Part of An Interview by Lael Weatherby, March 15, 2014
Q: How do you earn the trust of all of the new Street Youth you meet every year?
A: Trust is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Trust isn't earned-it's given. I understand what people say when they say trust is earned. But that’s not my experience of trust.
Every week, I meet some people that I've never met before. And frequently, within five minutes, we're talking about God, we're talking about their drug addiction, we're talking about their needs, we're talking about very sensitive subjects, about their family life or their emotional health or whatever, in five minutes. There’s no way I earned their trust. They gave it to me. And I believe the reason they give me trust is they see me with people they trust.
Three guys who had never met me before, who talked about all of those things, were introduced by somebody they knew who has known me a long time. Then they give me their trust. And they give it to you because you've proven that you don’t waste it.
http://www.firsthandhistory.net/index.html?view=interview&interview_id=860
Part of An Interview by Lael Weatherby, March 15, 2014
My name’s Terry Cole. I started Street Youth Ministry. I started volunteering eleven years ago [2003] to feed some homeless people. I didn't know who they were. I didn't know anything about them, but somebody said, “Come help feed some homeless people on a Tuesday afternoon.” And I said okay.
I found out that they were these younger people, they looked college-age, and they were apparently hungry, and we fed them. That made me really wonder a whole lot more about them, and I ended up volunteering every single week, and I liked it a lot. That’s how it kind of all started.
One of the things that has to happen in order for this to work is there has to be enough money coming in that I could afford to quit my job and do this. We completely depend on volunteers. And I like that, when people volunteer because they love to. It’s very different than when you pay them because they need ten dollars an hour.
But working with volunteers is very hard because volunteers are busy, and your thing isn't the main thing. It’s only a little thing in their life.
http://www.firsthandhistory.net/index.html?view=interview&interview_id=860
Part of An Interview by Lael Weatherby, March 15, 2014
My name’s Terry Cole. I started Street Youth Ministry. People are always asking: What difference does it make? How do you know you're succeeding?
It takes a long time to see success in the form that you want to see it, which is somebody completely changing their life. Giving up drugs, getting a house, getting a job, going to school, and making their life really, really good. That’s a long process, and it can be hard to see the progress.
We have activities because you have to do something, but every activity is ministry. Every activity is a chance to show Christ’s love. And so, that’s what we try to do all the time. We have a Tuesday meal that includes bible study and food, and we give out the donated clothing and whatever else has been donated. But we do the food first, and if you want to leave, you can leave.
And then we talk about the bible, but we don’t force anybody to believe anything. We don’t force anybody to listen. If they want to take a nap or read a book, they can. It’s very compassionate and understanding that maybe they are not in a good place today that they want to participate. But they can stay there, it’s okay with us.
And then we have stuff at the end, no matter whether you stayed, whether you participated, whether you listened, it’s there. It's been given to us, and if it will help you, it’s yours.
http://www.firsthandhistory.net/index.html?view=interview&interview_id=860
Part of An Interview by Lael Weatherby, March 15, 2014
"They really want the same things we want. They may have different ways of expressing it, but they want the same things." Terry Cole
Terry Cole started Street Youth Ministry in 2008. While working as a successful electrical engineer, he did an internship with Lifeworks, another street youth support group. Afterwards, he quit his job and started a ministry program to help street youth (meaning high school-college age) become stable.
Terry helped street youth in many different ways. Many of them gave up drugs; moved into houses; got jobs; but, even more important to Terry, they devoted their life to God. Terry’s entire street youth program is about getting kids to stable places, of course, but also about connecting with God and knowing that God will always love them no matter what.
My dad knew Terry Cole because he was a good friend of his and helped with him and his street youth. He was the one who suggested Terry for the interview. I liked the idea, but I wasn't sure what to ask him about.
But, I realized that there are lots of interesting subjects that I could ask him about, and he had even more interesting answers.
http://www.firsthandhistory.net/index.html?view=interview&interview_id=860
From an Interview by Lael Weatherby, March 15, 2014
Q: I have noticed that a lot of the street youth have pets. How are their pets important to them?
A: Well, I would like to start by asking, how is your pet important to you? They really want the same things that we want. They may have different ways for expressing it, but they want the same things. And so, to a street youth, a dog or a cat or a duck or a chicken or a rat or a possum or a raccoon or a snake, all those things are someone they can care for. Many of those pets show affection back.
Dogs are by far the most popular, and a dog offers you something that is really hard to find in the world, unconditional love. I think that's one of the reasons it's real important. And we point that out all the time.
Read the full interview here:
http://www.firsthandhistory.net/index.html?view=interview&interview_id=860
