A compilation from a variety of our staff members sharing about the most difficult parts of their role:
“The hardest part of my job is being able to stay in contact on a regular basis with the people I am trying to serve. Being homeless and on the streets you are constantly on the move. I can spend hours, days, even weeks looking for people to continue a long lasting relationship.” Dane, Outreach Services Assistant
“To find the space between my impulse and my action, so God’s grace can inspire. To respond to all as Jesus would. To remember I am a channel of God’s peace.” – Don, Case Manager
“The hardest part of my job is hearing people in the community saying hurtful things about the work we do. It hurts to hear statements that characterize people like myself and our organization as a whole as predatory or harmful in some way. We all fight an uphill, perceivably never-ending battle and I am saddened to know that some wish harm on us; it sticks with me while I continue to fight.” – Hannah, Community Engagement Coordinator
“Even though I do not work directly with guests on issues of recovery and stability, it is very disheartening to see people I know and care about leave the Mission and return to unhealthy and destructive lifestyles.” – James, Restoration Technician
“The most difficult part of my job is seeing people in deep states of crisis who fall between the cracks of what the system can do — of seeing someone in that awful stage between too mentally unstable to bring into a community but not so far gone as to involuntary detain them — and knowing it will only be by the grace of God that they aren’t hurt or taken advantage of in some way. We come into organizations like this to help, to serve, to try to bring restoration and healing, but it’s painful to know that there are some people who, despite our best efforts, are beyond our reach or can’t receive any of the help we can give. It’s hard to be faced with such a visible picture of the brokenness that runs through humanity, and to be very bluntly reminded that as much as we may care, there are some needs only God can meet.” – Catherine, Program Administrative Assistant
