The Invisible Box

So it's been almost two weeks since we've been here in Asheville and it's been a rollercoaster of a time. We've moved in and settled into our apartments and have gone on two grocery trips. We started our jobs. We've cried. We've laughed. And we're becoming a family.

Last week we had our second week of orientation, this one getting acquainted with Asheville. We learned where to get our food, we visited our sites, and we got lost on the bus. I will be working with Youth OUTright, a teen LGBTQ+ community center. This month is Pride month here in Asheville, so I hit the ground running. Other roommates are working at the YWCA, AHOPE, Green Opportunities, and The Welcome Home Project.

The most important event that has happened so far was this morning. We went on what is called a Poverty Walk held by Asheville Poverty Initiative. In this space we discussed what the word "poverty" brought to mind. We had a poverty scholar with us: a man who has lived many years without a home, without knowing where his next meal is coming from, without what we would consider a "normal" life. He told us stories from his life, from before he lived in Asheville and stories from now.

We walked the "Invisible Box", the pathways that homeless people take daily to access the things we take for granted. We started at a public park, where they have the right to be, but the businesses surrounding the park consider them "undesirable." The only public bathrooms are in a police station, that closes early in the winter and sometimes Sundays. The library can be a safe space, depending on who is working. People still judge. People still stereotype.

A few minutes walk from there, we made it to the Salvation Army, AHOPE and the Western Carolina Rescue Ministries. Salvation Army lets people stay there for a week and then starts charging them per night. AHOPE is a day center for people who need it; they can get coffee, hot food, shower, and store their items off the streets. The Western Carolina Rescue Ministries is another place where there is a bed, but they decide who comes in. No LGBT people are welcome. No people of different religions. If you curse, even just a slip-up, you are banned for life.

We finished back where we started. I asked our poverty scholar where he eats dinner. He says, if he's lucky, he eats once a day. He then listed the places in town where he can go and eat. Thankfully, there are places here that he can get food everyday. Sadly, that only applies to lunch and then breakfast one day.

Today was one of many hard days. But it gives me hope for me to learn more and listen to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all beloved children of God.