The Mission of Hope is an incredible organization run by Pastor Barb Furhman. If you have never been there, I encourage you to check it out. It's located across from Hyvee on First ave. It also now has an emergency shelter open just around the corner (I believe on Park Court). I first got involved with Mission of Hope in March of 2007 when my small group from church decided to volunteer there for an afternoon to organize all the clothes they had available for the public. A couple weeks later, I walked down there to ask what I could do to help them on a regular basis. Tina (Barb's daughter) walked me down to the shelter which was under construction, gave me the tour, then said "Well, I'll let you get to work." I hadn't come to actually work that day, but I figured I have a few hours I could help out a bit. I spent almost every day for the next 2 or 3 weeks there helping them finish the construction. Because they were so desperately in need of help as their deadlines approached, I sent out a mass e-mail looking for others to help one afternoon. The one reply I recieved never showed up, and after going door to door in my hall and calling all my friends I was not able to find anyone to help. It became clear to me that others had different priorities than me and preferred to spend their day playing the same video games they play every other day.

The shelter was eventually finished, and they officially opened on April 27th. Since they've opened, I've spent several days at the shelter talking to those living there. Several times, I ended up discussing philosophy, religion, science, and the meaning of life with homeless people trying to turn their lives around. That was quite a humbling experience. Before meeting them, you have so many steriotypes about the homeless. They are homeless because they don't have a job. They don't have a job because their too lazy to get one. Their too lazy because they spend all their money on booze and drugs living off of societies hand me downs. Let me tell you how wrong that is. Every homeless person I've met is such because of a series of unfortunate events. Often times that leads them down a bad road of drugs or alcohol, but it doesn't mean they don't care or are too lazy to get a job. They've tried, or are still trying but are unsuccessful because of employers' steriotypical views and society's barriers. I plan to continue visiting the shelter as my heart has been led to care for and relate to the homeless and less fortunate in our community.