Street Youth Ministry: street youth

Showing posts with label street youth. Show all posts

Jan 23, 2019

I AM GRATEFUL...

I am grateful for the shape of my life. I am grateful for the ways that I am gifted. And even though I am often jealous of other people‘s gifting, I am glad to be me. I am grateful that I have found a vocation that is just right for me.

It combined so many things that I love: solving problems, teaching, learning new things, trying new things, helping others, relating to the outcast, orchestrating an amazing machine with lots of moving parts, crossing cultural barriers, and sharing good news for a better world.

I am grateful for the people I journey with. I love my family of origin. I love the legacy they have given me. I love the family that I created with my wife. I look forward to the possibility of loving families created by my children. I love the community that I have created In my various workplaces. I love the community that is being formed in the ministry to homeless young adults. I’m grateful for my church family—groups that form For worship, discipleship, service, morning, celebration, and discernment. Each is unique and a blessing.

I am grateful for money, but I am more grateful to be freed from its enslavement on my life. I think it no small chance that God changed me from being employed to create wealth to being called to serve others without wealth, Without the possibility of company ownership, and without further amassing personal wealth. I am truly glad to be dependent. I always was, but it is a blessing to see the literal dependency on the gifts of others to follow my vocation. I am not creating a company that I own. I am not creating a profit. I am not being paid what I am “worth“ by trade or training. I am supported by the gifts of others who have come to understand my calling and want me to pursue it. God‘s blessing in my life is bigger, but is hard to name and earthly blessing larger than the support of so many people for my vocation.

As unexpected as the blessing of support has been, probably the most surprising blessing has come from including 5000 or more homeless broken and simultaneously amazing young adults in my life. They are so interesting. They are so strong. They are so diverse. It is not the reward of serving them but simply the reward of being with them that is such a blessing. The things they have taught me. The things they have made me think about. The glimpses of life that I can never fully understand but that I could also never experience myself. They have added a richness to my life that was completely unexpected. The blessings dwarfs any gratitude for accomplishment Or even growth that could come from serving.

I cannot write about gratitude without mentioning my sweet and amazing loyal companion, Rosie. That God would create a relationship between a man and a beast of such depth boggles the mind. Truly do know the love of a dog is to learn something of the unconditional love that God has for us.

I am grateful for the rhythms of life. For day and night. I used to bemoan that there wasn’t enough time in the day until someone pointed out that it was beyond arrogance To force everyone else to endure another hour just because I felt like I didn’t get enough done. I am grateful for the rhythm of a week. Often it feels as if Monday through Saturday is some type of marathon. But somehow I cross the finish line into Sunday and into worship.

There I am refreshed and rejuvenated and somehow ready to run into the next week. I am grateful for the rhythm of the seasons. I try to enjoy the cold of a cold day, the heat of a hot day, and everything in between. They are exactly as created and I was created to experience and indeed live in them. And I enjoy the rhythm of the calendar. Birthdays passing. Holidays celebrated. I have come to see the wisdom in the ecclesiastic calendar. The beginning of the year without vent. The celebration of Christmas. Preparation for Easter. A risen Lord. Pentecost. Life with the spirit. It all feels right.

Finally I am grateful for perspective. Whether it’s focusing on tiny things or stepping back to see the big picture. Whether it’s looking externally or looking inwardly. Whether it’s looking to the physical world or into the spiritual realm. There is an order And a beauty and a wholeness. It is good. But the fact that I can twist any of it for my evil purposes keeps me humble and grateful for forgiveness. Jesus loved me first. He was willing to give up even Godhood to save me. And heal me. And restore me. This is why I believe. This is why I behave – at least to the extent that I manage to behave. This is why I follow. And this is why I serve.

Mar 24, 2015

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Oct 3, 2013

A View From The Outside

We were recently interviewed by Grant Gordon, a journalism student at The University of Texas at Austin. Below is an article he wrote. The article does not necessarily represent the views of Street Youth Ministries. We are sharing the article because it shows how easily it is to view the Drag as a battleground between the homeless population and others. SYM seeks to see a strong community on the Drag that includes the homeless young adults, who are also part of the neighborhood.
We'd love to know your thoughts!

September 30, 2013

Street Ministry Youth Protects Local Homeless

AUSTIN - Local homeless people on the western edge of the University of Texas campus are being driven away from the city, and Street Ministry Youth leader Terry Cole is trying to help them.

Cole is the sole employee of the volunteer-driven organization, which serves nearly 100 homeless youths weekly on the area known as “the drag.” He fears that due to changes recently made by University and city officials, the homeless will be forced to leave their current places of residence.

“The student government and the city recently removed all public water fountains from west campus intentionally to drive out the homeless,” Cole said. “They made a desert to try to push them away.”

Along with the water fountains, Cole is also worried by the lack of public restrooms in west campus. He believes the city officials are “not interested in creating more public restrooms,” but rather they “just want the homeless to leave.”

Street Youth Ministry’s mission statement is “To know, love, and serve street dependent young people,” but the current state of homeless relations in Austin is not helping Cole’s cause.

“We are in an unfriendly place right now because there is a lot of change on the drag,” he said. “There’s a lot of stress, with mom and pop stores closing down and being replaced by national chains.”

The Street Youth Ministry helps the homeless by finding specific needs for each homeless youth on the drag and eliciting from the community to serve them. Sometimes, however, these men and women have needs far more significant than simple material items.

“They want somebody to listen to them. Somebody to talk to. They don’t want to be invisible anymore,” said Cole, who personally visits and gets to know several street-dependent youths each day.

One such youth is a man who asked, for the purposes of this article, to be referred to as Kool-Aid. Kool-Aid takes residence between the Chipotle and the CVS Pharmacy on 22nd and Guadalupe. He has been living on the drag for two years, often sleeping in nearby parking garages.

Kool-Aid ended up in his current position by “making ignorant decisions” and “hanging around the wrong crowd,” but today he holds no grudges. He never takes it personally when he is ignored by those who pass by.

“I understand it. Everyone’s going through a different struggle every day,” Kool-Aid said. I try to see where they’re coming from too.”

Kool-Aid chooses to live in a specific area on the drag because he feels as though he is surrounded by “good people” such as one of the local store owners he has gotten to know, who, according to Kool-Aid, lets him use the restaurant to access the bathroom and get water.

Some of the business owners and vendors in the area have been, at one point, homeless for six months, so some understands the struggles of Kool-Aid and other homeless men alike, and disagree with the city’s quest to rid itself of the homeless.

“Wherever you go, there’s going to be homeless people no matter what,” said one business owner. “So as long as they’re not bothering anyone, I let them in the store to get food and water. You never know the circumstances they’re in; it’s not fair to judge all the homeless.”

Not all business owners believe that homeless people cause a threat to civilians, but rather feel as though they just need people around them who care.

“The homeless need people to give them encouragement, and if I can be that person, then I’m going to be that person.”

Cole feels “it’s really good for all of us” when stores allow the homeless to use their restrooms. But at the same time, he understands the risks involved.

“It’s tough because there are drug users among the homeless. About 25 percent of them use hard drugs, and a bathroom can be a safe place to do that.”

But Cole doesn’t believe that the homeless cause a safety threat to civilians. Regarding the reputation of the dangerous homeless man, he called it “a pretty huge myth.”

Kool-Aid is just one example of the many who have been touched by Street Youth Ministry. One objective of the foundation is to help the homeless not only materially, but spiritually as well.

“Because we are a Christian group, faith matters. We ask them if they want to talk about faith, but we don’t force it,” Cole said. “We discover what they want in life.”

Cole and his almost 100 yearly volunteers (half of whom are students) lend a listening ear and display a welcoming attitude to the homeless people, serving as a beacon of light and hope in their otherwise often bleak lives.

As the city tries to push the homeless away, Cole knows that now is the time they need him most.

Jul 30, 2013

What triggered such a big change from electrical engineering to humanitarian work?

I was at a dinner party the other day. The hostess asked me to explain what I did at Street Youth Ministry. [We don't hijack dinner parties but we are please to share when supporters ask!] The next day, I got an email from one of the guests. He asked, "If I may ask, what triggered such a big change from electrical engineering to humanitarian work?"

It's a long story, but the short answer is that this culture of "throwaway" youth broke my heart when I began volunteering by accident to serve them a meal once a month in 2003. As I learned more about them over time by listening and observing, I was so amazed by their strength and resilience to adversity. As I listened to them even more, I realized they were very spiritual as a whole, and they were hungry to hear God's story but really had significant issues with "church" and "Christians." One thing led to another, and here I am serving them daily to help them achieve for themselves stability, sobriety, reconnection to God and a Christian community. Our motto reflect my own journey with the street youth: to know, love and serve street-dependent young people so that some may come to know Christ.

Check out all the programs we offer and other information about SYM.

"To know, love and serve street dependent youth."
Who We Serve What We Do Get Involved Support Us News Publications Ministry Needs Speaking Service Projects Sign-up
Become a fan on Facebook!Mobile? No problem: m.StreetYouthMinistry.org.
I'm a notary for benefit of clients and supporters. Ph: (512) 553-3796
Volunteer or donate (tax deductible) online
Arrange a meeting with me: tungle.me/terrycole

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Jul 23, 2013

A Client's Perspective on What We Do

In response to our Blog on Big Things in Clients Lives, we received this comment. It paints a picture from the perspective of a client of what our supporters, volunteers and leaders do that is very eloquent.

As a former (really ongoing, as Terry's care is always available and extended whenever I'm in the area) client, I can say that without Street Youth Ministry the Drag would be a much more cold and unforgiving place than it already is for street kids. Terry actually understands the intricacies of the traveling lifestyle[...][SYM] understands differentiation between traveling kids and displaced local youth but still extends [their] aid to both, as they both qualify. I still struggle with addiction every day, but I know I can always talk to Terry even if I'm on the other side of the country. We'd be a lot more stuck without [SYM], and I hope to see you again soon.

Together our supporters and volunteers make a big difference in the lives of about 80 clients every single week. We meet about 500 new clients every single year. And we love hearing from as many as possible through email, text messaging, Facebook, or when they visit Austin.

There are many ways to become involved with SYM.  

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May 29, 2013

Big Things in Clients Lives

I get a lot of messages by text, email and Facebook from clients no longer on the Drag. Some are simply traveling but quite a few are no longer on the street.

I had a wonderful conversation with one young man who's living in a smaller Central Texas town. He has a job. He has a girlfriend and a place to stay. He is in a band and pursuing his music. He is clean from heroin for more than a year. He no longer drinks in excess. What a great big accomplishment for him!

We got another report within days of a young man living in quite a remote part of Texas now. He's going to school. He's taking meds and getting counseling for an emotional issue that has long plagued him. He goes to church and regularly reads the Bible. He called me to apologize for not listening more while under our care in Austin. What a great thing to be able to do!

We love hearing from clients doing well! Keep it up, folks! You're in inspiration to us and to those clients still working to get there.

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May 2, 2013

New Women's Group

Obviously, Terry is a guy. That means that our girls pretty much never get a "girls-only" group. Two volunteer recently agreed to host a women's group on Friday afternoon at 2pm. It's not always easy to get things started, but after a month we now have a regular group going. Each week they meet at the Wesley House at 2pm on Friday. They make a snack together (often baking) and then do a craft or watch some video. Open girl-talk is the backdrop for the entire activity. It's designed to be a Christian witness and support to our female clients. About 25% of our clients are women.

Here is the volunteer's thoughts on this most recent group during Holy Week:

The Women's Group on Friday had the work of the Holy Spirit written all over it! I had a few extra minutes to go onto the Drag and ask the women who were there if they would join me in about an hour for the Women's Group. None of them had already planned on going because they forgot about it, so the extra reminder was just what we needed! Every woman I talked to came to the event. We spent the first thirty minutes just talking and asking for prayers. It was wonderful-we actually had to interrupt so we could get the activity started. We split up and three girls helped make the delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, while the other three began shaping clay. After the cookies went into the oven, the other three joined the table and the next hour and a half was spent talking openly and kindly. Every one of the women commented on the fact that they had really been needing this girl time and we even created ideas for the weeks to come. The women connected not only with the volunteers, but also with each other!- A somewhat rare occurrence. I cannot wait to see how the Holy Spirit will continue to bring healing and restoration every week. We will be open to the way God wants to take this weekly meeting.

If you want to sponsor the activities or expenses of our girl's group, just let us know! Donate to help with this ministry or one of our others.