The healing power of place

When I first took an interest in working with people who had been forced to flee their homes, I never imagined shelter would become an area of focus, much less a compelling reason to continue.

Hadji

But eight years ago, I met Hadji. An Afghan teen, he was bright, generous, and driven. And, he was alone in Rome, sleeping on a piece of cardboard under a portico each night - until someone offered to rent him a small apartment.

Within a year, he spoke English and Italian, was finishing his GED, and found a job working in a café. As I watched, I began to understand the healing power of “place.”

Her whole demeanor had changed.

Shortly after that, I found myself on the floor of a shelter in Boston while a friend cooked me dinner on a hot plate. Through limited shared language, we talked about the pain in her back, children who died in Syria, and how her three-year-old refused to speak.

Two years later, when she had secured housing, I visited her new home. We laughed around her kitchen table as her son told jokes and her daughters, with whom she was newly reunited, put on a fashion show. Her whole demeanor had changed. She was healing.

Countless Stories

Then I came to Jonathan House, where I have witnessed countless similar stories over the last five years. I have watched as the restorative power of safe and stable shelter has created space for healing and set people on a trajectory toward recovery from all that has been wounded along their journeys to find safety. But I have also seen that housing isn’t a magic potion that works in isolation to restore what has been lost.

From Shelter to Home

People must feel safe enough to heal, and while shelter provides the structure to begin to move forward practically, supportive community makes that structure a home where it is possible for wounds to begin to mend. Journeying with friends as they establish stability in a new place sustains me in our work. As we navigate challenges and celebrate victories together, I find joy.

When the people around me recover a sense of well-being, I, too, am invited to a life of thriving. When I am trusted to take part in this portion of someone else’s journey, I feel that I am holding a precious gift. I see that the eyes and heart of Jesus look on each of us with compassion and mercy. I am reminded that not only does he love my neighbor, but he loves me too, and that he is also bringing me into safe places and thriving communities where I am invited to heal.

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