Anawim Christian Community


3733 N Williams Ave
Portland, OR 97227
503.888.4453
AnawimCC@gmail.com
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  1. A Letter and a Postscript

    255162_10150212175661267_256187_n

    Paloma and mommy

    To Whom It May Concern:

    Tim and Sam are people who have struggled to improve their lives. And they have succeeded.

    Tim struggled through his addiction with drugs and homelessness. In the midst of his lowest points, he was in jail and he failed in treatment programs. In the midst of this, he remained cheerful and encouraging to his friends, but that doesn’t mean that internally he wasn’t fighting with the two parts of himself—addiction and self-control.

    Tim has now been living in my house for over a year and he’s been clean and sober for almost two. He has had a full time job working for a printer for nine months. And this change is due to many reasons, but the two most important is his deep and abiding love for Jesus and his deep and abiding love for Sam and their daughter, Paloma.

    Sam struggled with severe depression and a resulting addiction to alcohol. She lost her husband, her four children, and her apartment. She and Tim met each other in the midst of this time, introduced by a homeless friend, and they fell in love. They became homeless together for a short period of time, and Sam discovered that she was pregnant with Tim’s child.

    Sam moved in with friends, and as the baby’s birth drew close, moved into my house. She is fully supported by Tim and she supports Tim. And now that Paloma is with them, no hardship, no difficulty, nothing will cause them to go back to addiction. Sam now has contacts and visits with her other children regularly, and she cares for her new baby. She works part time for Anawim Christian Community, a church supporting the homeless community in East Multnomah County.

    Why am I writing this? Because I am hoping that you will give them a chance. Yes, they have made some mistakes—perhaps a lot of mistakes—but that doesn’t change the fact that you will not meet a more compassionate, faithful couple than this one. They need a chance and they deserve one. Please be the person that gives them that chance to start a new life together.

    Steve Kimes
    Pastor of Anawim Christian Community

     

    255606_10150212173961267_6804069_nPost Script:

    I wrote that letter six years ago.  Tim is still working for the printer.  They now have another child together, Elijah, who was a drummer as soon as he had some control over his arms.  Paloma and Elijah are beautiful, happy, energetic kids.  After they moved out of my place, they moved into a one-bedroom tiny home.

    They stayed in that home for a year and then they moved into a three bedroom apartment, where they are now.  Sam’s daughters, April and Eryn moved in with them.  April eventually moved out and got married.  Sam and Tim sport dreads now, and go to cool hippie concerts.  They have way surpassed me in coolness.

    In the end, if a community supports a homeless family, both the community and the family wins.  It doesn’t mean everything will be perfect.  I didn’t mention a lot of issues and problems along the way.  It is support and love that makes life thrive.

    God bless you guys.  With all my love, Steve

     

  2. Fewer People on the Street!

    Bridge of the Gods detailEvery other year, main metropolitan areas do a “Point in Time” count of the homeless.  It always occurs near the end of January, and the idea is to physically count folks on the street, so the government knows how much to spend, to find out if certain strategies are working.

    A month ago, the Department of Housing and Urban Development released a report saying that homelessness has gone down 31 percent since 2007.  That’s quite a decrease!  Perhaps we are solving the issues!

    Before we take time to celebrate, let’s look at some facts.  First of all, in 2007, there was a jump in homelessness because of the mortgage crisis, so perhaps those numbers were chosen to make the decrease seem more dramatic.

    These numbers also don’t count the total homeless.  They only count those who are currently living without any kind of shelter.  So those in transitional houses, those staying with friends, those in motels, those in temporary shelters aren’t being counted.   In fact, the number of folks in shelters and transitional homes have increased.  And more people have moved into permanent low income homes than ever before.  So the numbers might very well reflect this.

    Also, while we are seeing a dramatic decrease of homelessness in small cities and rural areas, the large cities such as New York, Washington DC and Portland are seeing increases of homelessness. So while California as a whole has reduced their homeless issues, cities with housing prices increasing also have homelessness increasing.  For instance, San Francisco has increased their homeless numbers by 22 percent.

    This year’s count numbers are still to come in, so the final word isn’t out, but those of us in larger urban settings have a lot more work to do.

    Source: Quartz

  3. Should the Police be Involved?

    call the policeWhen we are working with homeless folks, there are times when there are… problems.  Perhaps you will see someone using drugs in the bathroom, perhaps a fight will break out, perhaps someone will be drinking on the property.  Some facilities will immediately call the police to deal with the situation.  Generally, the folks who have been around longer will pick their fights.  But which situations do we really need the police for?

    First of all, always try to deal with a situation yourself. If you know someone is using drugs on the property, ask them to leave.  If someone is drinking on the property, take the alcohol away.  Give a warning, or set up a penalty.

    In general, we don’t want to call the police.  First, because the police should have other things to do, other emergencies to handle.  We don’t want to be seen as a facility that NEEDS the police hanging around.  That ruins the reputation of our facility.  Also, if the police are called, they might think it is an emergency and deal with the issue stronger than is necessary.  And if we call the police in situations other than a dire emergency, we might lose our reputation among the houseless community.

    So when DO we call the police?  First, if a violent situation is out of our control.  If a fight breaks out, we might be able to break it up.  But if violence is out of our control, or if the leaders are the target of violence, it is time to call the police.

    I might also call the police if someone is banned from the facility or it is time to close, but they refuse to leave.  They might need an extra nudge to get them off the property.  In these cases, we might want to inform the officers that we are not looking to press charges, but only to have them taken off the property.  The police will check for warrants, but not make an arrest otherwise.

    When calling the police, I highly recommend using the non-emergency line. If we call 911, the police are prepared for the worst situation, hands on guns, because they don’t know what they are getting into.  But if we call the non-emergency line, we can explain better what the situation is, and the police won’t rush, and they’ll be calmer and ready to deal with a non-emergency situation.  Every police department has a non-emergency number, so I recommend finding out what it is, and put it on your phone.

    In general, though, calling the police should be the last resort.

  4. A Super Bowl Long Ago…

    DSCF8805Jeff Strong (aka “Faithwalker”) used to live on the RedBarn property, providing security.  Sometimes church security is… interesting: Jeff re-tells a story from four years ago:

     

    How stupid can you be about a super bowl?

    Today I went out to check on my motor home and just as I am approaching the drive way there are two guys slugging it out on the churches property. So I stopped and broke it up. They were both bleeding pretty good and when I asked what they were fighting about they said the Super Bowl and who was going to win…….

    Ready for this? one is a Ducks fan and the other is a Beaver Fan. So you can imagine their dismay when I told them that the college teams didn’t play in the Rose Bowl.

    Yes alcohol was involved and no they are not homeless folks….

    Homeless folks are smarter than that even if they are drunk they are smarter than that.

  5. Homelessness and Drug Addiction

    dragon-eye3I posted on Facebook recently that homeless folks were just as worthy as other folks, just in a different situation. I received a rebuttal from another person, having met at least one homeless person. His response could be summarized thus:

    All homeless folks use drugs.
    Drug users are weak and thieves.
    Therefore, these are less worthy than others.

    Well, I know a number of homeless folks who do not use drugs, not addicted to anything, and I know a number of drug users (also homeless) who are not thieves. But there is a stereotype there that has some truth to it. Allow me to unpack a general trend of the homeless and addiction.

    According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, approximately nine percent of people who become homeless do so because of addictions. This doesn’t mean that others aren’t addicts, but it wasn’t their addiction that caused their homelessness. So let’s just say that 15-20 percent of people become homeless with an addiction. What everyone agrees on is that most people aren’t addicts when they become homeless.

    The far majority of them. Approximately 70 percent of all people who become homeless every year find housing in less than a year, most of them in a few months. Most of these people certainly didn’t get housing maintaining or increasing their addictions. A few did. But most of them were never addicted to begin with and some gave up or reduced their addictions to meet their goals.

    What about the rest? Well, the people who are generally considered “homeless” are those who have been on the street for more than a year. These are the folks who have been without a decent night’s sleep for at least a year. These are the folks forced to move, with everything they own, sometimes more than once a day. These are the folks who tried to get work, to get into school, to find a place to live until they had given up hope for themselves. These are the folks who have had their possessions stolen. These are the people who have nothing left but regret.

    So almost all of these folks who are chronically homeless are also sufferers of chronic stress. And since they have no tomorrow, they need to forget. And drugs or alcohol offer that way out.

    Again, not everyone takes that way out. Not everyone wants to be seen as the wino, the bum on the corner. Or, I should say, some folks have enough self-respect left to care what people think about them, so they do all they can to avoid that most disgusting, most degrading of American occupations. The man openly drinking a 40 ounce outside a convenience store, who is shooting up in a public restroom are really the only ones who have no self-respect left to give in this country. They really don’t care, because they’ve lost everything.

    This is why people who think that folks in this state need a few months to brush themselves off and get out there and struggle for their sobriety, their self-respect and their survival don’t really understand the state of the chronically homeless, especially those who are addicted. It took at least a year, possibly years, to drive a person into abject hopelessness. It will take some time to climb out. I think of the way out as stepping stones.

    1. Self-respect This stage will only happen when a person receives respect that they didn’t necessarily deserve. When they see others respecting them by giving them kindness and opportunities for hope, they will think that maybe their view of themselves need to change, and they want to earn the respect they are receiving.

    2. Better living When they see themselves as someone who wants to live, they will see the squalor they live in, and want to improve their state. That desire doesn’t do anything unless they also have a hand up, because one cannot jump out of the ditch of homelessness themselves. But they will accept that hand, because they see the necessity of it. They may accept a place in a village, a spot in a treatment center, a place in a shelter they trust, so they could get a better life.

    3. Strength But most people who are chronically homeless will fail at their first attempts to improve their life. Some are out of practice, some are unlucky, some are too sensitive to disrespect, some have mental health issues and some have physical health issues. It will require inner strength for them to try again. Some have it, and some don’t.

    4. Progress One step leads to another, even if there are missteps. Entering into treatment sometimes leads to housing and outpatient treatment and possibly a job. Entering a wet village can later lead to living in a less chaotic dry village, which can lead to a job and permanent housing. Entering into a shelter can lead to a part time job and then a full time job and housing. No one’s path is the same. And the first step of progress can, with strength, lead to the next one.

    My point is, everyone is worthy. People are worthy. The person you see as a worthless drug addict on the corner is worthy, and we can have hope for her even if she does not have hope for herself. A wino doesn’t have to live that way. But they will unless two things happen. Someone gives them respect. And someone gives them a chance.

  6. Update on Anawim Changes

    blue-barn

    Well, things are going to look different this year.

    Let’s get started with the big step.  God told me to step down from being in charge of Anawim. I could give you a lot of reasons why it’s a good idea why I should. But the main issue is that God said that it’s time and I think He’s right.  I’m sure he appreciates my vote of support.

    This is hard on both me and Anawim.  I’ve been leading Anawim for the past 20 years, and it is hard for us to separate.  But one of the main reasons why I need to step down is to allow other people to step up.  There are many, many more people involved in helping the homeless in East County than there were 20 years ago.  And if I get out of the way, they’ll be able to do the work that I’ve been overwhelmed by.

    So what does this mean?

    It means that there is a new Anawim board with new leadership.  The current presidents of the board are:
    Amanda Reece-Murphy, who heads the organization Rose City Backpacks of Hope and who has been working with the homeless in SE Portland for many years.
    Lisa Lake, who heads the organization Advocacy5, and who has been involved in organizing groups supporting the homeless for a number of years.
    I trust these two, and the rest of the board, with one of my children– Anawim Christian Community.  They will use this organization to support the homeless community in East County, to love them, to listen to them and to give them opportunities to serve Jesus.

    Before, I wrote that we were closed.  Well, we opened up for this week when snow and freezing rain put a sheet of ice over East County for a couple weeks.  Another church organization, No One Left Behind. in partnership with Anawim, opened up the church to give folks shelter out of the cold, both day and night.  Thank you for the organization of Ron Scheler and his team to make that happen.

    Beginning this week, Anawim will be opening on Saturdays again to provide showers, clothes, mail and food for folks in our area.  As the property becomes more secure and as we develop better relationships with our neighbors, we will expand our operations again, eventually to the same level we did before.  The closing has been hard on everyone, and we are ready to begin to serve people again.

    You aren’t done with me yet.  After a month break or so, I will return to Anawim’s board, in an advisory position.  Diane is still involved as treasurer.  I will need to move on to find other work elsewhere, but I don’t think I’ll have trouble finding it.

    In the meantime, I ask that if you have supported Anawim with prayer or donations, please don’t fail to do so now.  With all the changes, Anawim still needs your support.  I pray that God would stir you to do this.

    If anyone would like to contact these people directly, please do so by email:
    Amanda– reeseamanda6801@gmail.com,
    Lisa– advocacyfive@gmail.com,
    Steve– stevekimes@aol.com

    May God bless you and keep you and give you peace. -Steve

  7. Serving The Poor | Gleaners

    Serving the Community NeedPastor Steve Kimes of Anawim Christian Community and other organizations are able to pick up food from the gleaners that they can distribute to the communities they serve: the poor and needy in the Northwest.

  8. Podcast: Sweeps Kill

    arrestedHere’s a new podcast of Nowhere to Lay His Head!

    This month I interview… myself (well, I talk for a while) about how sweeps kill and how I worked this last year to try to get the city to stop killing sweeps.

    Anyway, here’s the podcast:

    http://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/4904050#sEMBQwzEx5DQqkAz.01

    And here’s some articles confirming my actions this year:

    Forgotten Realms: the beginning

    Arrested in Gresham for speaking out for the homeless

    Camp Serenity

    Ending Camp Serenity

    Sweeping 500 off of the Springwater Corridor

    Trial dismissed

    Fire at Forgotten Realms

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  9. Winter is Coming!

    atop-the-misty-mountainsThus far, it’s been a very mild fall, with some heavy rains on some days.  But we know that winter is coming and with that will be greater needs.  We want to have donated or purchase more sleeping bags, tents, tarps and winter clothing this year.   In East Multnomah County the winds are cold and few people, especially the recently homeless, are prepared for the conditions.  We want to help, with your help.

    If you are local (in the Portland area), and want to donate any of these items, please give us a call at 503-888-4453.  We can arrange a meeting place or possibly a pick up.  We could especially use men’s pants from the 32-40 waist size!  We always need coats, socks, rain ponchos, long underwear and other adult-sized winter items.

    If you are out of town or unable to meet up but would like to donate, there are a couple ways you can do that.  Of course, you can donate money via check or PayPal on this page.   Besides the donations for winter items, we could also use help keeping up our regular rent costs this winter.

    Or, if you’d like to donate more directly, you can purchase the items below on Amazon, and send it directly to us.  Just request that the delivery address be 3733 N Williams, Portland OR 97227 and we’ll get the supplies to people in need.  If you’d like to help us more, sign up with Amazon Smile, and ask that with each purchase you make, a percentage goes to Anawim Christian Community! :)

    Two man tents for an emergency situation for one person

    Four man tents for long-term shelter for two people

    Large tarps for protection from heavy rains (brown, 12 x 16, please)

    Sleeping bags (30-20 degrees, please)

    We want to give a big thanks to Operation Nightwatch for providing us with so many blankets, as well!

     

  10. Conversation about Springwater Corridor

    Amanda Murphy-Reese and Steve have a conversation about events leading up to the moving of 500 homeless folks ordered by the city of Portland and the results of this on the homeless and advocates.

    You can listen at the link below, or you can sign up for Steve’s podcast, Nowhere To Lay His Head on iTunes

    Steve’s conversation with Amanda on NTLHH

    Here are pictures of the Springwater corridor before the sweep.

    springwater-garden3springwater-life3springwater-artspringwater3