In the world we live in today, I find it hard to come to an absolute truth or a 100% solidified opinion because I want to hold space for other opinions and understand those gray areas.

However, there are three things I can say, especially after working at Mary Magdalen House, that I believe more than ever to be universally True. 

1. We must protect the vulnerable.

There are so many people who cannot defend themselves. In OTR we see it every day. People who can barely bathe, feed, or clothe themselves. They may not know who they are or where they are that day. This may be due to severe mental illness, trauma, or excess drug use.. it doesn’t matter the reason. We must protect these people, know them by name and personality, remind them who they are, and show them love.

2. Everyone has inherent dignity.

A person’s worth can not be based on their worst choice or moment. Yes, we can create boundaries, and yes, we can disagree, but no one gets to decide who is better than the other or more worthy of life; there is no wasted life. No one gets to decide if people deserve to have their basic needs met. We are born the same and we die the same. 

3. We are all just people.

By knowing and loving the 100+ people MMH serves per day, I have learned that we are all just people. We all have a preference of soap, a number we don’t like, a color we’d rather avoid, a person that triggers us for no reason, a type of toothpaste that makes our teeth feel weird, a deodorant that our skin doesn’t like, or a towel that is just the wrong material. Folks experiencing homelessness are everyday people who just want to receive their mail, put on clean clothes, have an inside joke with someone, and go about their day. We aren’t different from each other. Some were just handed a better deck of cards at the start.

Time spent at Mary Magdalen House is almost impossible to articulate.

Everyone I have worked with at one point has said, “we should write a book about this place.”

But no one knows where to start. Each day is a book in itself. To provide hygiene services to the most vulnerable population in the society simply means that each day is going to come with its own surprises; beautiful some days and horrifying other days. To do this every single day is the most challenging and rewarding thing I’ve ever done.

Every day is a conscious choice to put one’s ego aside, to de-escalate rather than engage, and to empathize and love rather than fear or hate. I believe in Mary Magdalen House; the people, the guests, and the mission, more than I believe in just about anything.

It is impossible to replicate the good that is being done at 1629 Republic Street, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of the mission, even for a short blip.