A few weeks ago my team volunteered at the Indy Homeless Connect, an event at the Indiana Convention Center focused on care and outreach for people who do not have permanent housing. I was thrown onto the intake team. This chore sounded as fun as walking in the rain with no jacket while carrying a bundle of cotton candy. Yes, I’ll admit: my attitude stunk.

Then I met a guy who looked about my age. I asked him his date of birth; he said he was born in 1987, which makes him barely twenty-two. The realization that a twenty-two year-old could be living on the street was staggering.

As I was letting this reality sink in, a staff member from CHIP (the organization that hosts the Homeless Connect) came up to me and asked me how I was doing. I told him about the guy I had just met and said, “Twenty-two is too young to be homeless.”

He replied, “You want to talk about ‘too young to be homeless’? Why don’t you go down the hall and check out the children’s area?”

Curious, I decided to take a break from the fabulous intake crew and walked down the hall to the children’s area. What I saw messed me up good: a room full of the most adorable kids you’ve ever seen. The difference between these kids and other kids is that these kids don’t have a place to call home.

In all, there were 49 kids in the children’s area; the youngest was two months; most were preschool-aged.

You want to talk about “too young to be homeless”? That, to me, just isn’t right. This totally wrecked my pre-conceived notions about the conditions that contribute to homelessness. Where before I would have said people are homeless because of substance abuse, job loss, crime, or a series of unfortunate events. Since the Indy Homeless Connect, the way I view homeless people has completely changed.

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Indy Homeless Connect in IndyStar: Event for Homeless Sees More Parents of Young Children

Walter grew up in New Orleans, where he raised a family while working on the docks, loading and unloading ships as they came into port. When Hurricane Katrina hit, Walter’s home was completely destroyed. The government helped him move to Indianapolis, but he left behind a son in New Orleans and a daughter in Texas. Shortly after relocating, he got connected with Grace as part of our effort to reach out to the refugees. Walter was able to find transitional housing, and began looking for work. He was able to get a few temporary jobs, but despite diligent searching was unable to find a steady job.

In February, Walter’s housing aid ran out, and without a solid job, he found himself homeless. He made his way to Wheeler Men’s Mission, where he entered their residential program. A few days later, another volunteer and I made a run for the Wheeler Shuttle, where volunteers from Grace pick up men from Wheeler and bring them to Grace for a meal and a chance to attend Saturday night service. On the ride to Grace, Walter shared with us how thankful he was that the Lord had continued to provide for him in the midst of his circumstances. I couldn’t believe the conviction he had that God was truly in control and was working these events for good in his life. It was a great honor to worship with my brother in Christ that evening.

A few weeks later, we saw Walter at CHIP’s annual Indy Homeless Connect event. He was excited about the possibility of making some job connections. A week later, I ran into Walter again, but this time in a context I did not expect.

I arrived at Shepherd Community Center to serve at Saturdays at Shepherd, a weekly outreach opportunity where Grace volunteers make and serve breakfast to the community, while a group of doctors and nurses volunteer their time to host a free medical clinic. I knew several of the people who had signed up to volunteer that weekend, since they were all from the same Grace Group, but when I walked in, I was surprised to see Walter. I asked him if he’d heard about the medical clinic and come to check it out, but he said, “No, I’ve come to give something back.” He was not there to receive care, but to help us serve breakfast!

Walter serving breakfast with the team at Saturdays at Shepherd

I found out that he’d gotten connected with the small group while at Grace, and he’d kept in touch with them since then. When he found out they were serving at Shepherd, he decided to come because he knew that whatever his circumstances, Jesus calls him to a life of service. I was again humbled as I realized that although Walter has had so much taken from him, he still views giving of himself as central to his walk with Christ. We often reflect on how Matthew 25 talks about seeing Christ in those with great need, and I have little doubt that I was flipping pancakes beside Jesus that morning.

If you’d like more information about serving at Wheeler or Saturday’s at Shepherd, please visit our website.