Stand Up For Kids Phoenix has two houses we use as drop in centers. They are open on weekends, and they provide a place for youth to shower, wash their clothing, watch a movie, eat a hot meal, check their email, search for jobs, get food and clothing to take, and socialize in a non-institutional setting.
Saturday is our big day. We train volunteers, have meetings, discuss house matters, and are open from breakfast to dinner. Today is no different. We are a little thin staffed since some of our mainstays are on the retreat, but we have it covered.
The youth and volunteers call it Our House, so named to represent its inclusiveness. We try to include the youth in the major decisions, the creation of rules, and day-to-day operations. Today the youth have cooked for us.
Things are status quo at the youth house. Someone is rooting around in the clothing room. An intense game of Uno is underway. A few people are discussing which movie to watch. But for us, Our House has never been like this. Previous to this Saturday, the youth house was always a setting in a narrative of charity; it was a place we went to help others.
But today, the house is part of a different narrative. It is a sanctuary. Today we have been wandering in the desert, and Our House is a promise of peace. Will we always think of it differently? That remains to be seen. But today, our embodied story more closely matches the youth, and we understand and appreciate the role it plays far more than ever before.
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