I Have Fun Giving

“I love playing with Joshua Station,” says Christine Plentyhoops. It’s an odd way to talk about donating and volunteering, and she peppers her story with delighted laughter.

As Regional Vice President of Primerica and an investment advisor, Christine was meeting with a client some years ago. Inspired and intrigued by her client’s financial priorities of generosity and service, Christine turned the tables and asked for advice about where to get involved. Her client served on the MHM board, and soon Christine was touring Joshua Station. She “fell in love.”

The love story begins much earlier, however. Christine grew up struggling with poverty, and as a young woman found herself in a devastating situation married to a relapsed addict—culminating in divorce. Injured in an accident, she was only able to work part time. After an eviction she was homeless, and her car was repossessed. “The families at Joshua Station… they are me,” she says.

Christine’s “play” at Joshua Station took the form of teaching financial classes for residents, which were so effective that they are now a mandatory part of the program. “Anything ‘mandatory’ is not an easy sell up front,” Christine observes. “I level the playing field by telling them I know it’s hard to spend time away from families for the class—for me and them both! I show up in ordinary clothes and share my story of devastated self-worth and a credit score of 437. ‘Where you are now is just a circumstance, not a life sentence,’ I say. I love to laugh with that group.”

Christine’s husband Brian can relate too; he grew up in poverty, living on an Indian reservation and later in San Francisco. “Brian and I have fun giving,” Christine says, “with our dollars and time.” In their monthly checks or in the financial class at Joshua Station, it definitely shows.

 We Are the Stories

Jazmin Lopez-Geminiano has lived the stories of our community in more ways than most. She’s been a teen mentee of our community partners in the city, an apprentice at Issachar Center for Urban Leadership (then a program of MHM), a client at Justice and Mercy Legal Aid Center (also then a MHM program), a mentor herself, a contracted team member, a donor, and eventually board president of Mile High Ministries.

“Our board is a lot more than just financial decision-making,” Jazmin says. “We help the organization become ever more true to itself by tending to MHM’s ‘special sauce.’” Jazmin has been formed by—and helps form—our values, best practices, spirituality, and ways of building community. “We are part of the actual stories that make the sauce.”

Navigating childhood on the streets of Mexico City, surviving a harrowing immigration experience, arriving at Denver’s West High School with no English, and persevering as a college student all prepared her for service and leadership at MHM. “I’m amazed, really, when I think about how I’ve grown through these roles—and how my life has been woven through them. God has brought me a long, long way.”

For Jazmin this is a work of love. “I know that God is compassionate, and we have the opportunity to show our compassion. It’s so crazy out there, especially these days, and especially for people in society who come from where I do. I love being at Joshua Station, sharing family times with my husband and kids together with residents on the playground. I love to give, and I love to be grateful.”

I LOVE This Place

Rhiannon Middleton is a Family Advocate at Joshua Station. “I love this place. I especially love when I get to help people find something within themselves they didn’t know was there, and support people whom others have given up on.

“For instance, our former resident Hilda didn’t think of herself as especially special or strong. But when she had kidney failure, amazing qualities came into view. She lived every day as if she wasn’t dying. She made the most of every day—working hard and enjoying life. But I also think dying gave her perspective—she refused to engage in silly things like gossip or fighting. She set an example for all of us, and I got to be part of it.

“I first arrived at Joshua Station at a low point in my life in 2006. After experiencing major life challenges, I regained custody of my children on condition of stable housing. I couldn’t imagine how this would change my entire story.

“Several years after graduating from the program, when I had truly gained stability, I was hired as volunteer coordinator. From the start I told Penny, our program director at the time, that my firm goal was to be a family advocate. Eventually, I was!

“I love to travel, and of course there are places I’d like to see in the world. But there is absolutely nowhere I’d rather be than at Joshua Station. I feel at peace in this place. It is home to so many people, including me. I LOVE this place. Did I say that strongly enough?”

Denise / This Human Life

Denise Vaughn is a Family Advocate at Joshua Station. “I love sitting with our residents and developing relationships. Much of my work is very practical. But it’s always amazing when we sense we are both simply doing this human life thing together, and in that way we’re ‘the same.’

“A resident showed me a picture of herself on her phone. It was from 2013, and she looked full of life and confident. She looks 20 years older now. She had a bad accident that broke her body. She was divorced. She’s had trauma and depression that she can’t talk with me about yet. But she tells me about being in the grocery line with a full cart, finding out she has no money on her food stamp card, and being overwhelmed with embarrassment. She was literally stroking the picture on her phone as she spoke. I told her, ‘That picture on the phone is still you.’ And the embarrassment is me; I’ve known that kind of shame.

From everything Sarah Eckenrode heard about Joshua Station, she knew this was the place where she wanted to rebuild her life. In fact, as soon as she heard she would be accepted into the program as a resident, she named her unborn son Joshua.

Sarah remembers being told not to worry about bringing anything—just clothes and Joshua. When Sarah walked into her Joshua Station residence for the first time, she was overcome. “I just cried. I couldn’t believe how beautifully decorated it was, personalized for my baby son and for me. The crib was just his size. I said, ‘Joshua, this is our new home!’” And she says the support at Joshua Station was even beyond what she expected. “I just love it here.”

“Sarah was very uncertain and insecure at first about how to do life, and to parent her son,” remembers her family advocate Ana Reyes. Little by little, Sarah gained confidence. With insights from staff and a parenting coach, Sarah realizes she needs to help Joshua, now age 2, become more independent and be ok out of her sight. Everybody enjoys Joshua’s big personality—always smiling, playing peek-a-boo, and waving.”

Sarah has worked hard in her pursuit of a career in the medical field, with assistance from Education and Employment Coordinator Maria Sierra. A recent setback in her education plans dealt a huge blow. “But nothing is going to stop me from my goal,” she declared in a recent community meeting. “Before, this would have brought me down and I would have given up. Not now, no way.”

“Sarah’s always saying how grateful she is for all that we’ve done for her,” Ana says. “But I remind her SHE is the one who has done the hard work. I’m just so proud of her. Her positivity and determination is inspiring to us all.”

“I don’t give up on people,” says Frank Martinez. He’s talking about how he manages employees at in his successful and expanding business, Martinez Underground, Inc., that services major public works pipelines. “People go through things! I listen. People may not be what they appear, when they’re not at their best. I’m patient and allow people their space.” What about when you have to let an employee go? “People typically let themselves go, so I don’t have to.”

“I don’t know where I would be if people had given up on me at my lowest point in life.”

When Frank first arrived at Joshua Station, he had given up on himself. “I had lost everything – my livelihood, my children, every last bit of hope and confidence. I simply lay on my bed day after day in the dark, wishing for a heart attack. I absolutely thought my life would end that way.”

Little by little, community members and staff coaxed him out of the darkness. “Work is my therapy,” Frank says. “It began with them putting me to work.” Washing dishes. Pulling weeds. Tinkering with cars. A little tile job. Then tiling the entire building, after submitting a contract proposal to Joshua Station. Tile by tile, the confidence grew. It gave him the confidence also for his work of parenting.

Frank’s eyes are always out for others who are faltering. “Don’t give up! Look for people who will help you heal and regain your confidence—as I found at Joshua Station.”

“The day before I came to Joshua Station, I was very scared,” says Georgina Valarde. “I started praying it would fall through.”

“Georgina’s past traumas left her extremely guarded, negative, and untrusting,” says Family Advocate Ana Reyes. “In the beginning I worked hard simply to rekindle trust.” Georgina’s start with Joshua Station was rocky, with anger and negativity affecting relationships.

To make matters worse, Georgina developed serious medical problems. “But I really think that hard situation prompted change,” Ana reflects. Georgina awakened to how she really did value her life. She treasured her children. She considered her blessings. She expressed a desire to really work on her life. At a key juncture Ana asked her pointedly, “What do YOU think you need to do to make that happen?”

With time, everyone observed dramatic changes in Georgina. She focused on our program and her goals. “I grew calm, and my daughters also grew calm,” she says. “There were bad times, but those things happened to make me stronger and helped me believe more in God. Things happen for a reason. It made me the strong and patient person I am today.”

With the help of our staff and her own hard work, Georgina was able to secure her own apartment not far from Joshua Station. She loves the independence, and we stay in touch through our Integration Program (supportive aftercare program).

“That weak and fearful person [who arrived at Joshua Station]? That person is gone. In everything I went through, I was supported. I have grown personally and spiritually, and I will never forget my experience at Joshua Station.”

Aaliyah Chavez comes from a very high achieving family. So it was no surprise when she graduated from high school, but it sure was a big celebration at Joshua Station!

Along with three younger kids in her family, Aaliyah’s academic work has been outstanding. Of course, it hasn’t been easy. “During the past year, I realized that I was really going to have to increase my focus to achieve my goals,” Aaliyah says. “I had to take it to a higher level. I’m proud that I did. I’m very aware that I’m the first person in my entire family line ever to graduate from high school. I know that I am paving the way for the others right behind me.”

Aaliyah must have a hovering taskmaster parent, right? “I just sit back and watch each of these guys do incredible things,” says Gwyneth, who is raising her four grandchildren at Joshua Station—including Aaliyah. “I sit down and listen to each child. Each one has their own pace. For Aaliyah, I give her the right look and she takes it to heart.”

Learning from her grandmother, Aaliyah places great value on passing on her indigenous tribal heritage—Oklahoma Seminole. She practices traditional songs and dances with shells and jingles. For Aaliyah’s graduation, her grandmother saved and sacrificed to commission a traditional dress—sewn by an elder in Oklahoma. Horizontal patterns in the dress represent different clans in Aaliyah’s lineage, for instance the Deer Clan in the symbols across the yellow field. As you can imagine, our whole Joshua Station family was bursting with pride as we celebrated with dancing in the courtyard.