The Harry Tompson Center is committed to providing a calm and caring environment in which to serve the needs of the poor and homeless in the downtown New Orleans area. The Center is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all those who come to us in need, not merely by responding to physical needs, but also by attending to the whole person with respect and compassion, after the example of Jesus.

Never a Dull Day

What should you expect when you walk into our Center?  Stories to bring home to tell your kids or friends, that's what.   Beyond that, well, there really is no telling.  Also, expect to find that people here feel loved and accepted and have fun and meet friends and laugh and share stories and confide hurts and get a hug and find peace and rest and read and appreciate life and know that they're not alone and...well words can't really capture the characters we have here at the Center.  Sit down and have a conversation with any one of our guests and I guarantee you will know what I'm talking about.

Oh, and expect to see us offering a few services here and there as well.  But these are really just the tip of the iceberg of what we're all about.

I promise every volunteer who comes into our shelter that they will never have a dull day.  And I mean that in the best way possible.  Just come with an open heart, a dose of humility, and a care and concern for others (not to mention a good sense of humor) and watch the magic unfold.  Even on our bad days, God gets the better of us and puts us in contact with someone who teaches us a whole new way to love and see life. 

I walk by my friend James on the way to lunch.  He is a friendly guy but we haven't talked much.  As I do every day, I throw out a casual "how was your weekend?" He cuts back with a sharp "just fantastic," that is almost perky enough to be convincing but off enough that it stops me in my tracks.  I inquire further and find out that his weekend, in fact, was miserable and that he was feeling alone and depressed.  A simple question leads to an hour long heart to heart, not only about his current situation but about his life story and how he has come to understand life and God and his dreams,  mixed of course with the occasional sarcastic quip.  A standard question has now blossomed into a rich friendship

Or what about Joe who came in for the first time today, crabby and sarcastic after being "played by the system" his first few experiences at shelters?  His quick impression being new on the streets is that shelters are just another place where he is looked down upon, a place where hoards of things are stashed but no one can cut through the red tape to gain access.  His shirt is torn and his pants far too big for him.  I didn't give him much, some hygiene products, a shower and a shirt.  But during all this another story came out, the deeper story of one day being "miserable and rich" to a sudden and rapid decline to "more miserable and poor." I realized that this man carried much more than a torn short, but a torn heart as well.  And in small ways, I could see that today he was able to leave just a little more patched, a little more whole than when he entered.

Today was a good day.  These people bring me more joy and fulfillment than anything I could hope to offer.  They are small reminders that we are all healing instruments in the loving, mysterious hands of God.

   


Dan Thelen 2008-07-29

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