These words have been spoken to me over and over again in the past two months. Every time a television news interview is shown. Every time someone drives through our neighborhood in Boone. Every time a family member or friend reaches out to check in.

For me, I’ve always seen homelessness for what it is; people who lose their home, their place to live are then homeless. Now we hear, “it’s happening to our neighbors.” For me, it has always been happening to our neighbors. Individuals and families living in our Boone Brook Hollow Complex are already our neighbors. People living in tents and cars being tended to by our Outreach Coordinators are already our neighbors. 

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Who are our neighbors? The widow celebrating her 76th birthday in our Emergency Housing program? Yes! The 84-year-old lady fleeing domestic violence who said to me, “I never thought I’d be here, I don’t know what to do?” Yes! The 18-year-old young man, who experienced his first real birthday party with us, entering Job Corps career training for technology? Yes! The retired elderly gentleman, housed in our Scattered Site Housing program for over ten years, who suddenly found himself homeless again because of Hurricane Helene? Yes!