and how they connect folks in need to community helpers. They highlighted specific programs in Frankfort, like the Situation Table, the Angel Program, and more.
The position that Hearn and Hamiliton fill provides an innovative way of resourcing the community and helping to meet needs before they become crises. Those in attendance at this gathering left feeling assured that this model in Frankfort would be an example for many other cities and police departments.
Hearn and Hamilton left us with some specific ways we could be involved, such as an electronics drive, adding our name to the community resource guide they are compiling, and sharing our events with them. We have already done these things and will continue to engage with them more.
After their visit, the Missions Team also committed to donate up to $500 a month (as needed) until March for people who needed a hotel room. In March, they will evaluate this partnership and determine if it is a service we can continue providing beyond the original six month commitment.
Week Three: Wednesday, October 29
Fresh Start Frankfort Executive Director, Ashley N. Browning
Fresh Start Frankfort is a non-profit that provides residential and recovery services to those in the community who are attempting to free themselves from addiction or other struggles. Many people in these circumstances do not have a safe place to go to build the skills necessary to rehabilitate their lives and avoid recidivism.
Ashley Browning gave us a picture of the ways that Fresh Start seeks to serve members of the unhoused community in recovery. Those present were surprised to hear that Fresh Start’s primary demographic is white women aged 55+. The higher age is, in part, because people have to meet certain sobriety standards in order to be placed in the Fresh Start Housing. For the health and safety of all in the houses, residents must pass regular drug and alcohol screenings. They also only have room in their housing for up to two families with children.
More information related to Fresh Start Frankfort is available at www.freshstartfrankfort.org.
Week Four: Wednesday, November 5
Together for Hope Appalachia Regional Vice President, Keith Stillwell
Together for Hope (TFH) is a ministry originally founded by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in order to address systemic poverty in the 20 poorest counties in the United States. Now, TFH has expanded its mission to serve counties across America dealing with persistent poverty (defined as counties with more than 20% of people in the county living below the poverty line for 30 years or more). Of the 338 counties in the United States classified as living in persistent poverty, 42 are in Kentucky alone.
Keith Stillwell shared that TFH’s primary role is to resource and equip people in the counties with tools for sustainable solutions to escape persistent poverty through a process of assett based community development. Rather than recreating services that are already available, TFH helps make connections between the communities and organizations or people that can offer support.
Stillwell listed off a number of different organizations that are doing the type of work that could be models for us or that we could support in some way. Examples of these organizations were: New Opportunity School for Women (Berea), Appalachian Immersion Experience, and White Flag Ministry (Corbin). He also recommended the book, Poverty by America by Matthew Desmond.
Week Five: Wednesday, November 12
One of Us Inc. Founder, Pastor Don Jackson
One of Us is a Christian non-profit in Frankfort whose mission is to give back to the community by helping meet basic and immediate needs. Since May, they have been renting a space next to Save-a-Lot on Versailles Road that Pastor Jackson has decorated and situated to become a safe space for people in the community to meditate, receive counseling services, do laundry, and build community. Everyone who works for One of Us is a volunteer, including Jackson, who works nights and weekends remodeling and decorating homes to make money to run this ministry.
Pastor Jackson said he started One of Us, because he realized that people were afraid to enter the church’s front door, so he said, “I’ll bring the church to them.” He inspired us with his dedication to prayer and asking himself, “am I doing what God is calling me to do?” His persistence in listening for God’s voice has led him to serve many people in seemingly miraculous ways.
Learn more about One of Us at www.oneofusky.org.
Week Six: Wednesday, November 19
Recap and Brainstorming Session led by Pastor Emily and Sara Early Jenkins
On the final night of our Wednesday series, we discussed each week’s presentation, taking time to note what stood out to us and how we might partner with the people we heard from or fill gaps that we noticed through the presentations. During the series, we began collecting electronic devices, adding ourselves to the community resource list, and sharing our financial and other resources with the Community Policing Advocates. We decided to collect food items for the many lunch bags that One of Us passes out each day. You can find more information about that collection here.
In the coming weeks and months, we will continue developing ideas for future projects and intentional engagement.