Season of Hope Invitation
Will you join us for a Season of Hope at Roof Above? Between now and the end of the year, we will be sharing weekly content that explores the many facets of hope.
This isn’t meant to be prescriptive. There are multiple entry points into this invitation: Moments of inspiration and response on social media. Minutes or more, with a weekly blog post, where you sit quietly and ponder one of the prompts. A month of hope in action. Make this season of hope the reflection that you need.
You can find Season of Hope:
Season of Hope, Week 5: Peddlers of Hope at Roof Above
Hi! I’m Maggie Kinton, Roof Above’s 2024 – 2025 Davidson Impact Fellow. For the past four months since I’ve started at Roof Above, I have been so lucky to witness staff, volunteers, and neighbors add fuel to the roaring fire of hope at Roof Above.
Ten years ago, Iain de Jong, author of “The Book on Ending Homelessness,” wrote a short blog post entitled “Peddlers of Hope.” Its message rings true today. It leaves me with the message that hope, and the action it requires, takes practice, hard work, and intention. Being hopeful is not always easy, but our hope is necessary.
My favorite place to be at our Day Services Center (DSC) is at the front desk. I love greeting neighbors, whether they are familiar faces or walking through the DSC doors for the first time. Many folks walk up to the front desk in a cheerful mood: perhaps they are making exciting progress towards meeting their housing needs, they’ve just grabbed a new winter hat, or they’ve had a friendly conversation on the way through the doors.
Other neighbors, however, may be going through the worst day of their life when they approach the front desk. When somebody bravely shares their story that led them to homelessness, or expresses exasperation at the difficult, long journey to safe and stable housing, my first impulse is to feel sadness, anger, and hopelessness. We provide important services at the Day Services Center, but it is painful to know that our neighbors are experiencing homelessness and need access to our services in the first place.
Hopelessness and despair, while emotions that come up easily, do no good for us or for our neighbors. Iain de Jong reminds us that hope is grounded in difficulty:
“Our hope is not blind. It is not unrealistic. It is not a panacea for pain. Hope does not erase history; it merely provides the opportunity to recover and grow from it.”
We know that homelessness is something no person should experience. When we turn away from despair and look instead to our capacity to bring about change — to “embrace the possibilities that can realistically occur” — that is when hope becomes a real, powerful force.
“What makes us a peddler of hope is our desire to spread hope widely and universally. We are persistent in our approach to being hopeful about hope.”
If we are collectively intentional about being hopeful, and about sharing that hope widely, then we can add hope, like fuel, to people’s journeys.
I know that when somebody affirms me – my struggles, strengths, and what my future might bring – I feel empowered to keep going. At the front desk, or wherever I may find myself at the Day Services Center, I am intentional about spreading hope at Roof Above by doing the same for my neighbors. It might require me to slow down and stop what I’m doing, but by listening to neighbors, embracing their whole selves, and giving them the space to share their dreams for their futures, I hope they feel empowered to keep going too.
Questions to Ponder:
What does it mean to be hopeful in the context of hardship?
What are ways you can intentionally share hope moving forward?
Invitation to Act in Hope:
Will you help us in our mission to “peddle hope” every day at Roof Above by making an in-kind donation?
We can spread hope widely by providing socks and winter hats, supplies for a fresh load of laundry, or toiletries for a warm shower.
Visit our Amazon Wish List to make an in-kind donation.
Thank you for making hope tangible for our neighbors at Roof Above!