Spiritual Life and Leadership

137. Ending Homelessness, with Kevin Nye, author of Grace Can Lead Us Home

Markus Watson

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Kevin Nye is the author of Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness, and Housing Director of a non-profit youth center.  In this episode, Kevin helps us understand some of the misconceptions about homelessness—what’s really going on—and what we can do about it.  Specifically, he helps us understand why the first thing we should do is provide housing for those who need it, not because they’ve earned it, but as an act of grace.


THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

  • Kevin Nye is the author of Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness, and Housing Director a non-profit youth center.
  • Having attended Fuller Seminary, Kevin Nye initially intended to be a pastor.
  • Kevin Nye helps us understand some of the common misconceptions about homelessness.
  • One common misconception about homelessness is that people who experience homelessness somehow deserve it.
  • Kevin Nye invites us to respond to the challenge of homelessness with grace.  That is, we should not focus on what people deserve or earn in order to receive help when struggling with homelessness.
  • Markus shares about an encounter he had with a homeless person that day and Kevin offers his response.
  • Every challenging or uncomfortable encounter we have with a person experiencing homelessness is likely the result of some kind of systemic failure that has led or kept that person where they are.
  • A person who experiences homelessness has fallen through every social safety net.
  • Challenges like addiction and mental illness are much easier to address and manage when a person has housing.
  • The housing first strategy costs less than the current system which tends to keep people where they are.



RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:

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