Walking the Road Together

As Ron* and Jen* arrived at Victory Acres, they came with a lot of baggage. Moving here was an opportunity to start over in a new place. Jen is still trying to resolve previous legal trouble and dealing with depression/mental illness. Ron, a former Marine, is focused on getting steady employment and trying to dig out of the hole that his family is currently in. They have no vehicle; the one they had was stolen a month ago.

Their son, Cody*, 11, made it back from foster care a week before his mother went back to jail in November. He stayed with us for a period while they were getting things together in Indy, but something as simple as getting him enrolled in school is anything but simple. His documents – birth certificate, social security card, shot records – were either lost or stolen in Indy. The school will not enroll him without them and getting them back means more time and money. Meanwhile, he is homeschooling with my wife and children until other arrangements can be made.

We want to help without creating dependency or taking away dignity. It’s tricky. Helping is not always helpful. Do we provide every meal? Wash all their clothes? Thake them to every appointment and interview? Give them everything they need? We don’t want to give a hand out, but without a hand up, what options do they really have?

As my friend, Jim Aldrich at Englewood used to say, “Housing is easy. It’s relationships that are the hard part.” It gets messy, and it’s a lot safer to just say, “We don’t have a program for that.” It’s families like Ron, Jen, and Cody that God has called us to serve and we moving forward in faith. While we need resources and better facilities to “do it right,” we are doing it – using what we have and doing what we can.

Truthfully? This last week has been exhausting. While God is doing some great things at Victory Acres, it is a bit overwhelming at the moment. They are trying hard, and we are trying hard to help them. There is a real desire to serve God and go the right direction. But all of their needs are about to swamp our little boat. That’s why I’m reaching out…

I’ve spent a lot of time taking him to put in applications and attend interviews this week, and just today, he landed an entry level job at Cafe Valley. It’s only $10 and hour, but it’s a job. He starts next Tuesday (2/18/20.)

This “story from the trenches” is where we are fighting at this moment, and it is why Victory Acres exists. They have a warm dry place to stay. They are together. They have our supportive network at the farm.

How could you help? Some immediate needs that we cannot meet include:

– Transportation – he needs something to get to work (anything that runs but ideally something that will have decent gas mileage.) and Jen needs a way to get to appointments (mental health, Dr visits, government offices to get documents for Cody, etc.)

– Long term housing –  Where they are staying is temporary. They will need affordable housing in the area (and money to assist with initial deposit and rent.)
A lot of this comes down to time and money, and we appreciate everyone who is willing to help. We are doing our best to help where it is helpful without taking away responsibility.

Thanks to everyone who has given to help create this safe place of hospitality and healing that is Victory Acres. As we worked together yesterday in the greenhouse picking spinach, thyme and cilantro, I was reminded of why we started down this road to begin with. The vision of creating a place of hospitality for our friends from the city started nearly 15 years ago with a prayer retreat at “the old home place.” It has been a long and winding road, but we are still walking it. Walking the road with this family and others like them, we are trusting God to continue to provide.

Thank you for your prayers. If you would like to be part of that journey, let us know. There are opportunities to volunteer, to help in the greenhouse, and to get involved with assisting guests. You can also give online. Your contributions are tax deductible, and we will do our best to use them wisely and well.

Thanks again!

Blessings,

Eric Himelick

* Names changed for the privacy of our guests.