A personal reflection by Lydia Davison, Mission Integration Coordinator
Sometimes the most powerful reminders of why I’ve dedicated my life to this work come in the smallest interactions.
One summer morning, I was walking into the Micah Center when a man waiting outside asked me a simple question: “Are we open today?”
From May through October, our daytime resource centers — Micah Center and Wellspring — close on Tuesday and Friday mornings for “Drop-In Days,” during which we provide essential services like showers, laundry, and meals at our separate shelter facilities.
I smiled at the man and let him know that yes, we will be open. It was a Tuesday so the Micah Center wouldn’t open for another 20 minutes. He nodded and waited patiently. I went about my day but have not been able to shake the way that he phrased his question.
Not, “Are you open today?” But, “Are we open today?”
That small word — we — stopped me in my tracks. For this guest, St. John’s Ministries is more than a hot meal or a shower. It is his place. His community. A space where he belongs. St. John’s Ministries isn’t “us” and “them.” It’s always we.
Our Director of Case Management Services, Clayton, always reminds us that we should treat everyone who comes seeking our services like it’s the worst day of their life — because for many, it is. We can provide hope and support, as we would hope to receive on each of our worst days.
This sense of we is at the very heart of St. John’s Ministries. Each year, hundreds of individuals in Brown County experience homelessness, often carrying with them layers of trauma, health challenges, and barriers to housing. St. John’s Ministries steps in as the shelter of last resort, offering a safe place and walking alongside each person toward a better tomorrow.
